𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄, a guide to making covers

𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴.

No one is born great at something. You won't finish this, have a moment of enlightenment, and start making bomb ass covers. If that happens, I envy you. But I hope this helps even just a little.

𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄.

You may have heard this a million times before, but practice is the only way to improve. As you practice and stumble across challenges, you learn.

A year is a long time, and during that time, I had opened a cover shop because boredom does that. Although I pity the people who requested there for the utter trash they got, the number of requests helped me improve a ton. I had to do covers for books I'd never thought of, or genres I'd personally never write.

Basically, there was a lot of new territories to explore. I watched videos and anything I could, to help me learn new effects and tools.

I'm still not amazing, but hey, now my covers look presentable!

Same series and story, but different year..

It's nothing mind blowing, but it does show that effort and time really pay off! Maybe you're already at the level I was at in 2019, or maybe you're my 2018. Or, maybe you're even better! Either way, keep going!

The only time you should give up is if you really don't have the passion for it.

In summary, your beginning tips.

Practice a lot. Don't just make covers for your own books, or when you're inspired. Try to enter competitions here on Wattpad! Or, challenge yourself! Make a cover for a genre you haven't tried yet, or aren't as proficient in.

There are many online challenges as well. There are some 40 day or even 7 day book cover challenges where you try to make a cover a day given the prompt. You can simply search on google, tumblr, Pinterest or even Instagram!

Progress always depends on the person. I progressed rather slowly, and you may be the same, or faster. Just don't give up. It's like working out, as much as we all want to, we won't see immediate results after just one workout. (But I still look in the mirror afterward anyway.)

If you enter a competition, just remember that winning isn't your goal. Your goal is to improve, so have fun! Always ask for their feedback too, even if you didn't place.

But remember, take constructive criticism, but do your own thing.

Last piece of advice, don't focus too much on "I have to improve". While that's a good mindset, it can really kill the mood and make you want to stop. It's alright to get frustrated. Take a break when you need. 

I, much to the anger of my requesters, always take month-long breaks between cover-making because I don't want it to feel like a chore. And neither should you!

I don't put out my whole process when I post a finished cover, but let me tell you, it's a struggle. Before I finish one, I have 50 personality changes, and I've already thought of giving up and go out to live in a cave. But it's still fun when I'm done anyways!

You're out here to enjoy editing, don't kill yourself worrying about shit. 

𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍,
𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚞𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐!