What software converts a document into a cover?

KirkF

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I have an idea for a cover composed as a Libre Office Writer document which is similar to Apache Office Writer.
What software will take those front and back pages plus a spine line and make them into one page for a cover?

Or what software will do it cheap and easy? Thank you.

My plan is to print my own book on a laser and hire a printer to make the covers then glue the book myself.
 

blacbird

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You are making this far more difficult than you need to. Creating your own cover can be done in any decent graphics program. There are many good free ones available for download. Figure out how large (physically) your front/spine/back image needs to be and do the graphics you need.

But perhaps more pertinently, there are services out there that will create your book for you for no up-front fees. Lulu.com is one of the best. You format your text to the size you need, and they have templates for that if you want to use them, and you can also use one of their cover templates, or upload your own design. You can get an ISBN through them. You set a price for your book, and Lulu makes money when each copy sells. You can purchase your own author's copies at minimum cost, and sell them however you want.

I have used Lulu to produce old out-of-copyright books as essentially a personal hobby, and make maybe $100 a year through Lulu. So, for me, it's not a money-generating activity, but a lot of writers do much more serious publication through them. I have produced a few standard book-style copies of my own work, not for sale publicly (with no ISBN, and therefore not actually "published") to give to friends.

Do some homework, and you'll find much better options than the one you outline above.

caw
 

Metruis

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You are making this far more difficult than you need to.

That, and if you made your cover in a word processor I guarantee it's not a good cover. You have a draft of a cover. Now go download GIMP or some other free graphic design program instead.

If you can export a PDF from the program you're already good to go for printing, though. And there are multiple services you can find by typing "convert (file type) to PDF". Honestly, you can print what you already have from any printer, probably, if it's a docx or rtf or some other common file. I can't STOP you from using whatever you made as a cover and printing it and going for it.

But listen. You are a writer. Your time is money, time you could spend writing instead of gluing... when there are printers that will print out a book on demand for you! Gosh! There are so many services you can use to make this easier! Unless there's some specific reason you want this book to be handbound (I respect it) go ahead, use the fact that we live in the future and ease on forward.

I have used Lulu to produce old out-of-copyright books as essentially a personal hobby
Oh, huh, cool. Didn't ever really think about doing that. I have this enormous collection of digital copies of presumably out-of-copyright-for-age occult type books which I've been reading to create realistic basis for my magic systems. Never even thought about restoring them and putting them up on a print on demand site! Maybe a winter project.
 

KirkF

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Thanks folks. Perhaps I should have mentioned my reasons for true self-publishing. This is my 3rd book. I've done the print 500 for $2,000 and sell a handful route. I've done the subsidy publishing and pay over $20 a copy for author copies route. I have contacted agents in my Christian genre and been told "I don't agree with your theology and don't have the time to learn it," route. I know things now most people will learn the hard way in the future but until it is required to survive they aren't interested. I know of a prophet Mark Taylor who was "discovered" and got a book done and a movie in the making. So, living in poverty, I think this time I'll try true self publishing, except the cover printing.

Specifically I need a program I can take a page, shrink and rotate it to fit on legal size in a .pdf with the spine line. That should be simple enough for some software I've seen but I can't remember its name. I'm not an artist so I think using a photo off Facebook should do. Being near sighted and old, I notice large text on covers more than pictures.
 

blacbird

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Specifically I need a program I can take a page, shrink and rotate it to fit on legal size in a .pdf with the spine line.

You can do this kind of thing very easily in Microsoft Excel. Graphic objects (like jpegs) can simply be pasted into an Excel spreadsheet, and rotated freely, and resized to fit whatever you need. But you're still making this hard on yourself. Try a service such as Lulu or CreateSpace.

caw
 

KirkF

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I think this might help lots of authors. Stop writing (except for practice) until you find an audience. I put out a single page with my book cover front and back in a town newsstand and not one was taken in nearly a week. So from that I learn I must revise my whole book idea until I get a cover that moves. Once I get to that stage, I can step up adding more content until I see what I can ask money for. Then finish the book. Only then explore publishing options.
 
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kevinwaynewilliams

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Couple of points: first, a bad cover will never move, no matter how good an author you are. My advice is always to do the simplest thing you can do well: if that's big words on a solid background, so be it. As for the software that can do what you want, GIMP and OpenOffice between them can do exactly what you are trying to do.

Second, Createspace will print that book far more cheaply than you can make it from a local printer. Under $10.00. Seriously. However you make that cover, just make a big PDF of the cover and the book, following the CreateSpace guidelines, and you'll have the cheapest possible book.
 

blacbird

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I think this might help lots of authors. Stop writing (except for practice) until you find an audience. I put out a single page with my book cover front and back in a town newsstand and not one was taken in nearly a week. So from that I learn I must revise my whole book idea until I get a cover that moves.

You need to write a story that moves. Until you do that, you need to stop obsessing about the cover.

caw
 

Twick

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I think this might help lots of authors. Stop writing (except for practice) until you find an audience. I put out a single page with my book cover front and back in a town newsstand and not one was taken in nearly a week. So from that I learn I must revise my whole book idea until I get a cover that moves. Once I get to that stage, I can step up adding more content until I see what I can ask money for. Then finish the book. Only then explore publishing options.

I'm not sure I understand. You put your cover - with ONE page inside - on newsstands, and then came back a week later to see if anyone had taken it? You were just testing to see if people would take the cover? I'm not sure that's a marketing plan, because most people do look to see if there's a book attached.

Anyway, it should be easy to put two pages into one. If you have PowerPoint or an equivalent, I've found it easy for quickly arranging graphic elements. But I am curious as to what your cover design is. Any way you could post it for comments and suggestions?
 

blacbird

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I'm not sure I understand. You put your cover - with ONE page inside - on newsstands, and then came back a week later to see if anyone had taken it? You were just testing to see if people would take the cover? I'm not sure that's a marketing plan, because most people do look to see if there's a book attached.

Sort of like taking an empty can of beans at the grocery store, just because it had a pretty label.

caw
 

insolentlad

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Maybe a little late to point this out, but if you have Libre Office (or Open Office) you probably have the 'Draw' component along with 'Writer.' It isn't fancy but it is completely usable as a lay-out program for designing covers (and, of course, other stuff). I laid out an entire children's picture book in Open Office Draw some time back, covers and interiors.
 

WeaselFire

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FWIW, we use Adobe InDesign to layout books, including covers, then package as a PDFs for printers. Probably not what the OP wants to hear since we license the Adobe Suite for about $600 a year and it's not really cost effective for a one-off book. It does however make for absolutely perfect publication.

Jeff