I received an email today announcing Lulu’s new Studio Cover Wizard. Not bad, and I’ve had loads of fun playing with it today. It sure beats those drab cover templates they offered forever, and may still.
View a video demonstration of the studio here.
I’ve actually been playing with the new cover designer for the past few days since getting the new covers ready for display at the LA Times Book Festival, and while most of it is really slick and allows for customization even within the templates provided, I don’t like the spine text feature – not enough font sizes. I ended up going back to the old cover design to allow for larger spine text.
There were a couple of other goofy little things that I can’t remember off the top of my head that made me go hmmmm. But overall, it is a really good tool and should help authors who are struggling with coming up with a cover the flexibility to come up with something a little more interesting than a stock photo.
Six of one–half dozen of another. That’s how I perceive the New Studio Cover Wizard.
Covers (although we have been warned over and over again that we ought not judge any book by it’s cover) are without question the single most effective way to attract attention to one’s book. Let’s admit it, covers are to books what makeup is to women and as such should be tailored to the individual, not the masses.
Frills and fancies (such as are available in the new cover wizard) do not actually improve any cover one could design using the older version…a well designed cover is still a well designed cover and a poorly designed one will be just as bad.
I’m all for the technology itself and definitely think it’s a step up for Lulu authors, but you still can only have so many random choices before someone ends up with the same cover as someone else no matter what the font or color of text is.
It is remarkably similar to Blurb’s Bookmark software and browser style layout.