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This is how to build a cover from scratch so there is no need to insert your own pages. If you have already designed the front cover in another program, then you would place that file on the front cover page (file-->place). I build my covers right in the cover file and will use Photoshop and/or Illustrator as needed for the cover elements and bring them in as needed.

@@MelindaMartin Thank-you. I will try to figure that out. My cover (and pages of my photography book -with some text), is fully designed, but the size of the pages and cover, are not consistent, so I am trying to figure out how to fix that, on Indesign.

@@myrnalieuwen5069 More than likely, there are several other issues that you aren't aware of as well, because if the basics aren't right, then the gap widens when the technical underbelly is exposed. You can book a consulting call with me here: bit.ly/mps1hour. In case this is helpful, the cover should be a separate file than the interior.

@@MelindaMartin THANK-YOU! I might very well do that (though I may struggle on first a bit...:)

Yes :) Authors hire me BEFORE they hire the illustrator. melindamartin.me/publishing-advice-resources/how-i-work-with-childrens-book-authors/

@@MelindaMartin i just dont want to watch an 1 hr tutorial about how to a layout on canva lol its east to do the layout i just dont want to learn and u need the art and story the last thing is the layout lol i hate feeling like people just trying to hustle people and get over ..the way u talkin maybe i should just take the time and learn it 😂 lol

@@MelindaMartin the way u talkin i can see u over charging and i dont click on links that's how people get hacked

@@2solid4tv48 a safe way around that is to google the link to check its validity instead of clicking on a link.

@@2solid4tv48 Canva is great for low-level print-on-demand books but real book design software like Adobe InDesign exists for a reason. People who don't see my value aren't my ideal client so no worries if you don't agree with how I do things. Find what works for you.

Sometimes even when you select the middle page, it will jump back to selecting all pages, so check again and reselect if needed. You can use the Loom (online screen recording) and send it to me at martinpublishingservices@gmail.com if it still won't work and I'll see what I can see :)

@@MelindaMartin so I have the 2023 version and my layout looked different to yours! I figured it out!

@@BellsBooksAndCoffee great! I use 2023 now as well. My goal is to make a new video showing how to use InDesign's bleed settings, which is the best way.

@@MelindaMartin omg please!!

Thank you! And I feel the same, lol. I think most people don't know how valuable this information is and so they don't click to watch. I would have loved something like this when I started out.

Thank you for taking the time to comment <3 I love to learn and teach others, especially about book design. Just in the two years since I've created this video, I have learned so much! Which is the way it should be, right? :)

Also, I'm working on a children's book at the moment that features Simplified Chinese :)

If the Word file was not generated from an InDesign file, then I don't suggest this. Of course, another consideration is how well the InDesign user knows InDesign. If no styles were used, then I expect it wouldn't matter anyway. But to use InDesign correctly, styles (paragraph, character, and object) are required. Additionally, we don't want beta readers making direct edits to files for various reasons. It sounds like you could use some help with your overall process. I have been developing my processes for 10+ years, which means I've made almost every mistake possible :), and I am available for one-hour consultations at bit.ly/mps1hour.

Good thing the illustrator gave me permission then.

@@MelindaMartin It would be nice to mention this in the video "Professional Layout Preactices".

While teaching the technical aspects of using InDesign to create a cover, teaching someone HOW to be a good designer requires a whole course and then teaching someone HOW to use the Adobe suite to arrive at a well-designed cover is multiple other courses. A quick video will never suffice. Just choosing a font is a skillset that takes years to fully develop, because it goes much deeper than how it looks. Thankfully, Adobe has their own guru who covers lots of these topics. Search for Terry White. He's not a dedicated book designer, but I know you will find his list of videos super helpful. If you're a LinkedIn member, look up InDesign courses by Anne Marie Concepcion. She's also amazing at teaching ID.

Awe! Yay! I'm really going to blow your mind when I do one that includes bleed settings. :) You got this!

Each platform has different specs for the spine width, because even though they may all be using white paper, they are getting their paper from different sources, so the thickness per piece of paper is different, which then makes the spine width different. For example, an Amazon KDP POD book that uses white paper will use a spine width of # of pages multiplied by .00225". But IngramSpark's white paper is .2139". While it is an extremely small difference at just a one-page level, it adds up. This is why a cover can not be finalized until we know which platform it's going ot be uploaded to, as well as the page count and which paper will be used.

Open the pages panel. Click on the middle page, which is the spine page. Then go to layout--margins (writing from memory so the menu name might be slightly different). Adjust the inside and outside margins (left and right) for just that page from .5" to .625". Then you can adjust the spine width using the page tool.

This specific canvas size is 6x9 inches.

If you have access to facebook, join the group InDesign Secrets. Then you can post your issue there and get lots of helpful feedback.

@@MelindaMartin yes i have...but which one ?

@@ahmedalawadh6818 This is the group: facebook.com/groups/2083332661901219

For typesetting especially, the best way is to set the document to the true size (6x9), select facing pages, then add .125" bleed to the top, bottom, and OUTSIDE margins only. If you see "left/right" in the bleed, then you didn't select facing pages. When you export, you'll need to make sure to check that it is exporting with the bleed settings. Sometimes short-run digital printers will request bleed on all sides, but all POD and offset printing for books only requires bleed on top, bottom, and outside pages.

Thank you <3

What is your canvas size and resolution set to in PS?

@@MelindaMartin It's A4 format and 300 dpi

@@hirajxjxk648 k. Did you file-->place the photoshop file? If yes, go the links panel, click on the link, and then on the bottom of the panel, it will tell you what resolution InDesign is seeing it at. Is below 300 in the links panel?

@@MelindaMartin Yes it says 300. but it's a jpeg might that be the problem?

@@hirajxjxk648 Jpgs are fine, so that's not the problem. Are you exporting as a PDF and then printing it out from Adobe Reader (or other PDF app)?

It's good practice that if you have criticism to lead in with a positive, state the criticism, and then close with a positive.

How can I help you?

Thank you! I still have to do a new version that address bleed specifically but this setup got me through lots of book covers! It's almost perfect, lol. After I address using bleed settings, it will be primo.

if ANY of the artwork is going to touch ANY of the outside edges, you need to set your ID file up to be trim size 6x9 with facing pages bleed settings: top, right, bottom to .125", inside to 0" ID is setup for 300 dpi. You can export out to different dpi if needed for web graphics, etc. But all print art should be exported at 300 dpi. So all of your artwork should be done created in 300 dpi if you're using a raster-based app, like Photoshop and Procreate. (vector-based apps like Illustrator can scale artwork up or down without loss.) You'll be able to check the effective ppi of each art file in the links panel.

Thanks Melinda! ❤️

Hello over there :) Novels with illustrations can be tricky, especially if the author wants them to go in a very specific place in the text. But since this is a student project, it sounds like you won't have that complication of working around what a paying client wants. Before you start on the illustrations, you should determine if it's going to be a full-page or a half-page illustration. Additionally, if it's a full page, do you want it to go from edge to edge or to be inside the margins of the page? To go a step further, if the novel is going to be printed in black and white, then it's best if the artwork is done with that in mind. Purely black-and-white art requires different techniques than colored art. One HUGE key to using InDesign correctly is learning about the various styles: character, paragraph, and object. The character style is applied to the individual word. The paragraph style is applied to the whole paragraph. The object style is applied to the frame (text frame, graphic frame). You can set the object style to be a specific size, placement, etc. I prefer to use in-line objects for my novels, instead of anchoring them. Let me know if I can answer any specific questions. I've worked with InDesign for 10 years, and so I do have a lot of advice to give, lol. Best of luck to you!

@@MelindaMartin Hii, sorry i just saw your reply, thank you so much for your reply, they really help a lot! you are right, i thankfully dont really have to worry about clients in this. I will surely look more into styles in indesign! the novel is gonna be a full colored novel with a combination of spread, full page, and half page illustration, with some going over the margin. I do have a couple more questions actually, if you don't mind hehe first one is, in your experience, when you work on a novel, is it better to separate the chapters file or make it in one big file? i figured that in indesign we can seperate the parts even in one file, but was contemplating on which way works better. second one is more about the size of the novel, do you think A5 size would work okay for illustrated novels? last one is more of a general question, i was wondering based on your experience, whats the most common mistake that begginers do or should avoid in terms of layouting an illustrated novel? sorry if im asking too much question, once again thank you so much for replying and giving me insights, they really do help me a lot!❤

@@uma7970 Q1. first one is, in your experience, when you work on a novel, is it better to separate the chapters file or make it in one big file? i figured that in indesign we can seperate the parts even in one file, but was contemplating on which way works better. A1. You want to use one file. Do NOT use the "book" feature in InDesign for simple, one-designer files. Q2. second one is more about the size of the novel, do you think A5 size would work okay for illustrated novels? A2. Look up other books in the genre that you are working in and choose a size that fits in with your genre. Q3. last one is more of a general question, i was wondering based on your experience, whats the most common mistake that begginers do or should avoid in terms of layouting an illustrated novel? A3. The most common mistake that beginners make regardless of the style of the book is 1) assuming it's easy, 2) not properly using styles, 3), not having the text and images set to flow naturally, which goes back to knowing how to properly use styles.

@@MelindaMartin i see! thank you very much😊😊

The title of the video is "How to Create and Export a Book Cover in Adobe InDesign." It is not "How to Transport an Image." I'm not even sure what you mean by that. Transport means to carry. Do you mean how to export an image? Or how to import (place) an image? Export means to send out or in this case, generate a final file type, whether that is JPG, PDF, PNG, etc. Import means to bring in. Let me know if I can help clarify further.

I do not believe the original artist did a full storyboard. This was a triage project for me (a repair), so I wasn't involved until it was near the end.

Thank you! The more I learn, the more I want to share. And there is SO MUCH to share! If you don't already know about layer comps in photoshop and how that segways into use with InDesign, I highly recommend finding a video on that because I'm not sure when making that video on my own will be an option.

Thank you for the kind words! I still have to do a video that incorporates how to use the bleed settings that are available in InDesign. Too much work to do videos right now. Not a bad thing!

Knowledge comes with a price and on this video, the price you pay for my knowledge is that I am not a robot. I invite you to join me in acknowledging our humanity <3

@@MelindaMartin I agree! Thank you so much