Ever seen those 3D e-Book covers and wonder how people created them? Some develop them from scratch in programs like PhotoShop, Illustrator or Paint Shop Pro.
Others seek out sites that offer online e-book cover generators. (Although, most of them come out looking like crap because the online design options are severely limited and the image quality is often very low.)
Finally, there are people like me who buy e-book graphic templates and go from there. I can make my way around PhotoShop pretty well, but not enough to create a presentable, 3D e-book cover.
So about two years ago I bought some PhotoShop Actions from VirtualCoverGenerator.com.
Well, I just happened to pop over to this site the other day and discovered the author is now offering these PhotoShop Actions for free!
Darn, if I had only waited a couple of years. 
What are Actions?
PhotoShop Actions are similar to macros for Excel. They are pre-recorded actions that you can load into the program to complete multi-step tasks. And trust me. If you are not PhotoShop savvy, creating an e-book cover would definitely land in the “multi-step task” category.
In other words, VirtualCoverGenerator.com has done all the work. All you do is load the Action file in PhotoShop (sort of like a template), add a title, image, etc. to your book, click “Step 2″ and your e-book cover will be generated in seconds.
Pretty cool, eh?
You’ll be able to customize your e-book cover any way you want by adding your own custom colors, fonts, text, images, etc.
There are also Actions for a CD cover, newsletter, and a software box. So if you offer any of these items from your site or blog, you can use these Actions to create a digital cover or box.
It took me all of 60 seconds to whip out that software box you see on the left. All I did was open the appropriate Action, add my text, customize the colors and let the Action go to work for me.
I cropped the image down a bit, saved it as a JPG and published it to the Internet.
“So What’s the Catch?”
You know the drill. There’s always a catch with free, right? Well this is certainly no exception.
Of course you need PhotoShop (version 6 or higher). Second, you have to provide Fairuz (the owner) your name, email (so he can send you additional offers, no doubt) and agree to his terms and conditions. Then you’ll be presented with an offer or two (which you can graciously decline if you wish).
Finally, you’ll need to create a password to the site’s members area. Once you’ve done that you’ll be taken to a page to download the Actions (zip file).
Whew! Yes, it’s a bit of work, but a small price to pay if you need a high-quality e-book cover.
“This is Useless Info to Me”
You may be reading this now thinking, That’s great, Lisa but I don’t have any e-Books that I offer from my site or blog.
Well, my response to that would be…
Why not?
e-books can be amazing, viral marketing machines for you. You can create a useful, free guide that is relevant to your niche, provide links back to your site/blog in the book, embed affiliate links and offer it as a free download.
Before you know it, friends will email your book to their friends. Webmasters and Bloggers will recommend it from their sites. The possibilities are endless. And the more useful your product is, the larger the circulation potential.
Pretty soon you’ll be able to sit back and watch the viral magic happen!
I’ve been offering e-books (the PDF variety) from my sites for nearly 5 years and when I check my stats, at least one of my books has generated a commission for some product almost everyday. There’s nothing like doing the work once and getting paid for it over and over and over again.
Of course, you can also sell your digital product. You don’t necessarily have to give it away for free. Thanks to PayPal and other online payment sites, collecting funds from digital good sales is more convenient than ever.
So what are you waiting for? Get those juices flowing and get started on your e-book? Then dart on over to VirtualCoverGenerator.com and scoop up those Actions before Fairuz decides to sell them again. 
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you, thank you! I am getting ready to publish an ebook and this will come in handy. I need to learn how to use photoshop though. What software do you recommend for ebook creation?
Hi Thomas,
I use Adobe Acrobat Professional. PDF’s are the best format because you can secure them and people with Macs and PCs can read them.
Follow on Twitter: @nkolika
Wonderful info!!!! Is photoshop free?
Hi nkoli,
No unfortunately it’s not. It usually runs around $500. Although if you search around you may be able to get a good deal.
Thank you!
You can get full downloads of photo shop 6 and 7 at:
http://www.4shared.com
No cost – free downloads
I think, as a graphic designer, the best way to create an ebook is using either Adobe InDesign or QuarkExpress software.
Is there away to make ebook covers without using photoshop?
I’m not looking to become a graphic artist or photoshop user, so why make the $500 investment.
Is there a free resource online (without downloading software to my computer).
apeterson,
Do a google search for “free ebook cover generator” or something like that and you will find some free generators. As I said in my blog post though, they often look kinda cheesy and cheap. Most high-quality book covers are generated in either Illustrator, Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro.
Thank you thats good information.i need more ways of making money in the internet
Photoshop is quite bit expensive, but its worth it with the quality. I am use a Photoshop for many year for my works and my clients.
Photoshop is expensive, and the Action Scripts used to make the ebook covers cost more money, too.
The ‘freebie’ programs on the internet make covers, but they don’t look that great. And a bad image will hurt sales more than simply not having one.
You can use GIMP. GIMP is free image editing software that is as powerful as Photoshop. It can be a bit overwhelming because it’s such a big product, but you can make really beautiful covers with it. There’s a tutorial at:
http://www.makeebookcovers.com
It teaches you exactly how to use GIMP to make beautiful images. The cool thing is that once you master the technique, there are a ton of PSD (photoshop) templates available for free on the internet that GIMP can open.
This is great, I have been reading your blog and there is some wonderfull things to learn. I now have a fair idea how to create an ebook cover.
Lisa- I dunno know how I keep finding your site, but you’re a wealth of information, Lady. Plus, I think you’re kinda cute too. Thanks for the info.
When my book is finished (LetHerCheat) I’ll send you a copy.
Will
Hi, I was looking for software to do this and your recommendation was fantastic. I have downloaded it and made my own book cover piccie already – thank you.
Caroline Manning x
Did a Google search for free ebook cover generators and found your website with this post. THANK YOU!!! from the bottom of my heart. You have a new fan!
CJ
CJ’s last blog post..On Line Advertising – Zero Cost Is Always Great
Really nice post!…
Keep up the great work!
I also have a free ebook cover action script that you can find here: http://www.absolutecovers.com/blog/page/8/
Ovi Dogar
AbsoluteCovers.com
Great article! We offer a huge collection of eCover photoshop actions over at http://www.digitalmediacovers.com. Come check us out.
Follow on Twitter: @anitacharlot
Hi Lisa,
What a wealth of information and quite an active blog…with even MORE information. Thank you!