Publisher - Book Cover

[Joy Boy]

Does Publisher allow you to create book covers for print?

[MikeTO]

Yes, you can create any type of document for print in Publisher.

[Joy Boy]

Are there any tutorials on this and what publishing companies this would work for?

[sfriedberg]

@Joy BoyThe place to start is with your chosen publishing company's requirements for the cover.  The precise dimensions will obviously depend on the book size (including page count), so you might get an updated cover requirement after submitting the manuscript.  You will also need to know the ICC color profile the publisher expects, and whether you need to provide art for one side or two sides.

When you have that information, you can set up a document in Publisher or Designer with the required dimensions, color model and ICC profile.  It is simplest if the publisher gives you a one-rectangle layout that encompasses the entire cover.  If the cover is actually a dust jacket, that would include the folds over the boards.  It is much messier in the Publisher to attempt to work with a front/spine/back or frontfold/front/spine/back/backfold layout, although you can do that fairly easily in Designer using artboards for the three (or five) portions of the layout.

So, you are going through the process backward.  The place to start is with the publishing companies you're interested in.  Do not watch some random Youtube tutorial and then try to figure out which publishers those instructions will apply to.  Get specifications/requirements from the publisher, then set up a matching document in Publisher or Designer.  Export your document in exactly the format the publisher calls for.  If they want a particular PDF revision level, export with that option.  If they want all text converted curves, make sure you export it that way.  Etc.

[Joy Boy]

Ok, thanks! I'll look into this more.