Strong Happy Family: Unexpected Advice from an Ivy League Mom of Ten needs an amazing book cover!

Strong Happy Family

I blog and write books for families.
stronghappyfamily.wordpress.com

A cover for my new bookStrong Happy Family:Unexpected Advice from an Ivy League Mom of Ten

6x9, 114 pages

I'm looking for a clean, engaging cover that includes one of the attached photos of my family on the front, and one of the photos of me on the back. I'd like the title of the book to be easily read in a thumbnail. My blog stronghappyfamily.wordpress.com might give you a flavor for the book. (The book cover you see there is just a placeholder.) The book is NOT a zany mad-cap adventure of a hapless mother. It's more strong, thoughtful encouragement for moms. But it's not stern.

Here is the copy for the back cover:

What people have said about Donna Baer:

Joe Biden: “You are a brave woman.”*Larry King: “You’ve made me so happy.”*John F. Kennedy, Jr.: “Can you give me a ride?”*George Steinbrenner: “Thanks for the beer.”*John Malkovich: “That is a beautiful baby.”*Ray Romano: “Can I have my picture taken with you?”*Dr. James Dobson: “I appreciated your warm words. You are a special lady and I enjoyed meeting you in Colorado Springs…I hope you sell a million copies.”**See page 4 for the backstories!

What people have said of Donna Baer’s books:

“She writes about parenting the same way she approaches parenting:  in a cheerful, practical style, with surprising tips on everything from assigning chores to dealing with ADHD.”     David L. Marcus, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of What It Takes to Pull Me Through: Why Teenagers Get in Trouble, and How Four of Them Got Out.

“After reading Donna’s book, I wish I could start raising my own family all over again.”Margaret Nyman, author of Hope for an Aching Heart

“Read it, learn from it and recommend it to your friends.”Dr. Erwin W. LutzerSenior Pastor, The Moody Church, Chicago, regarding the author's previous title

stronghappyfamily.wordpress.com

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Here are the publisher's specs for the cover:

How to Create a Cover PDF for your BookCalculate the spine width of your book<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">The spine width is based on the number of pages in your book:

For black and white-interior books:<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">White paper: multiply page count by 0.002252Cream paper: multiply page count by 0.0025

<p style="line-height: 1.2em; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 12px;">Example of spine width calculation for a 60-page black and white book printed on white paper: 60 x 0.002252 = 0.135"

For color-interior books:<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Multiply page count by 0.002347

<p style="line-height: 1.2em; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 12px;">Example of spine width calculation for a 60-page color book: 60 x 0.002347 = 0.141"

Set up your document<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Your cover must be a single PDF that includes the back cover, spine, and front cover as one image.

<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">You can submit your cover on any size page as long as the printable area is:

Measured exactly to your book's trim size, spine width, and .125" bleedCentered horizontally and vertically<p style="margin-top: 20px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Minimum Cover Width: Bleed + Back Cover Trim Size + Spine Width + Front Cover Trim Size + Bleed

<p style="line-height: 1.2em; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 12px;">Example calculation at 6" x 9" cover with 60 B&W pages on white paper: 0.125" + 6" + 0.135" + 6" + .125" = 12.385"

<p style="margin-top: 20px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Minimum Cover Height: Bleed + Book Height Trim Size + Bleed

<p style="line-height: 1.2em; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-bottom: 12px;">Example calculation: 6" x 9": 0.125" + 9" + .125" = 9.25"

Get a head start with one of our cover templates:<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Our templates make it easier for you to quickly create print-ready files in Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe InDesign®, or any software that will allow you to open a .png or PDF file and save a PDF file. These templates contain the proper dimensions, layout, and bleed for the trim size and page count you select.

Download Cover TemplatesDesign your cover

Safe Zone<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Text and images must be at least .125" inside the trim lines to ensure that no live elements are cut during the bookmaking process.

Title and Author Name<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Your book's title and the author's name must appear on the cover exactly as it was entered during the title setup process.

Images<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Images may be CMYK or RGB color. All images should be sized at 100%, flattened to one layer and placed in your document at a minimum resolution of 300 DPI.

The spine of your book<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Every book will vary slightly when bound. Allow for 0.0625" variance on either side of the fold lines for your cover. For example, if your spine width is 1", your text should be no wider than 0.875". Because of this variance, avoid hard edges or lines that end on the fold line.

<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">For books with 130 pages or less, we strongly recommend a blank spine. Blank spines are required for books with less than 101 pages.

Barcode<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">When your files go through the review process, our system will place your ISBN barcode in a 2" by 1.2" white box in the lower right-hand corner of your book's back cover. Our standard trim size templates will show you exact barcode placement.

<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">Images or text in the barcode location will be covered when the book is printed. Make sure no important elements appear where the barcode will be placed.

<p style="line-height: 18px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal;">If you choose to provide and place your own barcode, be sure it is a high-resolution image.

Prepare for PrintingThe printable area of your document must be the right size, including bleed.Make sure the printable area is centered within your document.Make sure all live elements are inside the safe zone.Export your file as a print-ready PDF. Be sure fonts are embedded.The maximum accepted file size for your book cover is 40 MB.Download the CreateSpace Submission Specification in one document.

I am not a designer, so I REALLY appreciate the creativity and talent of people who are! Thank you for looking at this project-- I hope you have fun with it. Please let me know if I can explain anything better.

I have made the contest BLIND, so create away!