Collect the final cover assets
Obtain high-resolution front cover art
Get the final front cover as a high-resolution file, plus a web-sized version, and store them where you can find them for the life of the book.
Authors often hire help with this: design or production.
Why it matters
A blurry cover in a newspaper or on an award page is a small, visible sign that the book was not prepared with care. Having the right file ready also means you never delay a journalist or event organizer who is working on a deadline. It is one of the few production assets the author needs in hand for years.
Your part
- What you do
- Ask. Someone else normally owns it. Get an answer, then record it.
- Who normally owns it
- Publisher and Author. Publisher provides; author stores
- When
- About six months before publication, as soon as the cover is final (Collect the final cover assets: twelve to six months before publication, as soon as the cover is approved)
Your part changes with your publishing route.
How to do it
The full walkthrough
You will be asked for the cover image constantly: by review outlets, event organizers, podcasters, award entries, your own website, and social media. Each wants a slightly different size, and none of them can use the low-resolution thumbnail you saved from a retail page. What you need is the final front cover as a print-quality file (typically 300 dots per inch at full trim size, as a JPEG or TIFF, and ideally the PDF as well) and a web-sized version around 1600 pixels on the long side.
Ask for the files once the cover is final, and ask what uses are permitted; most publishers are happy for you to use the front cover for promotion, and some restrict the full jacket. Whether the files come from a publisher's production team, a hybrid package, or your own designer, check that you have received the final version rather than a proof, that the print-ready front cover is separate from the full wraparound, and that a web version is included. Keep the source files if your contract or designer agreement entitles you to them.
Name the files with the title and version date, store them in at least two places, and note their location in the Book Identity Sheet.
Common mistakes
- Saving the cover from a retail page and using it in print.
- Keeping an early proof after the final cover changed a color or a blurb.
- Storing the only copy on one laptop.
- Not asking about permitted uses and then hearing from the designer's lawyer.
What done looks like
- The final front cover at print resolution (300 dots per inch at trim size) in JPEG or TIFF, and the PDF if available.
- A web-sized version around 1600 pixels on the long side, and a small thumbnail.
- Files named with the title, format, and version date, stored in at least two places.
- A note of any restrictions on use, and of who to ask for other sizes or formats.
- The files replaced if the cover is ever revised.
Ask your publisher
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Sources and last checked
- Official source
- No single official page for this step.
- Last checked
- Not checked against its source yet.
- How confident we are
- Verified