cover confusion

[buddhanature28]

Hi,

I was very pleased recently to publish my first novel but am a little confused with what to do about the cover. The original image is slightly higher than it is wide but the design lends itself better to a more square shape. I uploaded it to smashwords with the dimensions of 2200 x 2400. The cover was accepted and the book has been accepted into the premium catalog which I am delighted with. However when I view the book as an epub in ibooks the image does not cover the page (I am viewing with a mini ipad) and in fact covers maybe the top two thirds but has white space all around it wit a third of the page as white at the bottom. When I view it in my kindle app after downloading the .mobi file it is only the size of a postage stamp on the same mini ipad. 

I am wondering as each store has different recommended heights and ratios how smashwords converts for each. And is there anything I can do to make the cover image cover the entire page so it is viewed that way on both kindle devices and ipads? 

I did do one version of the cover to test it at home at 1800 x 2400 but it looks too stretched. It might be passable if that was the only way to get full cover on these devices. 


Any help at all would be much appreciated. 

Kind regards, 
Heather 

[Ria Stone]

Heather:

I am not very technical but it sounds like the image you choose does not work for the size you need. You may want to consider creating a larger version of the image not the book cover itself.

[buddhanature28]

Hi Canary Press 

Thanks for the response. However the image itself should be large enough (its well above the recommended dimensions in the style guide and its at 300 dpi. I just think maybe the ratio doesn't work. I also think the way epub and mobi files are generated are different and I was wondering if anyone knows how to get one good cover size that works for all since you only submit one to smashwords? Thanks! 

[Julie Harris]

1600 x 2400 px works with all retailers

[Ted]

For faster loading of cover drop the DPI to between 76-96 DPI. The human eye won't notice any difference on a digital screen. 300 dpi for a digital work is overkill and just bloats the file size which can result in slower loading.

300 DPI is okay for printed covers, although 600 dpi might be an option. Your printer web site or representative will advise you of their requirements.

[buddhanature28]

Hi Julie, Thanks for taking the time to reply! That's extremely helpful. Much appreciated. Also thanks Ted. Also extremely good to know!

Many thanks!