Happy summer, lovelies. (Well, nearly autumn now, which means we're entering the best freaking months of the year. Woohoo!) Welcome to the 2018 Summer Edition Wattpad Block Party! Miraculously, asked me to participate this year for the first time and I couldn't be more excited to get into this.

I've pondered a bit what I'd write for you guys. I considered teasing the new book series that I will be releasing soon after Tangled in Strings is completed. But I don't have nearly enough information to make it worth your while yet. I've recently been blessed enough to be embarking on my own publishing journey, but I don't think I know nearly enough to tell you guys what I think you should do to get your own stories published, other than the usual push-past-the-never-ending-rejections spiel.

Instead, I've decided to write a quick post on how I make my covers on Wattpad. Your choice to boo and laugh now. I've had quite a few people over the years ask me how it's done, what sites I use, etc. So, I'm going to tell you!

First of all, here is a compilation of some of the Wattpad covers I've made over the years:

My newest ones to date are clearly better, due to the fact that I found some amazing apps that work literal magic! Magic, I tell you!

So, let's get started:

1) First thing I do when I'm preparing to begin the cover making process is I plot out my main character(s). Jot down the important physical appearances- hair color, eye color, skin tone, hair length and have it by you when you are prepared to begin searching for your picture.

2) Finding the perfect picture is HELL. At least for me it is, because I'm a crazy perfectionist when it comes to covers. On Wattpad, it's great if you have the money to purchase your own stock photo but it's really not required. So, I either go to Pinterest, Tumblr or simply Google to find mine since I'm a broke college student who really can't afford it. Type in what you'd like to see on your cover. Since I write steamy romance, I usually prefer couples. I type in things from sexy couples to kissing to more specific searches, like dark-haired business couple. In short, it takes a LONG time.

Tip: Take your time sorting through the pictures. A good cover is so important to entrance readers to read your content. If you have a half-fast picture with difficult text, it's going to be hard to get people to take a chance on what you have to offer. It usually takes me days and many, many hours to find the perfect picture. It will be worth it, I promise you.

3) Once you've found your choice of photo, it's time to create the cover! Yay! Now, here is where this post becomes somewhat important.

These are the apps I use to create my covers (and mind you, I use them all throughout the process):

~ Okay, guys. This is THE most important app I have for covers. It's completely free, but to get the deluxe package which I have, I paid something like $2.99. It is worth it. With the deluxe package, you get more filters, texts, and templates. It's really easy to navigate through and the filters are stunning.

After you've saved your picture to your camera roll, you just merge your library to MOLDIV and you're in. Select the picture and begin going through filters to see what you'd like. Make sure you're focusing as well on the aesthetic of your story. If it's going to be dark, go for darker filters.

On this app, there is an option to use Double Exposure, which gives you the ability to merge two photos together. I've done this before with a few stories. My best example is ICON, which is pictured above. I merged an image of New York City with a picture of a couple and tweaked it a bit until it looked as real as possible. It was such a cool find. I'd really recommend it for fantasy or fanfiction stories. It just adds a little unique touch.

After you've finished your picture, you want to finish the cover with text. I usually also choose my text from MOLDIV's collection. Depending on the picture you've chosen, your type of text should match. So, if it's historical or fantasy, you might want a more unique choice of text, such as cursive or CINZELDECORATIVE. For a contemporary story or general fiction, you might want a bold, more straight-forward pop-out kind of text, like Didot or Times New Roman in Bold Italic. Again, take your time testing out your title and name, make sure you love the font.

Lastly, placement. Make sure you can see the font where you place it on the picture! Cannot stress this enough. The reader wants to be able to read the words clearly. I usually make the title very large compared to my name because that's what the reader really wants to see. If you have a slogan or short blurb for the cover, make sure it's readable and placed in a place that can be seen. In my experience, I've found that covers that have a little tease to what the story is about on the front cover seem to catch my attention more than ones that just have the title.

~ This is also an app I use quite a bit on my phone when MOLDIV isn't setting the right tone for my cover or -and this is really cool- when I want to use a template with a cool font pattern already in poster form. Yes, this app literally does the work for you. Most of the templates are free, but not all of them, FYI. But I have the free version and LOVE it. The templates come in sizes as well, customized for Instagram, Twitter, Banners, Posters, Kindle, Facebook. I use the Kindle template for covers because it fits perfectly into Wattpad's cover requirement but the others are very good for teasers and announcements you want to make for your stories on social media. This app is definitely a must for cover design. It's free, you can't go wrong!

Work and edit your cover until you are completely satisfied. The pleasure of being really proud of your work is a wonderful feeling and will delay the constant tick to continually want to replace them on the site.

Remember: what you put out is what you attract, lovelies!

Romantic, Stubborn, Introvert.

Virgo.

Hike the Scottish Highlands. Have one really great love, whether it's the forever kind or not. Sing on a stage again.

Superman. No contest.

Close-mindedness. Nothing good can come from it. I think that if we all dug a little deeper, the world would be much better place.

When I'm crying laughing, I snort. And no, it's not cute.

Walt Disney... or Frank Sinatra. I'd make him croon to me the whole evening.

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return." Moulin Rouge

Mango and sticky coconut rice.

Currently obsessed with The Handmaid's Tale. Always obsessed with Outlander.

I don't think anything can beat Titanic for me. Rocky is a close second.

Jamie Fraser, King of Men. But Mr. Darcy is right up there, as well.

MCM: Sam Heughan. WCW: Dakota Johnson.

Barbra Streisand.

"My Heart Will Go On" Celine Dion, Titanic

I published my first chapter to 'And Then It Happened' in 2014. It's no easy feat, believing in your own work. With me, it's a constant push and pull. One day, I'll be able to appreciate my writing and other days, I want to press delete and start all over again. In the end, it all comes down to your belief, and your willingness to improve and make it work.

Outlander.

Jane Austen.

"We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to feel nothing so as not to feel anything—what a waste!" Call Me By Your Name

Writer-to-writer, my amazing friend once said a few years ago, "Write what you want, how you want it and when you want it." It's always important to listen to your readers but in the end, this is your novel. Your beloved characters. And your vision. Write for you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Much love. xx

Alicia