Creating a 525 page paperback book

I've tried uploading the image file again, and have also tried uploading a different image file. Same thing happens. The issue seems to be that if one first tries one of the four Lulu templates and then changes ones mind and uploads ones own image, Lulu's software seems unable to flush out the original template properly.

Or perhaps I am doing something wrong. I'll raise a ticket with Lulu support.

Re: my previous posts regarding the cover-design wizard, I now realise where I was going wrong. When I got to the "Design Your Cover" section, I chose one of Lulu's four templates but didn't like any of them (see step 2 screenshot in my earlier post). So, having decided instead to upload my own image  (step 3 in same screenshot), I was assuming I was now going to create my own cover. I didn't realise I was still in Lulu's "template land" - although at the time, I did wonder why it was asking me to upload a jpg file rather than a pdf. Duh!

So, for now, out of the four, I have chosen Lulu's "Front cover image" template. Apart from the ugly (and seemingly pointless) black rectangle at the bottom of the cover, it's the nearest to what I want.

BTW, of Lulu's four templates, what is the point of the one called "Spine Image"? All it does is move the uploaded jpg image from the front of the cover to the spine (leaving the front blank)?

Although I will probably have to design my own cover from scratch, I thought you might like to see how a Lulu template-one turned out. Here is a snip from the resultant cover PDF I downloaded.




Of the four templates available, three were ghastly. The one I used was "Front cover image". Having selected it, I uploaded an image of a Church and used Lulu's text fields to fill in the metadata (Book title, sub-title, author and text for the back cover). There are two immediate problems. The text is white and there is no obviously separate spine. The white text on the back is tolerable as the wizard allows one to select a dark background colour. But, on the front, the white book title and sub-title are barely discernible. And why no spine? How can one read the title of the book when it's on a book-shelf?

I'd be interested if anyone else has tried using any of the four Lulu templates.

To answer the above questions:

Yes, the image is a bit pasty. I just chose something at random for the test. It’s an old postcard from 1909.

As far as I can see, the wizard only allows a single jpg to be uploaded. So, if you select the “Spine image” template, the image is positioned on the spine. One cannot then edit the front cover. One is just stuck with the selected background colour.

I cannot see any text editing facilities. One enters the text in dead fields, rather like a website’s contact form.

I too hate the bar at the bottom of the cover, but there is no way of getting rid of it.

If anyone reading this has a half-hour to spare, all you need to do is start a new project, upload any old interior pdf and then move on to the cover-design wizard. You upload a cover image, select your template and select your background colour (singular). The colours are mostly horrible.

I thought you'd like to see two of the other book-cover templates (using the same Church picture and text as above). The screen-shots below also show the full horror of the background colours available.

Firstly the "Two-colour with image" template (I chose the red background this time):



Then the "Centred title" template (with a different colour):



No grumbling at the back please! They've at least got spines, unlike the first template.