Paradox Book Covers & Formatting | 11 November 2026
For indie authors and cover designers
Beyond Stock Photography:
Twelve places to find cover art, the creative freedom of AI, and the publishing rules every indie author should know.
Paradox Book Covers & Formatting | 11 November 2026
One of the things I love most about designing book covers is helping authors bring the picture in their heads to life. Sometimes that picture begins with a beautiful stock photograph. Sometimes it needs a combination of several images. And sometimes the scene the author imagines simply does not exist in any stock library.
That is why I use a mixture of traditional design techniques and AI tools. I am not interested in making every book look alike. I want the characters, setting, mood and little details to feel right for that particular story — without asking an indie author to spend thousands on bespoke artwork.
There is a place for traditional stock photography, professional illustrators and AI-assisted design. What matters is choosing the approach that suits the book, the budget and the author, then being transparent about how the artwork was made.
The beauty — and the limits — of stock photography
Stock-image libraries are wonderful resources. They let designers license professional photographs, illustrations and backgrounds without commissioning each image from scratch. I have used stock images for years, and they can make gorgeous, effective covers.
But there is an obvious catch: the same images are available to other authors and designers. Unless you have a genuinely exclusive agreement, someone else can license that same photograph. You could find the perfect couple for a romance, only to spot them on another romance cover months later.
Even when an image has the right feeling, the details may be wrong. Perhaps the dress is the wrong colour, the characters are standing in the wrong position, or the weather and landscape do not match the scene in the novel. A skilled designer can do a tremendous amount with stock photography, and that work can take hours too. But not every visual problem can be solved using the photographs already available.
Why Adobe Stock is my personal choice
Of all the stock-image services available, Adobe Stock is the one I choose to use in my own cover-design work. It has an enormous range of professional photography and illustrations, and I find it particularly useful for the sorts of covers I create for indie authors.
I have a paid Adobe Stock account, which gives me discounted pricing for licensed artwork. When an author chooses an Adobe Stock image for a cover I am designing, I include that image's licensing cost as part of my cover-design service; I do not charge the author an additional Adobe artwork fee. The licence still has conditions, of course, and it is important to check that an image is suitable for its intended use.
I do not have paid accounts with the other stock libraries listed below. They are worth exploring, but any licensing costs for artwork sourced from those other sites need to be considered separately.
Why I also love AI as a design tool
AI gives me another way of working when stock photographs cannot provide exactly what a story needs. An author might want a particular style of house, a different hairstyle, an unusual sky, a specific arrangement of characters, or a very particular atmosphere. Instead of accepting the closest available photograph, I can work towards those details in a more flexible way.
That does not mean I type a sentence and accept whatever appears on the screen. I can spend hours refining an image, correcting elements, experimenting with light and colour, adjusting the composition, removing distractions and bringing the artwork together with appropriate typography. The finished cover still needs to work as a small thumbnail, fit its genre and communicate the promise of the story.
My goal is to keep refining the design until it looks exactly how the author wants it.
For me, one of the great advantages is the opportunity to make artwork more individual than a widely reused stock photo, without automatically incurring the hundreds or thousands of dollars that fully commissioned custom illustration can cost.
There is one important qualification: AI cannot guarantee absolute uniqueness or exclusivity. Another designer could independently create something similar; AI outputs can resemble existing work; and the legal protection available for AI-generated images varies by country and by the extent of human authorship. What I can aim for is a distinctive, custom-directed cover, carefully developed for the particular author and book — not a promise that nobody in the world could ever produce anything similar.
And I completely respect authors who prefer not to use generative AI at all. That is their choice to make, and I believe designers should discuss it with them before creating their covers.
12 places to find artwork for book covers
Whether you are an author searching for inspiration or a designer gathering possible source images, these websites are a useful starting point. They have different pricing, licensing and content rules, so always check the specific asset you intend to use.
Large stock-image libraries
- Adobe Stock — My preferred library for professional photographs, illustrations, backgrounds and other cover elements.
- Shutterstock — An extensive collection of photography, illustrations and design assets.
- iStock — Photographs and illustrations, including people, places and lifestyle imagery.
- Depositphotos — A broad catalogue of commercial photos and illustrations.
- Dreamstime — Stock photography and illustrations across many genres and themes.
- Alamy — Particularly handy for specialised subjects, places and documentary-style images; check the licence type.
- Creative Market — Illustrations, fonts, textures, templates and other design resources; terms differ by seller and product.
- 123RF — General-purpose photographs, illustrations and creative assets.
Specialist publishing image libraries
- Trevillion Images — A specialist collection made with book publishing and cover storytelling in mind.
- Arcangel Images — Atmospheric, story-driven imagery created for publishing and commercial creative use.
Free-image resources
- Pexels — Free photographs, subject to the applicable licence and restrictions.
- Pixabay — Free photographs, illustrations and graphics, subject to its content licence.
A licensing reminder: Royalty-free does not mean copyright-free, and a paid stock licence usually does not give exclusive ownership of the image. Check restrictions on book covers, print runs, resale, models, logos, property, editorial-only content and any use in promotional graphics. Adobe's own licensing FAQ expressly lists book covers as a permitted creative use for eligible non-editorial assets and says standard stock licences are not exclusive.
An important tip: stock websites also sell AI images
Many stock libraries now offer AI-generated illustrations and photographs alongside traditional work. Finding an image on a familiar stock site does not automatically mean it was captured by a camera or drawn by a human artist.
If you want non-AI artwork, use the website's filtering and labelling options. Adobe Stock has a Generative AI search filter that can exclude AI images. Check the information attached to the particular asset as well, because filters and labels are not a guarantee about every image's provenance.
One more distinction matters: Adobe's rules for labelling content submitted to Adobe Stock are not the same as a retailer's rules about declaring AI use on a finished book cover. Publishing platforms have their own definitions, which brings us to the next section.
What do the major publishing platforms allow?
There is no single worldwide rule about AI-created cover art. Amazon, Draft2Digital, IngramSpark and other publishers or distributors have different disclosure requirements and different approaches to fully generated content. These are the key published AI, originality and cover-content rules relevant to indie authors as of 11 November 2026 — not a replacement for each service's complete terms.
1. Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)
Amazon allows both AI-assisted and AI-generated material, including cover images, but requires you to declare AI-generated text, images and translations when publishing or editing and republishing a book.
AI-assisted: You created the original content and used AI to edit, refine, check or improve it; or you used AI for ideas and created the actual final image yourself. Amazon says this does not need AI disclosure.
AI-generated: An AI tool created the actual content or visual element. It remains AI-generated even after extensive human editing. An AI-created character, background or other artwork incorporated into a largely human-assembled cover therefore still counts as AI-generated content to disclose.
Practical takeaway: It is not the number of hours you spent refining the design that decides its KDP category; it is whether AI actually generated an element of the finished content. You must also make sure you have the necessary rights and that the content meets KDP's quality rules.
Official: Amazon KDP Content Guidelines
2. Draft2Digital (D2D)
Draft2Digital says it supports AI-assisted content, but does not accept content generated entirely by AI or large language models without extensive human editing. Its wider rules also reject infringing material, low-quality work, deceptive metadata, and mass-produced automated submissions.
The public guidelines do not describe the same detailed book-cover AI disclosure categories that Amazon uses. That is not a free pass to mislabel content: authors must comply with D2D's requirements and those of the retailers receiving the book. Check any questions presented during upload and ask D2D support if an unusual cover workflow needs clarification.
Official: Draft2Digital Content Guidelines | D2D FAQ
3. IngramSpark / Lightning Source
Ingram's published guidelines deserve particular attention. They identify automated and AI-generated content among the types of material that may be rejected, but they also set out specific acceptable AI uses.
Their acceptable examples include AI used only in an assistive way; content or images where the majority of the work comes from human creativity and contribution; and work using generative AI that has significant, material human editorial review and contribution with proper attribution.
They identify as unacceptable works created solely using generative AI, and work that violates copyright or intellectual property law. They also state that proper attribution of creation must accompany works, and they warn that some distribution channels may decline titles even where Ingram accepts them.
Practical takeaway: Do not assume that simply spending hours prompting and editing will automatically satisfy Ingram's human-contribution and attribution requirements. Keep records of your design process and ask IngramSpark to clarify any uncertain submission before uploading a book.
Official: Ingram / Lightning Source Content Guidelines | IngramSpark Print Cover File Requirements
4. Barnes & Noble Press
B&N Press asks publishers during its Build-a-Book process whether generative AI was used anywhere in the project — including the cover, artwork, interior images, manuscript or translations.
If AI was used, it asks whether the work was AI-Assisted or AI-Created. Its definitions mirror the important principle that content generated by AI remains AI-Created even if a human edits it afterwards. AI-assisted content is content you created and then used AI to edit or expand. It also requires the work to meet its content and intellectual-property policies.
Official: B&N Press — Use of Generative AI in Your Project
5. Apple Books
Apple's published formatting and content guidelines say that when a material portion of the book's content is AI-generated rather than created by a human author or illustrator, it must be labelled using the “AI Generated by” artist role and the AI-generated creation method must be declared in the description.
Apple expressly includes the production of cover images for a book composed by a human author or illustrator among its examples of AI-assisted activity that does not require disclosure. So Apple's published approach to cover-image production is not identical to Amazon's. Read the current wording carefully if you publish directly to Apple Books or through an aggregator.
Official: Apple Books Formatting and Content Guidelines | Apple Book and Cover Preparation
6. Kobo Writing Life
Kobo's published content rules focus on genuine human effort, quality and original reader value. They say they may remove automated content that lacks meaningful human contribution or quality control, and they prohibit misleading covers and metadata and material for which the publisher lacks rights.
I did not find an official Kobo Writing Life cover-specific AI checkbox or a KDP-style generated-versus-assisted disclosure definition in the current public resources reviewed. That is not a claim that Kobo has no additional requirements; it means authors should follow the current upload workflow and consult Kobo directly if they need a definitive answer for a particular design.
Official: Kobo Writing Life — What Content Is Not Allowed? | Kobo Writing Life FAQ
7. Google Play Books
Google Play Books' official publisher policies prohibit misleading or deceptive covers and metadata, poor-quality or spam-like books, and infringement of others' rights. Publishers must provide readable files and valid cover images.
I did not find a separate Google Play Books policy in the official sources reviewed that defines an Amazon-style AI cover disclosure category. Do not confuse Google Play Books with Google Play's separate rules for apps that generate AI content; they are different services.
Official: Google Play Books Publisher Content Policies | Google Play Books File and Cover Requirements
8. Lulu
Lulu's AI content policy prohibits using automation or AI to flood its service with low-quality, repetitive or misleading books. Authors using AI are responsible for complying with copyright, intellectual-property and consumer-protection laws. Lulu may take action against accounts that misuse automated tools or breach those rules.
Its published distribution guidance does not set out the same cover-image disclosure options as KDP or B&N Press. Authors should still check the current Lulu workflow and any retail partners' additional requirements.
Official: Lulu Print Distribution and AI Content Policy | Lulu Ebook Distribution Policy
A few real-world cover-design examples
Example A: A licensed photograph assembled manually. You license a traditional photograph from Adobe Stock, cut out the subject in Photoshop or Canva using conventional tools, and manually place it over another licensed photograph. This process does not become AI-generated simply because you used digital design software. You still need suitable licences.
Example B: AI helps with corrections. You begin with human-created artwork and use an AI-powered tool only to edit or refine it. Depending on what the tool actually does, Amazon may regard the result as AI-assisted, which does not require AI disclosure.
Example C: AI creates a new character or background. You prompt a generative model to create a new character, building or scene and then spend hours incorporating that element into a cover. Under Amazon's rules, that generated element still requires disclosure, even after extensive editing. B&N Press would likewise ask for an AI-Created declaration.
Example D: AI helps with an idea. You brainstorm possible layouts with AI, but personally produce the actual final artwork without including AI-created image content. Amazon's definition treats the brainstorming as AI-assisted, not AI-generated.
There can be grey areas, especially with newer tools that both edit pixels and generate new visual content. When uncertain, read the specific platform policy or ask support rather than relying on the name of the software.
Don't forget the practical cover-file rules
AI disclosure is only one part of preparing a professional cover. Your art still needs to meet each platform's technical requirements.
- Amazon KDP print: Build to the correct trim size, spine width, bleed and barcode area; use sharp images at the recommended print resolution. KDP cover guidance.
- Draft2Digital ebook: Its FAQ recommends a portrait JPEG around 1600 × 2400 pixels and requires the title and author name on the cover; it can also generate a print wrap or accept a custom one. D2D FAQ.
- IngramSpark print: Use the custom cover template, a separate print-ready cover PDF, CMYK, 300 ppi and the required bleed and barcode space. Different hardcover styles can require different wrapping allowances. IngramSpark print specs.
- Apple Books ebook: Apple specifies a JPEG or PNG cover in RGB with at least 1400 pixels on its shortest side. Apple cover preparation.
- Google Play Books: The official book-file guide gives supported image formats and a minimum cover resolution of 640 pixels, with a maximum height and width of 7200 pixels. Google file requirements.
Always download the current print template for the exact edition you are making. An ebook's front-cover image and a paperback's full wrap are not the same file.
What I think every author and designer should discuss first
Before a cover is commissioned, there are a few questions worth answering together:
- Do you want only traditional photographs or illustrations, or are AI-generated elements acceptable?
- Where will the cover artwork come from, and which commercial licences are needed?
- Do you need exclusive commissioned artwork, or would a distinctive non-exclusive design suit your budget?
- Which platforms will you publish through, and what must you declare to each?
- Who will keep the licences, proof of rights and notes about how the final artwork was created?
Those conversations protect the author, help the designer do their best work, and prevent surprises at the upload stage. An author who doesn't want AI in the artwork should be able to say so from the beginning. An author who likes AI's possibilities should know that it comes with disclosure and rights considerations, too.
My final thoughts
I will always enjoy working with beautiful stock photography, and Adobe Stock remains my favourite source for that side of my design work. I also enjoy what AI makes possible when a stock image cannot capture the exact vision behind a story.
For me, AI is a tool — not a substitute for creative direction or the care that goes into designing a cover. I like being able to make the elements work together just the way an author imagines, and to create something personal and distinctive without the price of a fully commissioned illustration.
There is room for both approaches. There is room for talented illustrators, photographers, digital artists and designers who use newer tools. Most importantly, there is room for authors to decide what feels right for their books.
The best book cover is the one that tells the right story, catches a reader's eye and makes its author proud.
Paradox Book Covers & Formatting
Helping indie authors bring their stories to life through book-cover design and formatting.
Policy and licensing information reviewed 11 November 2026. Rules can change, and requirements may differ between distributors and individual retailers. This is publishing guidance, not legal advice; check the linked official policies and your image licences before uploading.
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