Getting started

The three places you will use most#

BeYourCover organizes the normal author workflow around three screens:

1. Generator — start a new book project and create its first cover concepts.
2. Dashboard — your bookshelf: every generated book and every cover uploaded through the External Cover Studio.
3. Cover workspace — open one book, review every version in the grid, make more with the Cover Expert panel, edit a cover, and export finished assets.

You must be signed in to generate or manage covers. If you open a protected page while signed out, BeYourCover sends you to the sign-in page and then returns you to your work.

If BeYourCover asks you to sign in again right after you signed in, check your computer's clock. A date, time or time zone that is far off ends the session at once. BeYourCover shows a yellow banner at the top of the page when it sees this. Set the date and time to automatic, reload the page and sign in again.

The Dashboard bookshelf#

The Dashboard presents your library as a bookshelf. The header band greets you with your current totals (books, covers generated, and when your last cover was made), shows your remaining generations and downloads on Pro and Enterprise, and offers the two main actions: Generate covers for a new book and the External Cover Studio — with the refer-a-friend strip just beneath them.

• Each book stands on the shelf as its newest favorited cover — or its latest cover if you haven't favorited any. Select a cover to open that book's cover workspace.
• Without a paid purchase or an Enterprise seat, the shelf shows each cover as a low-resolution preview with our watermark, the same image the cover workspace shows. Any purchase unlocks the full-resolution covers.
• Pills above the shelf switch between My Books, Series, External Covers (when you have External Cover Studio access or uploads), Premade Covers (after you buy a premade cover) and Launch Kits (when you have a Launch Kit or can buy one). Selecting an external cover reopens its studio.
• Use the search box to find any book by title or author across your whole library — even when it spans multiple pages — and the sort menu to order it by recently updated, title, or most covers. Sorting applies to the books currently on screen.
• If your shelf is nearly empty, dashed placeholder slots invite you to start the next book — the first slot starts a new book, just like the main generate action.

Hide a book or an uploaded cover#

Point at any shelf item and select the eye icon in its top-right corner to take it off the shelf. On a phone the icon is always visible. Hiding works on every shelf: My Books, Series, External Covers, and Premade Covers.

A hidden item is not deleted. Its covers, credits, and exports are untouched, and it stays out of the shelf counts and out of the search box until you bring it back.

• Select Show hidden above the shelf to see hidden items. They appear dimmed, with a Hidden badge.
• Select the eye icon again on a hidden item to put it back on the shelf.

An uploaded cover is one book, so hiding it on External Covers also takes it out of any series it belongs to. On a shared enterprise shelf you can hide only the books you created; a teammate's book shows no eye icon.

Hiding a whole book is different from hiding a single cover inside a book. Use this one to tidy the shelf; use the other to shorten a comparison set while you review one book's covers.

What is a book project?#

A book project stores the information and covers for one title. It also stores AI-extracted creative parameters such as tone, setting, tropes, characters, metaphors, and recommended templates.

Create a new project when you are working on a genuinely different book. If you only want to try a new title, subtitle, summary, prompt, or visual direction for the same book, reopen the existing project.

Do not create an identical duplicate project. BeYourCover may block books with exactly the same title, author, genre, summary, and subtitle.

Understand the counters#

The cover workspace can show two separate balances:

Pro and Enterprise include unlimited high-resolution downloads. Downloading an approved cover again does not consume generation credits. Generation credits are still used when BeYourCover must create a new asset, such as an audiobook version, visual edit, wrap background, or marketing resource.

Pro users use generation credits across all books. Basic purchases can be tied to a particular book and can include a limited number of high-resolution downloads. Enterprise teams use the shared generation-credit balance attached to their subscription, with unlimited high-resolution downloads.

The interface shows the cost before credit-consuming actions. For a full per-action breakdown, see what each action costs. If a balance is too low, select the credit counter in the workspace header to buy more (on a phone, Buy more credits in the More menu), or ask your enterprise workspace owner. On a free account, the counter reads Free plan · N credits and is not a button: upgrade through the Pro offers instead.

Feature availability#

The interface marks unavailable tools with a Pro badge or opens an upgrade screen when you select them.

Plans and allowances can change. Treat the pricing page and the counters shown in your account as the source of truth.

Your first visit#

When your first covers are ready, the cover workspace shows them in the grid with the Cover Expert open beside them. Ask what to change, or pick one of the suggested openings.

On a free account, the first visit also lays out a full print wrap of your cover, marked Example. You can switch which version sits on the front, and select Edit back cover to change its back text in the wrap editor. Downloading the wrap needs Pro: with Pro, you choose the trim size, page count, paper, front and back, and download the print file.

Recommended end-to-end workflow#

1. Create a project in the Generator.
2. Review the first concepts in the cover workspace.
3. Favorite promising covers and hide weak directions.
4. Generate close variations with More like this, or ask the Cover Expert for new directions.
5. Improve the artwork or typography.
6. Export an eBook cover, audiobook square, marketing assets, or a full print wrap.
7. Proof every final file against the latest requirements of your publishing platform or printer.

Mobile and desktop controls#

The same core actions are available on mobile and desktop, but their location changes:

• On desktop, each cover card shows Chat about this cover, a download icon, and a More menu. The Cover Expert panel sits to the right of the grid.
• On mobile, tap a cover to open its sheet with Chat about this cover, Download, and More. The New cover button opens the Cover Expert full screen.
• Book details and cover parameters appear under Edit book details on desktop and Edit on mobile.
• Download and format tools appear in each cover's More menu.

Where to get help#

Use the Help menu in the cover workspace to open this guide or report an issue. Include the affected page URL and explain which book, cover, or export you were using. For a direct conversation, open the live chat bubble in the bottom corner of the page, or use the contact page.