Choosing Illustrations, Graphics, or Images for Your Book

When choosing illustrations, graphics, or images for your book cover—or in your book’s interior, for that matter—you must ensure you have the legal right to use them.

Choosing Illustrations, Graphics, or Images for Your Book

There are three ways you can do this:

  • one, you can use illustrations, graphics, or images that you have personally created and therefore own the copyright to;
  • two, you can purchase the right to use artwork created by someone else;
  • or three, you can find public domain stock photos that are deemed as “free for commercial use” from whatever design-template program you are using, or from websites such as Pixabay.com, as I did for this blog post.

Actually, I use Pixabay graphics for most of my blog posts. I always seem to be able to find what I’m looking for there.

Choosing Illustrations, Graphics, or Images for Your Book

It is crucial to respect another artist’s copyright. If you don’t—if you just pull any image file you find off the Internet and use that for your book without first confirming you have the right to use it—you may find yourself involved in an expensive copyright infringement lawsuit down the road. This isn’t only about protecting the rights of other artists; it’s also about protecting yourself. So, do a little research before you use any images for your books. Pixabay is one of many websites containing free stock photos. You can find even more resources here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/1257937-avoid-copyright-infringement-use-tool-find-free-stock-photos-your-display-ads.html.

You might consider syndicating this content on your own blog. If you do, make sure to attribute the original source so neither of us gets dinged on the SEO front. You can do that by including this line at the bottom of the article: This content first appeared on the PPG Publisher’s Blog and has been republished here with permission.
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