Premade and Custom Cover Designers

I have compiled an extensive list of providers. There isn't room in this post to list them all.

Pino Daeni http://pino-artist.com/

There are more individual providers on social media groups like Facebook and Deviant Art.  Feel free to nominate others in the comments section.

Whether dealing with custom or fill-in premade cover designers, keep in mind that they are not your employee. You are paying for a specific service. Do not expect them to make endless revisions free of charge. Know what you want and communicate your desires clearly and it will save you a lot of hassle. They may not be able to offer you an editable file due to font and image license restrictions.

 The most expensive option is professional cover artists. Like the above example, artists like Pino Daeni were hired to create paintings that were utilized for book covers. Painters have largely been replaced with digital artists using stock images and photomanipulation . However, if you visit sites like Deviant Art, you will find many talented painters, and digital artists, willing to design covers or offer their art for the purpose. A few are even free of charge. It is important to understand licensing and rights of stock images. We will cover those in a future post.

Note: prices were as of October 2018 and are subject to change.

1. Beetiful Book Covers offers premade and custom cover designs in the $100 to $150.00 range. The artist Stefanie uses photomanipulation. http://beetifulbookcovers.com/

2. The Book Cover Designer offers over 10,000 premade covers in most genres with a price range of $50 to $150.  The company is based in England. All book covers are exclusive and will only be sold once on a first-come first-served basis. 
https://thebookcoverdesigner.com 

3. Book Cover Zone offers premade and custom book covers in the $70-$90 range. Their designers have designed book covers for over 5,000 published books in a span of over 20 years. Once you choose the cover, it is deleted from their catalog so no one else will have it. License Duration: Perpetual. Regions of Use: Worldwide. Digital Use (websites, mobile apps, software, ebooks, etc.): Unlimited. Print Runs (in books/magazines, on posters, etc.): Up to 500,000. Out-of-home Advertising (tradeshow/conference signage, billboards, subway ads, etc.): Up to 500,000 gross impressions (views, not viewers).
https://bookcoverzone.com/

4. Cover Art Collective offers premade book covers starting at $30.
http://www.coverartcollective.com/

5. Creative Paramita offers premade ($100-$300 starting range) and custom book covers ($450+ starting range). Does not provide editable designs. http://www.creativeparamita.com

6. CP Book Cover Designs offers different styles and price range covers by Consuelo Parra. https://www.facebook.com/C.PBookCoverdesigns/

7. The Cover Collection is based in the UK. They offer premade and custom designed covers for multiple genres using stock photos.  You will own sole rights to the cover. http://www.thecovercollection.com/

8. Cover Mint is based in the UK and offers premade covers using stock images starting at $69. Custom covers start at $200. They offer both e-book and full covers. Images are 300 dpi. They will remove the cover from sale after you purchase it. 
https://www.covermint.design/

9. Cover Quill draws from stock images and will not provide an editable file. Rights to the cover belong to you, but they reserve the right to show it in their portfolios and for promotion.  http://www.coverquill.com/

10. Fantasy Book Design offers premade and custom covers starting at $100. The artist uses Shutterstock images. You can purchase your own stock images for her to use. Purchased images follow Shutterstock's standard license. Changes and revisions are extra.
https://fantasybookdesign.com/

11. Go On Write uses fully licensed stock images. They supply the final files at high resolutions to use on Amazon Kindle. Order the cover and supply your title, name, etc. They send a couple of proofs to choose from.  Prices start at $50. They will design the spine and back for an extra charge.
https://www.goonwrite.com/

12. Kingwood Creations is based in Europe and offers premade ($100+ range) and custom book covers. They use stock photography and issue a standard license. Once you purchase the design, they remove it from sale. Images are 3200 x 2000 pixels.
http://www.kingwoodcreations.com/

13. Melchelle Designs offers premade and custom covers by a range of artists. Covers are only sold once. They rely on stock images.
https://melchelledesigns.com/premade-ebook-covers/

14. Methyss takes your specifications then you pay for the package you want:  $170 for ebook book cover, $270 for print plus ebook cover, $350 for their premium package which includes: Print cover, ebook, Facebook image. Additional services are available for price quotes.  https://www.methyss

15. Paper and Sage produces premade and custom covers ($100 to 300 to start).  Premade covers are exclusive but they rely on stock images. They can produce series covers as the books are readied for publishing. They charge for all changes and revisions.
https://paperandsage.com/

16. Premade Book Covers is located in Europe and produces premade cover designs using stock images in the $70+ range.  Revisions and changes are extra.  Premade covers are removed from sale after you purchase them. You receive a standard license for use.
http://www.premade-bookcovers.com/

17. Robin Ludwig Designs is based in Palm Coast Florida. They offer premade and custom cover designs. They are a full time book cover, advertising, and printing company. Designs start at the $70 - 100 range. They use royalty-free stock photography and are licensed for unlimited, commercial use unless specifically noted.
https://www.gobookcoverdesign.com

18. Rocking Book Covers offers premade and custom designed covers. Premade covers start at $60.00 and are only sold once. Full covers start at $110. Multiple genres are offered. 
http://www.rockingbookcovers.com/premade-covers/

19. Self Pub Book Covers offers over 30,000 professionally curated book covers by designers from around the world. New covers are added daily.
https://www.selfpubbookcovers.com/

20. Seven Feathers from Alberta, Canada offers custom covers and artwork. All covers are original and will not be sold again. Prices include up to 2 minor changes. No charge for our original stock photos. Price may include resizing. eBook covers start at $199.00 CAD.
http://www.sevenfeathersstudio.com/ 

21. Vivid Covers  offers premade ($15 - $45) and custom covers. https://www.vividcovers.com/custom-covers/

22. Elena Dudina is a custom cover designer from Spain who also offers images you can utilize to make your own covers. Her gallery features both photo-manipulation and illustrations. For pricing contact her at: elenadudina72@gmail.com and view her gallery at https://www.elenadudina.com/

23. King's Custom Covers is a custom cover designer and book formats. The gallery includes illustration as well as photomanipulation. For pricing contact them on the website. 
https://www.kingscustomcovers.com/

There are two other sources with unique options worth mentioning. 

99 Designs is a site where you supply your specifications and notes. Designers submit their work and you choose the design and service level. All come with a 100% money back guarantee and full copyright ownership. $299 for Bronze: 30 concepts. $499 for Silver: 60 concepts. $799 for Gold:  90 concepts, mid and top level designers only. $1199 for Platinum: 60 concepts, top level designers only, dedicated manager, prioritized support.
https://99designs.com/book-cover-design

Fivrr is a marketplace for many tasks from simple Photoshop assistance to full cover designs. You post your project and people bid for the job. Prices and competency vary widely. But if you need an image cropped from a background or an image integrated into a background, you can pay for just those services as opposed to full cover design. https://www.fiverr.com/

Book Cover Gallery on Facebook has a lot of talented covers and design artists to choose from. Premade and customized covers. Various price ranges. 

Always read the fine print. Know what you are paying for. Be a good citizen. Know what you want. Designers are not mind readers and cannot spend months trying to please you. Do your research. Know what type of cover sells best in your genre. Wildly different covers may fall flat. Do not be afraid to change your cover (or book description) if the first one is not gaining traction.

Next week, we look at creating your own covers.