Book Covers: Premade or Custom?

The first thing most readers see is your cover. A seductive cover can draw a reader in, even if they aren't a fan of your particular genre. Poor design affects sales. Unless you are talented with Photoshop or other photograph manipulation programs, you should have someone else design it for you.

Mythikas Island Series

Luckily, the popularity of independent and self-publishing platforms has resulted in a wealth of premade and custom book cover services. Many are easily affordable (under $100). It is important to research the company to make sure it isn't a scam.

1. Rights: You also need to know if you will have exclusive rights to the cover and the specifics of their licensing agreement for the artwork. For example, a standard license will cover a certain amount of books, say 500,000. Perhaps you can use the image for promotion and giveaways but not for promotional items that are sold. You might need an extended license from the creator of the stock image.

2. Exclusivity: Is your cover design exclusive? Most creators use stock images. If so, you may see the same image on another cover. I have seen the same stock images on traditionally published books near each other in a Barnes & Noble store. Most artists manipulate the stock images to make them unique "enough," but find out if they sell the exact same cover design to other people. Many artists will remove the cover from sale after you have purchased it.

3. Image Quality: They all use Photoshop or the like. The quality of PS manipulation matters. Poor image manipulation makes a bad impression as does poor font selection and placement. We will cover fonts in a future post. Format and Pixel size matter: the higher the resolution, the better the image quality.  Poor quality 100 x 300 pixel images will blur when enlarged. Optimal file size should be closer to 1600 pixels wide x 2400 pixels high for the front cover.

The colors that you see on the screen may be slightly different. CMYK ink cannot replicate RGB screen colors perfectly.

4. File Type: Do you want the final file in JPEG or PDF format? A PDF is easily saved as a JPG and vice versa if you have the right software.  File size is another issue when you go to upload it.

Here is an article with specifications for the major platforms: https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2011/10/e-book-cover-file-size-specifications/

Here is an article on the best compression tools:
https://www.creativebloq.com/design/image-compression-tools-1132865

5. Revisions: Can you make changes to fonts, titles, etc.? Most premade cover providers will add your name and title/subtitle as part of the cost. Changes in fonts, colors, sizes, etc. will cost more. Some companies charge more for changes. Some companies only offer the front cover. Others offer the full front, spine, and back cover. They charge more for the spine and back cover. They may offer you the finished product but not an editable version. If you change your mind about the title or want to tweak the cover, make sure they offer a file you can change in PSD or PNG format. Most custom designers will not offer a PSD file due to image and font licensing issues.

Make sure you read the cover designer's Frequently Asked Questions, details about rights and exclusivity, services and costs, and turn-around time. If you have questions that aren't covered on their website, or you have an unusual request, make sure the site has an easy way to contact them.

You may get a discount for multiple covers purchased at the same time. If you have a trilogy in mind, it is best to have the same designer work on all three. The covers should be thematically related in some way. It helps with the sales. Some designers offer multiple book cover packages for a series.

Next week, I will present an extensive list of premade and custom book designers.