Book Cover Resources
Hello Dear Reader!
Today I want to talk about book covers.
Like it or not, we all judge books by their cover. I have certainly been guilty of this. I’ve purchased books just because I thought the cover was cool. I’ve also not bothered to pick them up to even read the blurb on the back if the cover didn’t grab my attention. I’m sorry, but that’s just how things go.
If you are a writer, you are likely going to be spending months or even years working on your book. If you are trad publishing, you likely don’t have much control over your cover. But if you are self publishing, it’s up to you to either create your cover or find a good cover artist.
I’ve spent some time on the interwebz and social media the last few days looking at some indie author book covers. I won’t name any names, but some of them are pretty cringeworthy.
Authors… this is so important! You want to give your book the best chance it can have once you send it out into the world. You spent (presumably) a lot of hard work and effort to write and edit your book and make the best possible story you could. You need to put the same effort into your cover. Don’t let a bad cover hold your book back. You may disagree, but if you put $0.00 worth of effort into your cover, expect $0.00 in return.
“But Tiffani…” I hear you say, “I live with four roommates and I work two jobs and I eat ramen every night for dinner. I can’t afford to hire a fancy professional artist to do my cover. Artists are really expensive and they don’t seem to want to work for free/exposure.”
I hear you. I’ve been there. I’ve rented rooms in people’s basements and worked three jobs to get by. It’s not fun. And yes, hiring an artist can be expensive. Artists deserve to get paid. You want to get paid for your book, don’t you? Personally, I don’t believe anyone should be asked to work for free or for exposure. I think it’s rude and unprofessional. But that’s another topic for another post.
That being said, don’t despair. It’s not hopeless.
I’ve compiled a list of resources that you may find helpful depending on your level of tech savvy and artistic ability as well as budgetary constraints. (I’m not sponsored by or affiliated with any of these resources.)
FREE
Canva - You can make a free account on Canva and create a cover from a template or from scratch.
GIMP - If you’re a little more artistic and willing to put in some time, you can make a cover in Gimp. Gimp is a freeware version of Adobe Photoshop and does not cost anything to use. You can find tutorials on Youtube.
Pexels - There are websites like Pexels which feature free stock photography. It is better to use a website that specifically states that photos are royalty free to use for personal and commercial use. You don’t want to get into legal trouble by just using some photo from a google search that turns out to be copyrighted. Here is another list of websites that have free stock photos.
Now, I’m not saying you have to be an all-in-one designer and author. But if you want something done for free, chances are you’re going to have to put in the sweat-equity and do it yourself. If this feels too overwhelming and you’re willing to save up a little bit, it can be worth it just to have someone else do it for you.
Low Cost
Fiverr - Fiverr can be a great place to find someone to do some work at an affordable price. Artists usually offer several different tiers to meet a variety of budgetary needs. Be sure to check their ratings and look at their portfolios, because the quality can range pretty drastically. I just did a quick search and found packages ranging from $10, up to several hundred. I’ve had some great luck with artists on Fiverr and some less than favorable outcomes as well. Be sure to specify whether you want the artist to use AI or not. At this time, it is my personal recommendation that you not allow images made with AI simply because there is no way to really guarantee commercial rights or copyright with an AI generated image. (Which is one reason why I will not be recommending you generate your cover with AI in this post.) I used Fiverr artists for the covers of my novellas. :)
Ko-Fi - Similar to Fiverr, Ko-fi is another website that lets you hire freelance artists for work. Ko-fi can be a little harder to find what you need, but there are some great options here as well, prices range widely.
You could go directly to an organization or publishing consultant that specialize in book covers such as BookBaby or My Word Publishing*. I have never used BookBaby, but they say their packages start at $399, which might be manageable for most people, even if you have to save for a bit for it. Full disclosure, I did utilize a My Word Publishing coach to help me through the actual self-publication process, but I did not utilize any of their book cover services or recommendations, so I can’t speak to their pricing or resources. But just know that these types of services are out there if you have a little bit of extra money to spend.
I would say most of these options listed above are going to run from a couple dollars up to probably $500. It just kind of depends on how much you want to budget for and what your timeline is. I saved up for a long time to be able to afford cover artists I liked because it was important to me. It might not be as important to you, but having a well designed cover will only benefit your book in the long run and is (in my opinion) worth the investment.
Now. Let’s say you’re not renting a closet in someone’s basement eating ramen on the regular. Let’s say you’re a little more financially stable and have a bit of disposable income and might be looking for something even more professional for your book.
The High End
Reach out to an artist directly. This is what I did for the cover for A Songbird’s Tale. I spent some time on websites like ArtStation and found some artists who had styles that I really liked and felt were appropriate for the vibe of my story. Because I went this route, Dustin also went this route. He found an artist he liked, and reached out to get a quote.
Some things to keep in mind with this strategy: not every artist will respond to your inquiry, not every artist will have availability, and some artists may be out of your price range or just more than you want to pay. Some artists will have a waiting list, so keep this in mind when timing your inquiry. I had to wait six months for my cover artist to become available. Phil’s cover artist is currently engaged in other projects, which has delayed Phil’s cover from being done for a while now.
The other thing to know is that most often times an artist will do the cover art… but they will not do the lettering for you. This means they will do the picture, but the title, author, back blurb, all those things are usually done by a separate person, which is an additional fee. In my case, I did my own lettering, as well as the lettering for Dustin’s cover. I have a bit of a experience with graphic design, so this is something I was comfortable with doing and had the software to do.
Hire a professional graphic designer or book cover designer - similar to Fiverr or Ko-fi, but some artists specialize in this entirely and can be very pricey. However, the old adage “you get what you pay for” exists for a reason. I feel like the current trend is covers with mostly text and less character art, so finding someone who specializes in lettering may be the way you want to go. I follow Aurelie Maron on Instagram and if you like text based covers, I think her portfolio is pretty fantastic. (I have no idea what her price range is.)
Going the high end route will likely cost you upwards $1000.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, there are tons and tons of resources out there, just ask Google, they’ll tell you.
In summary:
Free resources are easiest on the wallet, but you’re going to have to put in a lot more time and effort to make something look nice and/or to learn the software. Luckily if you’ve got the determination, there is pretty much nothing you can’t learn from YouTube, so if you put in the effort to teach yourself, you can certainly make a great cover on your own. You also have full control up to the limit of your artistic ability with this option.
Low Cost resources can be easy on the wallet, although not as easy as free. I have found they can be a toss up in terms of quality as well. It can take some time to find a good freelancer in your price range, and the project may or may not turn out exactly how you want.
High End resources are going to be the Rolls Royce choice and can definitely cost quite a bit. These artists will likely devote specific time to your project and work with you to understand your needs. Not saying that lower cost resources won’t do that, but high end artists and designers may have a wealth of experience and knowledge that some of the lower end artists don’t have and just can’t compete with. In some ways, the extra amount that you’re paying a professional is money that you’re paying to free you up to work on other things, like writing or marketing or whatever else you need to do.
Even if you can’t afford this, you can still make a great book cover with free or low cost resources, it’ll just cost you in time rather than cash monies. (Again, worth the investment in my opinion, be it time or money.)
In the end I did a hybrid option of some high end resources, some low cost resources, and some DIY/Free resources based on my skillset, my vision, and my budget. I generally paid for artwork and did all the lettering and layout on my own. Pick what works for you, but make sure you give your book cover the love and attention it deserves. Spend some time looking at covers you like and planning how you can create your own cover using the resources that best fit your budget.
Till next time dear reader, try not to judge a book by it’s cover. But if you do, do your best to judge it kindly. <3 Tiff
