Indie and Self-Published Author Support discussion

This folder includes helpful topics on the subject of book covers for indie authors. If you have a complete cover and are looking for feedback, fee free to post it here. If you know of a worthwhile cover creation service or have used an artist in the past, feel free to make suggestions. Be kind. Be helpful and courteous. The cover of a book is its first impression. For an indie author, think of it like a photo of their newborn.

Steven Novak, novakillustration.com, has done all my covers (14) - he is also affordable.

The Book Khaleesi
http://www.thebookkhaleesi.com/2016/0...

Hi I am new to the group- thought you might like a piece I did from my experience in design now applied to my book illustrations! http://www.designovation.co.uk/blog/p...

I have used the services of Creative Digital Studios - http://www.creativedigitalstudios.com... - for

In my opinion, they do wonderful work, yet may be out of the price range for newer authors. In addition to covers, they do business logos. They also have editing services - a family business.

I have more recently used Go On Write: https://goonwrite.com/ - They have premade cover art available. They also do custom work. They often have sales, so if you join their newsletter you'll get a heads up on them.

Here's one of the premade covers he did for me:



Once you pay for your covers, they are unavailable for others to get. When you are ready to put a title and what not, you simply contact him with the information. It is all explained in the How It Works section.

NewAppleLiterary.com does offer very affordable cover solutions for those not familiar with design software or reluctant to try to do it on their own. Usually between $75-$150 for a complete print cover or $50 - $75 for digital cover.

HOWEVER... we first suggest new authors attempt to work on it on their own. There are several stock photography companies that offer affordable background images that you can secure the rights to. Usually simply overlaying copy onto a suitable stock photo is an effective way to begin, especially for an e-book. https://www.123rf.com/ is a great place to start for a professional high quality image to use at an affordable price.

Another option... if you are attempting your own cover, why not create a thread here where you can post your working cover designs to gain feedback before publishing? I'll get right on that.

New Apple Literary Services wrote: "NewAppleLiterary.com does offer very affordable cover solutions for those not familiar with design software or reluctant to try to do it on their own. Usually between $75-$150 for a complete print cover ..."

Print cover for a paperback only or does that include a dustcover for a hardcover book (front, back and two flaps)? This would be for Ingram Spark. Thanks

I make my own covers but can give suggestions if programs/ sites I find useful ^-^

Programs: I use Photoshop CC for my designs. In the past I’ve used Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS2. Our of these I particularly recommend CS2 - it’s free to download and isn’t very different from the two more recent versions. There’s also GIMP which is a free design program - I don’t know much about it but the people I know who’ve used it rate it highly. The issue with this one is that it takes up heaps of storage space/ RAM.

Sites: Shutterstock’s always a good one to go for if you have the funds. If not the next best I’ve found is Pikwizard.com - with this site the stocks are free, however you have to ensure they have a CC0 label (free for commercial use) and I suggest reverse searching them in google to make doubly sure they’re definitely free for commercial use.

Fonts: I recommend creativemarket.com for paid fonts, especially fantasy/ sci-fi. However if you’re short of cash (like me!) dafont is good, along with some preinstalled fonts on your computer. However again make sure they’re viable for commercial use c:

Designers: thebookcoverdesigner.com is great for cheap premade covers, and they take the issue of copyright very seriously - screening all the premade before they’re made available to purchase. An alternative to this is custom covers. I’m a little biased because I know a lot of designers on Wattpad but some members there are just starting up commercial cover design for more than affordable prices - often these people are better than officially ‘professional’ designers. Not sure what it’s like for other sites but start-off designers tend to be eager and raring to go with design. The downside to this is that I’d recommend looking over the copyright side yourself and asking the designer where they get their stocks, fonts, programs from etc - you might get the occasional person who doesn’t fully understand the meaning of copyright :)

Hope this helps!

My wife and I did our own designs for most of the books we published, although we used artists we knew for a couple of them, and a couple of our authors worked with artist friends to create their covers.

For my reissue of my Howard County Mysteries and probably for a few forthcoming titles, I'm going through 99Designs.com, where you can create proposals and get quotes from one or more artists. You can collaborate with your chosen artist on the site and pay them when the work is completed. Cost will vary by artist and project, but for my first two covers I paid $350 and got excellent results. You can pay less if you design your own cover or a lot more if you higher "in demand" designers, but I think that was a good price given the importance of a book's cover.

I refuse to pay alot of money for a cover Design. So I used create space pre made cover Design for my first book.. I'm debating on my second book though what to do....

I didn't have much to spend on my first self-published book, Preternatural, so I used a graphic arts student at a local college. The cover came out fairly well, but there was a lot of problems with meeting certain deadlines, formatting the cover, dealing with her mother who constantly interfered, etc. The whole process was unnecessarily exhausting. I am paying a little more, but decided to use a professional artist from The Cadence Group for book 2 . Bethany and her team are amazing! Their prices are very reasonable and they'll work with you to customize everything based on your needs and budget. I highly recommend.

I used artist Hector Acosta for my Children's Books : "Last Night, When I Prayed" & "Helpers: A Rescue Mission." Hector does animation and graphic design and anime sketches. He created the cover and illustrations for each of my books.

You can view his work on Instagram: @hector_acosta.art

For the designs for my Fiction novel, "The Characters Within", I hired Artist Heather Worley. She designs inspirational and meaningful pieces.

To view her artwork on Instagram: @heatherworleyart

Both these artists were great to work with, very professional and did not overcharge for their sketches. I would highly recommend!

If you want to get Your book cover designed for 25 dollars, ebook, paperback and hardcover included set to any trim size, You can order and get get two mock up covers with changes included. https://www.fiverr.com/s/rRa8ly

I've used Bookbrush.com - wonderful site. I paid for one year and it's come in very handy. The customer service is phenomenal and they have various covers, A+ content templates, and other social media templates to choose. Happy to answer questions.

"Hi, a ghostwriter who helps authors, entrepreneurs, and creatives bring their stories and ideas to life. From books and blogs to editing and polishing drafts, I love turning thoughts into words that connect with readers. If you ever needs help with writing, editing, or just bringing a project to completion, I’d be glad to support you.