Independent Authors!
Picture this: You’ve finished your magnum opus, and now you need an eye-catching, yet classy, classic book cover to wow the casual consumer and drive sales.
We all know that “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” but you can sure as hell be attracted to a book by its cover. So what can you do, if you are not also an artist with desktop publishing expertise?
Sure, you could go to one of those websites that has a rack of generic book covers that some yobbo slapped together from public domain images. You could shell out seventy bucks minimum for one of those, and make your book indistinguishable from pretty much everything else on Smashwords.
OR, you could pay me for a unique, handcrafted (dare I say, artisanal,) book cover that uses your input as a guideline.
My prices start at sixty bucks (and go up according to complexity)… but just look at the sort of work I do:
(Character design in book three by Yezi Baba, from an original work.)
And these are just the front covers, suitable for ebooks. For a nominal additional fee (starting at $10 US) and your full cover template from Amazon™ I’ll do the back and spine as well:
Please note: you will have to provide your own author photo. If you want a classy, painted author portrait, that is a separate commission.
How it Works:
First you check to see if I’ve got commission slots open. Then you let me know what sort of a cover you want. (What sort of image you have in mind, whether you need a printable version, that sort of thing.)
I’ll do some quick rough sketches because like hell am I doing good work for free, and quote you the prices and estimated timeframes for each. You pick the one you like, make a 40% down payment, and I do it for real.
You will need to provide author name, title, subheadings, and (if necessary) back-cover copy. If you want the cover image to portray a character from the book, I’ll need the description.
Once the cover is done, I will post the finished work as a password-protected product that only you will have the link for, so nobody else can see it, with the price set at the remaining 60%.
Note:
Frankly, I reserve the right to refuse service for any reason, or no reason at all if I’m having that kind of day. I am also under no obligation to share said reasons or lack thereof. I have a sense of humor and a low opinion of community standards, but there are some lines even I will not cross, if only for legal reasons. I have the right to deny any request that violates my delicate sensibilities. I will also deny any request that openly violates a copyright. (“If you have to ask, the answer is probably no.”) But hey, you’re a swell person who wouldn’t dream of asking for anything like that, right?
Pricing:
As stated above, the base price is $60 US. That gets you a simple image with all necessary typography.
An equally simple print version (single color or wrap a front-cover background around the book, with text blocks) is only an additional $10 US. ($70 US total.) If you spring for the print version, you will also receive a cropped, lower-resolution copy of the front cover for use on your ebooks at no extra charge.
Prices increase from there on a sliding scale depending on complexity, number of figures, extra figures peeking out on the back cover, etc.
(For example, the Steep Dangerhill print cover pictured above would cost $148.50 US: it has a
- simple cover ($60),
- simple one-color wraparound ($10)
- and an additional, but simplified comic-book style figure on the back ($30).
For a subtotal of $100.
The classy painted author image is a separate commission, for an additional $65, (simple bust with some fantasy elements).
Together, that’s a subtotal of $165, minus a 10% discount for ordering the cover and author image at the same time, for a grand total of $148.50. (That’s $59.40 up front, $89.10 at completion.)
So what are you waiting for? Let’s work together to get your book noticed.