Who does your book covers? I get asked that question a lot. With the ever-increasing influx of independent publishing opportunities, producing a high-quality, affordable, and professional book cover is a must.
Book cover design is an art unto itself, and one that is integral to any author’s marketing efforts. Unless you happen to be an expert in design and marketing (in addition to being an awesome author, of course!), your book cover probably isn’t something you’re going to want to relegate to DIY.
But it can be tough to find a design partner who understands your needs as an independent author, is responsible enough to meet your deadlines, and produces gorgeous work–all at a price affordable to the often shoestring budget of emerging authors.
That’s why I’m always ecstatic when people ask me who does my covers. Because I love spreading the word about my designers Damonza and Ebook Launch.
My Professional Book Cover Designers of Choice
I started using the company when Structuring Your Novel came out—and then I immediately had them redo my (ahem, DIY) cover for Outlining Your Novel, so the two books would be visually branded together. Since then, Damonza has also done the covers for most of my books.
As if the fact that the covers are gorgeous wasn’t enough, Outlining Your Novel, Structuring Your Novel, and Behold the Dawn have all earned Gold Star Cover Design awards from Joel Friedlander of The Book Designer.
Damonza is extremely easy to work with, offers lightning-fast turnaround times, and is exceptionally well-priced for the services they offer. I recommend them without reservation.
Dreamlander (Amazon affiliate link)
Recently, I had the pleasure of working with Ebook Launch on a new cover for my portal fantasy Dreamlander. The process was smooth and enjoyable. Ebook Launch’s attention to detail and commitment to creating stunning book covers have made them a popular choice among authors. Their portfolio speaks for itself, showcasing a wide variety of designs tailored to different genres and styles.
Both Damonza and Ebook Launch are reliable, professional, and dedicated to helping authors create captivating book covers that will attract readers.
Grab Your 5% Off Damonza’s Fabulous Design Services
So why am I telling you about my great love for Damonza and Ebook Launch?
Because I’m pleased to have recently become an affiliate for both Damonza and Ebook Launch. Damonza has given me the opportunity to provide my Wordplayers with a 5% discount if you click-through to Damonza on any link on my site and use the code HWBA5. Similarly, I will share any Ebook Launch discounts or promotions as they become available.
I am very particular about the products I choose to advertise on this site or affiliate myself with. I’m only comfortable doing so with products and companies I have personally used and to which I can give a full-on five-star recommendation. Damonza and Ebook Launch totally earn it.
If you’re in the market for a professional book cover, you can’t go wrong with either Damonza or Ebook Launch!
Wordplayers, tell me your opinion! What would you like your professional book cover to look like? Tell me in the comments!
Tips on Hiring and Working with a Book Cover Designer (And New Cover Reveal for Dreamlander!)
The Making of a Full-Cast Audio Book: Interview With Wayfarer Producer Kenny Sargent
15 Steps to Self-Publish Your Book
The Professional Writing Resources I Use for All Parts of the Writing and Publishing Processes
About K.M. Weiland | @KMWeiland
Thanks for this post. I might (I hope) be in the market for a book cover at some point.
Great! I hope you’ll share it when it’s finished. I love book covers. 🙂
Thank you for the referral. I actually plan to just post my stories on my website, with the future option of indie publishing. However, I’d still like to have a cover created. I’m interested in the process you went through with them. How much did it cost for your Behold the Dawn cover? Did you pay extra for the characters on your cover? What kind of information did you have to provide?
They’ll ask you for the following info: description of the book, key elements, examples of other covers you like, back cover blurb, paperback trim size and final formatted page count (if applicable).
Since I needed both a digital and paperback cover for Behold the Dawn, I bought the package that includes both, for $595 (which didn’t include the discount). My cover didn’t require character creation (that would be more for specialized creatures in fantasy, etc.), so I didn’t have to pay extra for that.
I forgot to ask…how long is the discount good for? I wouldn’t mind taking advantage of it, but I’m not ready yet.
Forever’n’ever. 🙂 As long as you’re clicking through the links here on the site, I believe you should be able to use the discount in perpetuity–and on multiple orders as well.
I’m ABSOLUTELY getting to the book cover stage this fall, Katie, so THANK YOU for sharing this information. Their website is VERY impressive and I’ll seriously consider them. Thanks.
I love Damonza! He’s got some really great stuff, they really are amazing covers. Them (Him? ) and Carlos Quevedo are some of the best cover artists around. Unfortunately they are both out of my price range, so I use Tanya von Ness, who is really great too.
Congrats on the Joel Friedman award. I know he has a lot of covers to choose from so it’s saying a lot that he chose yours.
Thanks for the great blog. I don’t comment very often, but I learn a lot from your posts.
I can’t take any credit for that award. Totally in Damonza’s ballpark!
haha. Well, I’m pretty sure that you had some input into it.
I have not worked with Damonza — I just know that whenever TheBookDesigner.com does his monthly feature on e-book covers, I will see a cover that grabs me and it will frequently turn out Damonza did it. No one will ever put down your work as “self-published crap” based on a Damonza cover. Their work always looks just like something a big-time bestseller would get.
Yep. Same here! That’s how I originally decided to go with Damonza.
The book covers are lovely. I do get discouraged when people say you need a professional cover, though. As a woman on disability, I will never, ever, ever be able to afford that. Especially since I mostly write poetry. I created a minimalist cover for a poetry book of mine. Not perfect, but it’s pretty.
Canva.com is a great alternative. They offer free (or very inexpensive) cover templates that will guide to creating something that looks professional even though it’s not.
I admit, I’m a DIY-er on cover design–my budget doesn’t stretch to professional design yet–but many designer friends have told me my work is far from self-published-looking. I’ve found the key for me is:
1) Stick with a super minimalist design so I have less to mess up
2) Learn and apply some basic rules of typography, how to use the colour wheel, etc
3) Keep playing with and tweaking the design for as long as it takes to actually write the contents–ie don’t just throw something together in an afternoon and call it finished.
4) (optional) I’m sure that growing up with parents with excellent taste and an appetite for fine art doesn’t hurt either 🙂
You can see my self-designed covers here.
And you can read about my cover design journey–with many helpful links!–here.
Yes, just because we start as authors is no reason we can’t *learn* to also be really great at design. As someone who actually started out in design (until my wrists got too bad), I second this. But authors need to take design tools and education seriously if they’re going that route.
BTW, your covers are gorgeous! I <3 great typography.
Why, thanks for the vote of confidence. 😀 Typography is one area of graphic design I feel I can get a good grip on–words *are* my thing, after all!
I have a good idea what my cover will look like. So I don’t need an “idea”, I just need execution. A photograph of some simple objects plus the usual text. Maybe a line drawing or charcoal drawing based on the photograph.
I have used him before on my first book and I will use him again. He provides great customer services. No complaints.
Damonza makes gorgeous cover art! I use this company for my Compass Crimes Series and my readers adore the covers.
I wanted to vouch for Damonza.com as well. Very responsive, professional and prompt. In reviewing the proofs, they ensured the final result would be accurate. Highly recommend the company.
Would it be premature to hire a cover artist if my book is still in the beta reading stage? I want a cover to post on my website, so my “upcoming book” looks more legit, and so I can have posts about the cover reveal, but I feel like that’s doing things out of order.
I would wait until you’re ready to publish. If you’re going to be publishing a print version, you’ll need to know the final page count of the formatted book.