It's difficult to overestimate the importance of a great cover.
Striking professional looking covers help sell books.
The cover is the first impression a reader will have of your work, and humans place a lot of importance on first impressions.
We want readers to fall in love with our book on first sight.
Think of it this way, you dress up to go about your day-to-day activities. You put on nicer clothes, you fix your hair, and so on.
Why? Because we know that how we look matters to other people. Even if you couldn't care less how
others look you know that folks treat you differently depending on the clothes you wear, the way you arrange your hair, the perfume/cologne you choose.
Now think: What if you weren't just going to a business meeting, or a PTA get-together, or a baseball mixer. What if you were going to the Academy Awards or some other gala affair?
My female friends would spend most of the morning and all of the afternoon getting their hair, nails and face done. And I cringe to think how much they'd spend on clothes.
What about your book?
It's going out into the world to be judged. It's like a child in the sense that it's an extension of you, something you created. And, unlike children who have their own ideas about what sort of clothes to wear, what color of hair to have, and so on, you control every single facet of your book's launch, including the cover. (That is, if you self publish. If you traditionally publish you probably won't have any say over the cover.)
Granted, most of us can't design the cover, we don't have those skills, but a talented artist can work with you to give you a look you want.
Which brings me, circuitously, to the topic of today's post: How to find the right cover artist for your book.
How To Find A Cover Artist For Your Book
A couple of days ago Passive Guy
posted the following:
Passive Guy received a simple question from Amey:
Where does an indie author find cover illustrators online?
She knows about DeviantArt, but finds it too complicated and believes there aren’t a lot of real artists there.
So, what’s the answer to Amey’s question?
A lot of wonderful folks wrote in with wonderful answers, but I found myself getting overwhelmed by the information as I scrolled through the replies. That's when I got the idea for this post.
In the following I've taken the information given and provided links when I could track them down. I've also provided links to the original replies so you can read those for yourself.
By including a name in the following I'm not recommending that person. Similarly, if I haven't included a name in the following I don't mean to imply they wouldn't be a great choice.
List Of Book Cover Artists
In some cases, the link is in the name.
This is the designer Joe Konrath uses for his books. Carl sells predesigned book covers for about $200.
From
Kboards.com:
Robin Nuttall, freelance graphic designer with 20+
years experience. US based, responsive, quick turn-around. I listen to
my clients and help them achieve success. Very reasonable prices as I
begin to build my digital publishing portfolio.
Digital and print book cover design, interior design/formatting.
From
Kboards.com:
Custom covers starting as low as $35, Premades starting at $15, and Book
Jacket/Ebook cover combos starting at $50. 3d Boxed sets starting at
$25 if created from an existing book cover, and $45 if a new cover is
required.
From
Kboards.com:
Your cover is your I.D. Be inspired.
Specializing in YA
and Fantasy premade book covers, I offer premade covers as well as
custom designs, ereader renders and custom advertisements.
From
Kboards.com:
Name: Rachel Cole
Beautiful, eye-catching, professional-looking book cover design.
Pre-made covers start at $30
Custom ebook covers start at $65
Custom print covers start at $100
Carolyn McCray writes:
99designs.com lets you receive up to 99 spec designs. The designers only
get paid if you pick them. A great resource to get a lot of different
professional (okay, some are a little grade school but usually you get
several pros per project) covers to choose from. It is where I got my
cover artist.
I read Joel Friedlander’s e-Book Cover Design Awards every month, and through that, I found Kit Foster. If you see a designer whose work you like, you’ll have to google the name to find their website. (Russell Phillips)
Steward Williams, Rebecca Swift, Peter Ratcliffe
These artists were recommended by Rob Siders.
Streetlight Graphics
Nicholas Taylor writes:
DA [Deviant Art] has a lot of very talented artists, but if you are looking for a
service that does a great job and specializes in publishing, I would
recommend Streetlight Graphics. They did the art on my last book and are
wonderful. They also do amazing work on eBook and print interior
layouts. To get your cover, print layout, ebook layout and another
graphic (like a business card or bookmark) it will run you $460. Their
site is http://streetlightgraphics.com and you can’t go wrong with them.
Dreamup
India Drummond writes:
Dreamup is run by deviant art, I do believe, but it’s a curated list: http://dreamup.com/find/artists/ For custom artwork and illustrations, this is where I would start.
India also recommended
An Authors Art.
Firefly Covers
Christine Leov Lealand writes:
I found my cover artist when I met a traveling young German man whose
hobby was graphic design. He went home after making a few covers for us –
learning the basics from us and what we and Createspace/KDP needed and
set up http://fireflycovers.com/
Nils is great at communication and good at cover design and has a
network of other artists who will put together a cover for you of
altered photographs or drawn art or a combo of both.
Jared Rackler Designs
Kat Sheridan writes:
I’ll toss in Jared Rackler. He’s done workj for friends. Fast, inexpensive (generally under $100), good looking: https://jaredrackler.wordpress.com/gallery-of-works/
Tibbs Design
Sue Quint writes:
I found my graphic designer/cover artist through my epublisher, and love her covers. She works with stock art photo, so is much more reasonably priced than many other cover designers. She also works freelance, so she’s available for other projects at http://www.tibbsdesign.com/covers-2/.
Jeroen ten Berge
R.E. McDermott writes:
There are a lot of very talented cover artists out there, but when I first started to self publish, I looked around and chose Jeroen ten Berge. He’s definitely not the cheapest, but I don’t think he really wants to be. What he is, is reasonably priced, very approachable, and a consummate professional. Choosing Jeroen was one of my better business decisions and I recommend him without reservation. His website is:
http://jeroentenberge.com/.
Robin Ludwig
Vicki writes:
May I recommend my awesome artist – Robin Ludwig. She has a real gift.
http://www.gobookcoverdesign.com/
This list only scratches the service of the skilled artists available to help with your covers, I didn't include all the information given--that would have taken
way too long!--so do look at the responses for yourself. That link again is:
Where do you find cover artists?
Tip For Finding A Cover Artist
Maria Zannini writes:
I’m a professional cover artist and most of my work has come from referrals.
The very best way to find a cover artist is to collect the cover art you
find most appealing, then email the author or the publisher and asked
who designed that cover.
Take into consideration not only price, but turnaround, and a detailed account of what you’re getting for the fee.
If your questions aren’t answered to your satisfaction in writing, go somewhere else.
If you'd like to recommend a cover artist please post their information below. (If you include a URL use the aristname (dot) website (dot) com formatting otherwise blogger might see it as spam.)
Other resources:
-
Kindle Boards yellowpages for authors
-
Goodreads: Book cover artists and illustrators
Other articles you might like:
-
10 Tips For Proofreading Your Manuscript
-
Chuck Wendig's Flash Fiction Challenge: Smashing Sub-Genres
-
How To Write A Terrific Review
Photo credit: "
Spring Nights" by
martinak15 under
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.
Stewart Williams at http://www.stewartwilliamsdesign.com/
Rebecca Swift at http://www.rebeccaswiftartwork.com/
Peter Ratcliffe at http://bit.ly/pDnfHo