The Cover Design
The cover is arguably one of the most important parts of your book, mainly because it’s the first part a potential reader will see. The hook that’ll reel ’em in! So it’s important to choose the right designer for your book’s genre and age group to bring it to life and possibly help with other complicated aspects, such as working with an illustrator and handling the production process. Here’s a breakdown of what the cover process usually looks like when self-publishing:
Design Brief/Outline
Designers are usually provided with a short cover brief that states the following:
A short summary of the book
Size of the book (or trim size)
Genre
A working manuscript or a chapter or two (doesn’t need to be final)
Age range—young children (ages 3–7) , middle grade (ages 8–13), young adult (ages 13–25) or adult
Comp titles or comparable titles (Book covers with a design and feel that authors might be going for that designers can use for inspiration. Comp titles may also have a similar target audience and content.) I Need a Book Cover is a great resource for design inspiration and appreciation.
To help kick things off, we’ve created a customizable design brief that allows you to provide cover designers with all the information above and more. This will ensure that all the project details are organized in one place for the designer to reference as they go along.
Contract Review and Signing
Once the brief has been shared, paperwork in the form of a written contract should be supplied and signed by both parties. A contract or similar paperwork is highly recommended as it will state the project deliverables, any expectations, rights, and cost.
Sketches and Concepts
After everything about the book’s design has been conveyed and contracts have been signed, then the designer can get to work! They’ll usually begin with sketches or very rough concepts. Then they’ll share these initial directions for feedback, which will give them a general sense of what’s working and what’s not.
Revisions
Based on feedback on the first concepts, the designer will continue to rework the directions until they’re down to one working concept. Revisions can take anywhere from 2–3 rounds, which is usually stated in the contract. And if more revisions are necessary, there will need to be a conversation about compensation for extra work.
Final
Once a final cover direction is approved, authors can usually start promoting their book online to build excitement leading up to the publication date. The back cover, jacket design (if applicable), and interior design can then be based on the design of the final cover. So having the cover design done in a timely manner is very important as it will impact the other parts of your book design and promotion.
Stock Art or Illustrated Cover
In the case of illustrated covers, some designers may offer illustration services as well. But please be aware that the illustration fee will be separate from the design fee, and this should be stated as such in the contract. Similar to illustrations, some designers may opt to use stock art or photos, which authors will need to cover the cost of purchasing and licensing.
To take a deeper dive into licensing art, check out Types of Art & Licensing within the Things to Consider page of this section.
Looking for some information on book interior design? Take a look at “What Goes Into A Book’s Design?” on our blog.
And in case you’re writing for younger readers, we’ve got you covered in the next section!