Feedback wanted on planned book cover

[Dave Barsby]

I'm currently looking into getting a professional to update my cover as I'm completely talentless in that regard, but don't exactly have much money to pay them either. So I understand it can be very tricky to get a professional image for your cover unless you're a great graphic designer or have £400 spare. That said, your cover does need to look more professional, a sad fact in a climate that now requires a writer to be a marketing expert first and a good storyteller second (I'm looking at you E L White).

As for the design itself, it suggests to me a supernatural thriller (a bit gothy, so vampires or demons) where the non-human "f*** you" anti-hero is the main protagonist.

Good try, I say. But alas not good enough (and if you want to see how bad a self-made cover design can be just type my name into Amazon)

 

[Overread]

A cover is the very first thing a person sees when it comes to your book. It's the thing that will define a part of the experience for the reader; that will colour their interest or distaste from the very onset before they've typically even read a single word.

Thus a bad cover can sink you just as a good cover can net you sales.

You might want to network in photography/art groups and see if you can find those with the talent you require willing to work within a budget that you've got. This is one area where a good investment is worth its weight in gold. There are lots of rubbish covers out there (some on professionally published books even) so don't be one of them ;be one with a good cover.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Four hundred quid sounds an expensive option, by the way. Shop around.

 

[Dave Barsby]

Four hundred quid sounds an expensive option, by the way. Shop around.

400 tends to be a standard professional quote. As with all things there are cheaper and more expensive options out there. I merely quoted the median. I can get a cover for as little as £40 but chances are it won't fit my book. Still shopping, though, so we'll see

 

[ralphkern]

£400 is around the average for a bespoke cover.

An alternative is to go to Deviant Art and if you can find something by browsing on there, you may be able to speak to the artist and get it for cheap. Alternatively if you like an artist's style, but not quite what they have in their portfolio then they may be willing to negotiate on a commision (especially if they're new on the scene).

 

[The Big Peat]

The guy I went to for my first cover charges $500 normally but I arrived when I had a sale on and got it for $150 - in fact, he has a sale on at the moment - Upto 50% OFF Summer Specials

As said, worth shopping around.

As for the cover itself -

Don't need to belabour the amateur look thing but should note I share the concern

The finger - divisive. I'm intrigued. Some people will never look again. Cynically speaking I think you're better off going with a marmite cover than a merely good one but there's a lot to consider so take my words with a pinch of salt.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I'm currently looking into getting a professional to update my cover as I'm completely talentless in that regard, but don't exactly have much money to pay them either. So I understand it can be very tricky to get a professional image for your cover unless you're a great graphic designer or have £400 spare. That said, your cover does need to look more professional, a sad fact in a climate that now requires a writer to be a marketing expert first and a good storyteller second (I'm looking at you E L White).

If you can find an image I recommend this guy: iolaire™ - gallery - gifts - graphics - Harbour Street, Nairn - specialist photographic printing and editing services

He did my ebook cover for £60. I'll be a bit more for the print but he's let me do it in two segments (I wanted the ebook cover for things online). You have to find your own image though. I got the main image from Shuttertstock. Its been given great feedback by a much better known cover artist/designer - he basically suggested we add something to give it a more fantasy feel or tweak the tagline to mention fairies but that was his only negative. Oh and he suggested we lose the drop shadows but not sure I liked it without. For less than £70 I'm happy with that.

It's worth following Reedsy chats as ones with Jake Clark come up periodically and my feedback was free:

 

[AnyaKimlin]

400 tends to be a standard professional quote. As with all things there are cheaper and more expensive options out there. I merely quoted the median. I can get a cover for as little as £40 but chances are it won't fit my book. Still shopping, though, so we'll see

The quotes I got from Reedsy were between £250-£1000 for bespoke covers. The £1000 ones didn't seem much better than some of the £250 ones but then I saw what Tez had done for other people and asked him to have a go.

 

[James118]

Is it intended to be satirical or otherwise humorous? If so then I'm on board with the concept. Only problem is it looks a little amateurish. But I'm not sure that's something a lot of self-publishers can avoid, to be fair.

 

[Brian W. Foster]

I usually pay between $100 to $300 for a custom cover, and I've quite pleased with the results. This is my artist's website:

Hynds Studio - Book Cover Designs

 

[Stephen Palmer]

1. Terrible cover, biskit! Really dreadful. Sorry to be blunt, but sometimes it has to be done! Not only artistically poor, but offensive also.

2. If you - or anybody else - wants to pay me £250 for a bespoke novel cover, I'm all ears.