It all starts with the inquiry form! Fill it out and sent it in so I can get in touch with you.

Once we’ve made contact and have decided to move forward, I’ll need a 50% deposit and a signed contract in order to give you a slot on my schedule. Once that’s done, we’re good to go.

Your book’s title should be firm at this point. If you are printing your book, I’ll need to know the book’s trim size and the number of formatted pages it will contain. These pieces of information are critical for the creation of the correctly sized template. 

And you should have a rough idea of what you envision for your cover. Take some time to check out other books in your genre, see what you like and don’t like, and be prepared to share your thoughts. I highly encourage you to create a Pinterest board to share with me.

Ideally, the process to design one ebook or paperback cover will take two weeks. Adding on a hardcover jacket will take an extra week.

But a lot depends on you.

Any delays in getting me any necessary information or copy or in getting back to me when I have questions or need feedback/approvals could lengthen the amount of time needed to complete your project. Extensive revisions will take a while.

My advice is to plan one month for the design process and to schedule your design so that you have your final files one month before you need them. As an example, if you want to upload your covers for pre-order on June 1^st, plan your book cover design so that you have your final files by May 1^st  and reserve a design slot that begins the first or second week of April.

In order to meet promised deadlines, all projects are scheduled in advance.

Package prices include designing printed covers to the specifications of one (1) print on demand vendor. If you would like files to use for additional vendors, please consult the Pricing Sheet.

Please also note that pricing includes designing for one (1) book trim size. If you need additional sizes, there will be an additional charge. This does NOT include the Premium Package which includes covers sized for both one (1) paperback and one (1) hardcover, which are usually different sizes.

Short answer: No.

I will go directly to your POD vendor’s site to obtain the correct template and specs for your cover. When the project is finished, I will deliver final, high-res and/or print-ready files to you via Dropbox.

But it will be up to you to upload your files to the appropriate sites for publication.

It depends on where we are in the process and what, exactly, you are changing.

The design process itself includes three rounds of revisions, which is hopefully enough to get things just right.

If I’ve already given you final files or you’ve signed off on a final design, your changes will involve an extra charge.

If you make large changes, such as a new title, a different book trim size, or a new page count, these changes may involve extra charges depending on the scope of the work involved. The best practice to avoid this is to have the details of your project pretty well locked in before we begin the process.

Congratulations! I love a good book series.

If you know in advance how many books, titles, etc. involved in your series, we can do an overall plan to maintain a consistent look and feel through all of the covers.

If you are coming to me with a book that is not the first title in the series, I will want to see what prior covers look like so I can mimic the overall aesthetic that we are trying to accomplish to maintain consistency.

You will be provided with the final artwork files for uploading. However, I will not supply the original artwork files used to create your cover (Photoshop, Illustrator or InDesign).

If you wish to make changes or adjustments in the future, please contact me to discuss the options.

Once you have paid me in full, you will own the rights to your cover design to be used in any manner you wish.

The only exception to this is that you CANNOT resell the design as original work under your own name!

I utilize companies that have cleared their fonts for personal and commercial usage (such as Adobe and Google) or purchase commercial licenses from font sellers. Any images used are either designed by me (illustrative artwork) or are purchased/procured through sites that provide commercial usage licensing. Those usage agreements will pass to you accordingly.

While I promise that your cover design will be unique and exclusive and never sold or offered to another author, I may use stock photography or imagery that could possibly appear in another designer’s work. You will find this to be the case everywhere.

Refunds of deposits are only offered if you pause or cancel 30 days or more before your scheduled start date. If you cancel within that 30 day window, I will charge a 25% cancellation fee.

Once your project starts, there will be no refunds of deposits if you choose to cancel for any reason. Once I deliver rough draft designs, the full amount will be due even if you cancel. 

If you pause your project, I will require an additional 25% of your fees in order to re-start the project. If this pause lasts longer than 90 days, I will require the full balance due before I begin work again. And pauses lasting longer than 180 days will be considered a full cancellation and the process will need to be started again.

Via email unless there are very dire extenuating circumstances. Like no internet anywhere.

I try to keep my pricing reasonable but fair so that new authors can afford it. Check out the Price Sheet for the basics.

While I’m happy to offer advice on some things, especially when it comes to your cover design, I don’t have the ability or expertise to hand-hold you through the entire process of becoming a published author.

There are multitudes of excellent YouTube tutorials that I’m happy to recommend. Plenty of fellow authors who have been through the process many times have generously shared their wisdom. They can take you through everything from researching the various publishing options all the way through uploading your files and marketing your book.

I’ve just touched on some basics here. In order to get the full picture of my process and policies, please read my Design Policies in full. If you still have questions, reach out to me via the Inquiry Form and I’ll get back to you.