Readers absolutely judge books by their covers — on Amazon, in about two seconds, at the size of a postage stamp. Our book cover design services start with your manuscript, not a template library: original custom concepts, revision rounds until it's right, and nothing goes to print without your written approval.
Here's the detail most design services never mention: on an Amazon search page, your cover shows up smaller than a business card. That's where the buying decision starts — not on the full-size product page. So we design for the thumbnail first, and every concept we send you has already passed three checks.
We shrink every concept to Amazon thumbnail size before you ever see it. If the title turns to mush at an inch tall, it goes back to the designer — not to you.
First-time authors often want the whole plot on the cover. Covers that sell show one strong image. The story goes inside the book — the cover's job is to get it opened.
Amazon pages are white. A pale cover with thin type disappears into them. We test every design against the background it'll actually live on.
A shopper should know it's a romance, a thriller, or a memoir before they can read a word. Get that wrong and the right readers scroll past you.
Every genre has a visual language its readers already trust: romance runs warm and human, thrillers go dark with big type, memoirs lean on a single honest photograph, children's books are illustrated cover to cover. These are our covers, on sale now — notice how you can name each genre from across the room.
You sit at the end of every step, with the final word. Here's the honest version of the process, including the part where you change your mind — because after 1,200+ books we can tell you: authors almost always pick a favorite concept, then ask for changes to it. That's exactly what the revision rounds are for.
Your designer reads about your story, your audience, and covers you love or hate. A thriller for retirees and a picture book for grandkids should never start from the same place.
Days 1–3One original concept in the Emerging Author package, two in Professional through Elite, five in Premier and Quantum. Each one already passed the thumbnail test.
About a weekChoose a direction, then ask for changes — the title bigger, the sky darker, your name in a different spot. Revision rounds continue until you're happy to sign off.
You set the paceFront, spine, and back for every format you're publishing. Nothing goes to press until you've approved the final proof in writing.
Before publishingA cover isn't done when the front looks good. Print covers are engineering, and getting the numbers wrong is the #1 reason DIY covers get rejected by the printer — or come back with the title creeping around the spine.
Spine width depends on your exact page count and paper type; a 180-page paperback and a 400-page one need completely different spines. We calculate it from your final formatted interior, which is why the cover is finished after typesetting, never before.
Printers trim each cover with a small margin of error, so the artwork has to extend past the edge — that extra strip is called bleed. Miss it and your book ships with white slivers along the edges. Every file we deliver includes it.
Hardcovers need their own artwork — a dust jacket with front and back flaps, or a case wrap printed on the board itself. If your package includes hardcover, both are designed to each platform's exact template, sized for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IngramSpark.
Cover design is included in every package — $699 to $7,999, one payment, currently 50% off, with the concept counts listed in step 2 above. You own the finished design outright, and full package details are on the pricing page.
“They sent me two covers and I liked pieces of both. I figured that was that — but no, they combined them, moved my name up, and sent it again until I loved it. My son saw it on Amazon and said, Mom, that looks like a real book. It IS a real book.”
Cover design is built into every publishing package, so there's no separate design bill — packages run $699 to $7,999, one payment, currently 50% off. The Emerging Author package includes one original concept, Professional through Author's Elite include two, and Premier and Quantum include five. Hired separately in the market, custom covers typically run a few hundred dollars to $1,500+.
No. Template covers are why so many self-published books look self-published — readers have seen that same stock photo a dozen times. Every concept we send is built for your book after your designer learns what it's about and who it's for. Children's covers are illustrated from scratch.
Then we keep working — that's what revision rounds are for, and nothing proceeds without your approval, in writing. In practice this is rare: most authors pick a favorite and refine it. But the contract is clear that you have the final say, because it's your name on the front.
Yes, and for memoirs we'd encourage it — a real photograph often beats anything invented. Bring the idea, the painting, the photo. Your designer will tell you honestly whether it'll survive at thumbnail size, and build the type and layout around it professionally.
You do — 100%, in writing, the same as your manuscript and your royalties. If you ever leave, republish, or print elsewhere, the cover goes with you. We keep nothing.
Our cover work is part of our publishing packages, where it's coordinated with the editing and interior formatting that determine your spine width and final files. If you only need a cover, call (229) 518-4453 and tell us where your book stands — we'll tell you straight whether we're the right fit or point you elsewhere.
Want the fuller picture first? See our complete book publishing services, get the manuscript ready with professional book editing, or read what publishing a book really costs. Publishing for grandkids? Our children's book publishing service includes 12 custom illustrations.