Do You Hire Others To Do Your Ebook Covers?

JoeMilford Level 1

December 19, 2017, 11:19 am

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Do You Hire Others To Do Your Ebook Covers?

I have recently finished three ebooks, and I am playing around with designing covers for them based upon the content and themes. If you create ebooks, do you tend to create the covers yourself, or do you go to a template or professional to generate the covers? Also, can anyone recommend any good websites out there to use for creating covers?

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Barida

Barida

I would advise that you hire a professional designer to do the work for you to make it have great look. The reason is that they will make it look unique and cool for your prospective clients.

7 years ago

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mildredtabitha

mildredtabitha

I also agree with you. There are people who are skilled in making ebooks covers. If it is something someone can do for themselves, then they should. But it is nice to pay someone else to do it for you too.

7 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

But the thing is, with ebooks, does the front cover matter that much? I know that the cover is quite important with physical books because it's one of the first things that a customer sees and can help you to sell the book. But with ebooks, most of the time it's the actual content of the book that helps a customer decide whether or not to buy it. So is it worth paying someone to do a proper cover for you?

7 years ago

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Russet

Russet

Covers are EVEN MORE IMPORTANT for ebooks. People scan a site like Amazon and see all the covers at the exact same tiny size. And yes, the majority of kindle customers still buy after browsing rather than searching for a specific book. The ability to create a design that will snag the eye with genre-specific signals based on only a thumbnail... that shit is worth paying for. That said I never pay more than 1% of projected income for the title--which is my case is only a few hundred dollars at most, sometimes as little as $50.

7 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

"The reason is that they will make it look unique and cool for your prospective clients."

I have to agree with this. Unless you're someone with both a creative mind and a background in graphic design, you're always going to be better off hiring a professional to do your work. The fact is that the cover of your book can be the deciding factor between someone buying it, or not even giving it a second glance. I'd be confident in creating my own cover because I've done such work before. But for someone that has never even opened Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, the work is best left to the professionals.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I did my own cover for my first ebook. I designed my ebook cover on photoshop. The cover for my second ebook was designed by a professional designer (I did not have to pay becauseshe offered to do for free as a token of friendship). I have published on ghost names and I use kindle cover creator to create covers.

7 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

I've had a similar experience, and a lucky one, with a photographer friend of mine who takes my author photos and offers me other images for covers, and other images just in general, for free. We've know each other a long time, and she refuses to take payment and says she just wants the credit for doing her art, etc. I have looked into Kindle cover creator and lulu,com as well, and think both of those avenues are great for making covers. I do like to support the help and services of others, though, but I am on such a tight budget these days.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

I once tried to hire a book cover designer on Upwork. I did not have a big budget and had to settle with the lowest bid. However, I was not satisfied with the designer. I paid him $5 for a cover but never used the cover.

7 years ago

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Baburra

Baburra

I've seen many amateur authors do this and their covers always look a little below average but I have to give it to them because their books still sell well. I suppose having a cover that is representative of the content inside is better than having a very well and professionally designed one only to have the content inside turn out to be campy or fan fiction-like.

7 years ago

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kammy143

kammy143

I would personally will, if ever I developed my own ebook. I do not have much experience in making ebook covers, so if ever I had one, it is inevitable for me do so.

7 years ago

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Barida

Barida

I agree with you that, if one cannot do the eBook cover in an expert way, there is need to hire a professional that can assist in making it possible.

7 years ago

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kammy143

kammy143

But, on the contrary, if one has the capabilities to do so, it would be great for you to personally do it yourself. You'll be able to save money and in the same time get the results you want.

7 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

kammy143,
I agree with you here, and that has been my approach to covers and graphic design, in general, since I started presenting my content online. I think that, though, I put all of my energy, for better or worse, into my written content and so I never research enough or experiment enough to learn how to really be good at graphic design techniques of any sort.

7 years ago

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mildredtabitha

mildredtabitha

Me too. If ever I had one, I would have someone make covers for my ebooks. Apart from relieving yourself from the stress, you are also creating a job opportunity for someone else.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

@kammy if you are publishing on Amazon, you don't have to be an expert with ebook cover designs. You have an option to use cover creator. You can create text based covers as well as image based covers and Amazon tool, will easily create covers.

7 years ago

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kammy143

kammy143

Thanks for the info @vinaya. I'll keep that in mind if ever I try to make my own ebook. Even though I know a bit of photoshop, I don't think I'd be able to make a decent ebook cover.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

You can also design covers for free on canva. There are a lot of templates and you can use the one that suits your theme. You also have an option to pay for a template.

7 years ago

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Tronia

Tronia

Well, I can't speak from my own personal experiences since I have never published an e-book (yet), however, this completely depends on you and your choice.

The main question that you have to consider is, are you skilled when it comes to designing and photoshop? If yes, then you can definitely make your own cover without any issues. If no, then you could perhaps hire somebody to do it for you. I don't know how much that would cost though.

You also have some websites such as Snappa and Canva that allow you to design the cover by yourself without much effort or knowledge.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

Yes, there are many free tools available online that will help you create an amazing book cover in few clicks. If you do not use designing programs like photoshop or indesign, your dream of designing your own cover does not end.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

If you don't have the skills to design your own e-book or book cover then the best solution would be to hire a freelance graphic artist to do it for you. But while you're doing that - you should also be crafting your own design skills. So that at some point in the future - you really can design your own e-book cover, with little to no problem.

7 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

good advice from you here Judas2018 and Tronia above, as well.
I am on a tight budget, but i have been able to learn a lot on my own, and I learned about Canva from coming to this forum, actually. I've just seen some really great work done by others, and I trying to boost or kickstart some sales of my books, so the cover seems to be pretty important in terms of grabbing interest and readers.

7 years ago

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Tronia

Tronia

No problem, mate. But yes, the book's cover is actually extremely important. It's literally the first thing that people look at. Some don't even look at the title first but at the image that's presented on the front.

That's why I can understand why you are putting so much thought into a well-designed book cover. I hope that it works out well for you and you get amazing sales

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

E-book covers don't really need to be stupendous either. They should focus on what the book is about but also, have an aura of mystery about them. You know how many books covers with just a pair of dark, steely eyes surrounded by a tear-effect background - have sold millions of copies?

7 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

Right--I totally hear what you are saying here, and I am a HUGE fan of minimalism, but some content, I think might require something more elaborate. I think you just really have to know your audience and target a certain kind of audience when you are thinking about this sort of thing. Eventually, you can narrow down the cover ideas to a few options, and then consult others if you can't choose. I find that I am usually overwhelmed by having too many options instead of too few.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

True. But most book covers are not as boastful as comic book covers or movie posters. It does at the end of the day boil down to the audience though. Some audiences prefer covers that are subtle, to the point. Others want something attention-grabbing with a lot of 'pop' to it. This mostly trends based on age and gender. Young males prefer an impact cover. While most young or older females prefer something more though provoking. Not always, but more or less 55 to 65 percent of the time, this is how it breaks down.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

The type of covers for a book depends on the type of audience. If your book is a children book, you need illustrations. For adults, only text can make a good cover. A biography needs a photo of the person on the cover. Simple is always better. Designing a cover is not very difficult if you use photo editing programs. These days, you can find many cover creators online that will help you design amazing covers in just few clicks.

7 years ago

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Rumu

Rumu

We are talking about visuals, this is meant to be the representation of your ideas going out to the public. Drawing from this, I'll suggest you go on with the project yourself. Unfortunately I can't recommend any application or software program because I don't know anything about cover backs production.

On a second thought, I'll say you hire a professional to the work in line with your preferences.

7 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

If i did hire a professional to do this, it would have to be someone who I really trust with the content. They would need to have read the entire project and to have a good sense of the major themes of the content and then digest all of that properly in order to create the best images to represent the book or product. Ideally, I would hope to find someone who really aesthetically and philosophically appreciated the writing I had created, so that might be difficult at times--I would want the visual artist to be just as enthusiastic about the project as I am.

7 years ago

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kammy143

kammy143

Yes, I do agree with what you said. Ebook covers can sometimes make or break the product it self. If someone is well experienced and really is professionally capable of doing the job with justice, it would be a great deal not only for the writer but for the product as well. Most people are visual, they are easily persuaded by graphics. In Ebooks, the cover somewhat sells the product itself. So if it well represented it will definitely sell.

7 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

Thanks for your comment here. As a person who loves to read and who has read tons of ebooks and hard copy and digital texts in general, I do find it strange when the cover art, or any other art in the book, does not really match the content. It totally throws me off and makes me wonder how the project was put together in general. I want the book to be a work of art, and to have continuity, if that makes any sense.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

Well now you're getting into 'selling' and 'salesmanship.' Film has done this for years. Making awesome movie posters to sell a sub-par or average film. In some cases, re-cutting movie trailers to include additional, more intense scenes and sequences. Because at the end of the day, they want you to buy that movie ticket. Once they have your money their job is done as far as they're concerned.

Which is why you have some book publishers who engage in similar tactics to sell books. They need to make the cover pop - so people will be intrigued enough to make the purchase. Even if the cover has little or nothing to do with the actual story.

7 years ago

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Baburra

Baburra

I have never made an ebook but if I were to make one I would probably just make my own since I am a graphic designer and I am able to so it would be a waste for me to pay someone else to do it when I can do it myself. I guess the only time I would consider this is if I find someone who i thought was way better than me and was worth the payment and if I wanted to save time and spend it just doing something else that was more important but I think I would like to do it myself so I can control that aspect as much as possible.

7 years ago

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Barida

Barida

You've got a good plan in the sense that you're a good graphic designer that can handle the job, which is a plus and I feel you don't even need to hire someone as well.

7 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

I haven't really written any books or ebooks so I haven't had to worry about designing a cover for my ebook or deciding whether or not to hire someone to design my cover. But if I did write an ebook I would probably just design a cover myself because I don't think it would be too difficult, I would probably go for a simplistic design so it wouldn't be hard to create it myself on a program like Photoshop

7 years ago

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leeyong88

leeyong88

Someone actually asked me to do a cover of his eBook and I think did it pretty well because she liked it. It was for a Health and Lifestyle One, so I found it very simple especially that she gave me images she would like to incorporate.

So I think if I will make my own eBook, which will probably be soon, I will do the cover myself.

7 years ago

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iamawriter

iamawriter

I have not written a book yet but if ever I do I will take help from experts to give finishing touches. I may be good in producing content but when it comes to art I am not sure if I will do justice to it. Although they say do not judge a book by its cover an attractive cover does tempt readers.

7 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

Doing cover by yourself or hiring a designer depends on a number of factors.
A professional designer will surely do a great job on the cover, however, it will also increase your investment in the book. You might have to sell more copies to recover the investment. When you are doing the cover yourself, it cost no money, you may not produce the best quality but you will keep the investment to the minimum.

7 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

Depending on the ebook which I created would determine if I'm doing the cover myself or getting a professional to warp up the task for me. Also, if it's a work that I'm doing for a client, which I'm not convinced of doing a great job with the cover, I would simply get a professional to finish it up for me because that cover gives the immediate impression of the work inside.

7 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

I just finished my first Ebook last week it's titled Street Secrets and is all about being street smart. It's not yet published, I'm still making a good cover.

For me doing my own covers will save me some money. I figured that since I wrote the book, im the best person to decide the best design for its cover.

7 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

I'm actually working on an eBook as a side project when I have the time, so this is a subject that I've had on my mind. As someone with a background in graphic design, I feel it would be a bit of a shame to pay someone else to do my eBook cover. Given that I have experience in using just about every Adobe product, and have literally made book covers for assignments in college, if it comes down to publishing my work I most certainly will be handling the cover personally.

7 years ago

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treecko142

treecko142

It is way easier to have someone design covers for them since most of the people who publish ebooks are writers, not graphic designers. It saves time and effort to just hire professionals or freelancers to do this job leading to better results. There are a lot of potential employers out there looking for ebook cover designers.

7 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

I do totally agree with you on this, it's not a must that one would be a jack of all trade. There are some things one got to give up struggling to have it done by themselves because it's only going make matters more difficult for them. Writing an ebook is one difficult task, so adding the pressure of building the cover when you can contract it to good designers seems like taking too stress on oneself.

7 years ago

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treecko142

treecko142

Yeah, the same idea can apply to proofreading or editing your ebook. After you have written the ebook, you still have to check it for errors and thought organization and while you can do it on your own, sometimes it helps to hire an editor to do the work, which you can always check again after. Putting too many tasks on yourself, while saving money, can also affect the quality of your book.

7 years ago

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Martinsx1

Martinsx1

This I totally agree with. Sometimes proofreading your own work, you tend to jump some mistakes in your head because the writing would look perfect in your eyes anytime you look at and try reading it. But when you contract an editor to help you out with proofreading, you would realize lots of mistakes you failed to observe.

7 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

It depends on the content of the E-Books, it's lenght and projected value. If it's a short E-book and I'm going to sell it for a couple of bucks only then I'll just do my own cover it'll save me money. But if it's a very good and long E-book and I really need a good cover then I might consider getting it made by someone else because they might have thought of a better design for
the cover.

7 years ago

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treecko142

treecko142

This is a good point. You should also budget your resources and if you expect to gain just a little amount for the books, might as well try to save money and do the cover yourself, although in these cases it is best to stick with a more minimalist design.

7 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

I just want to share this. I've been browsing around several job sites and a client from freelancer messaged me $100 for 75 articles of 300 words each and I'll get paid after i deliver all of the articles. And another one from essays . p h where their buying ebooks for $3 each but you need to submit 5 ebooks first to get paid.
Now I've decided to make ebooks and sell it on Amazon.

7 years ago

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Kakashi2020

Kakashi2020

There are a lot of free Ebook cover makers available I use Canva's book cover maker, it's free, and user friendly, designing is very easy. I can create a high quality book cover in minutes. Another good Ebook cover maker is Snappa.

7 years ago

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MomoStarr16

MomoStarr16

If I have the idea to create my own cover then I give my full effort to do it. But when I don't have time for that, giving the work to another paid freelancer is not a problem at all. As long as you will get or you will the one to be tell what is the nature of your cover photo for your book.

7 years ago

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edencaga

edencaga

I will not hire someone to do a cover if ever I would be creating ebooks as I myself can design a book cover. I have already tried doing some cover in ebook and I must say that it was fun if you create your own book cover especially if someone noticed and like your design. I can edit in photoshop and in indesign software so it's not that hard for me to do covers as I already have an experience.

7 years ago

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stbrians

stbrians

Professionalism is what is needed in all areas. Writinga book is not a one man job.There are editors, printers, cover designers and very many others. It is best to leave cover designing to professionals.

6 years ago

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HappyLady

HappyLady

Except, for many people this is an option beyond their financial situation. I agree it is best to leave to professionals, but not always the situation one has to work with.

6 years ago

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stbrians

stbrians

Financial restraints may be a tough situation to deal with. However, if you are a good cover designer then you can do it yourself. After all it is your work and you understand it better.

6 years ago

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HappyLady

HappyLady

Thankully, my sister and son are professional artists, so I am able to get professional photos for my eBooks when I finally publish. This however, does not mean they understand what is needed in terms of eBooks as their interests lie elsewhere. For cost reasons, I have to do my own covers over and above this, and so I am reading up on every aspect I can. Hiring a professional to do it all would be a pipe dream, beyond the call of most who self-publish. One day, I will be able to do it all, writing, formatting and cover, to the standard I want. I guess this will take a great deal of time. However, all are skills to be learned.

6 years ago

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jetselle

jetselle

It depends, book cover is vital when it comes to publishing books/ebooks. Many books are failed because they utilizing poor book covers. Everything happens cause writer doesn't realize what cover will be ideal for their books in result they utilize cover with poor and uneffective pictures that reason books unfit to get fascination and prominence of crowd.

6 years ago

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nrnlss

nrnlss

I don't have an ebook yet, but if I do, I will probably hire one. More specifically, I will hire ny friend, that is a digital artist.

6 years ago

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emiaj55

emiaj55

If you have the talent for graphic designing, then you should really do your covers. After all, no one would know your books better than you. But if you are not that confident with your skills, the opt for a professional to do it. This would add value to your books and at the end of the it would benefit you more.

6 years ago

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