How to Save Money When Buying Book Illustration Prices

Are you going to publish a new book this year? Regardless of its format, you definitely cannot do without a book cover, as it is one of the main marketing tools that can ensure your success as a writer.

If you are wondering how much a book cover design costs in 2023, we have a detailed answer for you. Let’s dive in and plan your budget.

Why does a book cover design matter?

Do you know that a book cover is one of the top reasons people buy a specific novel? For example, about 28% of readers in Canada choose books because of their appearance. And this is not surprising because the cover gives an understanding of the genre and plot of the story.

The book cover also evokes certain emotions and sets a particular mood with its color scheme, imagery, and even typography. So, if readers want to feel happy today, they immediately pay attention to bright covers with lovely images. If they want to tickle their nerves, they notice dark covers with scary elements.

Here is an interesting fact.

Most authors who have made over $100k in a year from book sales tend to hire a professional book cover designer. But half of the writers who have never made more than $60k in a year usually create books covers themselves. We assume that such a big difference is probably connected to the fact that a professional designer knows how to create a marketable book cover that appeals to the target audience.

Anyway, there are several options to get a book cover, and they usually depend on your budget, skills, and time. Let’s discover all of them so you can choose the way that suits you. 

Make a book cover yourself

Let’s start with the cheapest way to create a book cover – make it yourself. You can use a graphic editor or DIY tools for this. Besides the process itself, you should first analyze the book market to find out what design works for your genre to create a marketable book cover. 

Graphics editor

We assume you already know what your book cover should look like to attract potential readers. If you have the appropriate skills and knowledge, you can create it yourself with the help of well-known graphic editors. Already have the software you need? Excellent! Otherwise, if you don’t have it, you need to get it. 

Here is a list of the most popular software for creating book covers:

But just the software is not enough, as you need material for creativity, namely high-quality stock images. One of the most popular platforms for this purpose is Shutterstock. The All-in-one subscription starts at $29/month (10 credits, 1 credit = 1 image). Keep in mind that one book cover usually requires 3 or 4 images. 

If you want to save money on stock images, you can use free websites:

However, even when using free images, read their terms of use carefully. They may have limitations or other peculiarities.

Thus, the final cost of creating a book cover with the graphics editor is $30-288. 

DIY tools

This option is simpler, as special tools for book covers do not require deep knowledge of graphic design. They already have only the necessary functions and are easy to use. Moreover, such platforms are both paid and free, so you can choose what suits your budget. 

Catch a list of the most famous of them:

Keep in mind that you still need stock images using DIY tools. So the final price of this option accounts for $0-39.

Hire a book cover designer

Do you know that more than 53% of indie authors hire professional book cover designers? You can also go this way because such an expert will definitely create a marketable and eye-catching cover for your novel. 

On different freelance platforms, you can find designers who take $30 per book cover, but this price usually includes only basic services, such as one concept for an ebook. The average cost for a book cover starts at $150. The most experienced designer can take $500 and more.

The difference between prices is noticeable, but what influences it?

• Experience.

  Book cover designers with deep knowledge and strong skills take more money than beginners. 

• Type of book cover design

  . Illustrated covers or covers based on the original photography are more expensive than stock photo-manipulated ones.

• Book format

  . The ebook naturally requires only a front image, but the paperback needs a full book cover spread.  

If you want to find a book cover designer, visit the following websites:

Summing up, a book cover by a professional freelance designer costs an average of $30-500. But this sum could be even higher. 

Turn to a book cover design company

These companies have a team of book cover designers in-house, so you don’t need to surf the Internet to find a specialist. Specializing in one type of graphic design, namely book art, they know what works in the book market for certain genres and what doesn’t. Moreover, such companies also provide other valuable services, for example, book formatting, logo design, or marketing materials for social networks.

Let’s check out the most famous book cover design companies.

This small company boasts thousands of covers for many authors, including New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. What are its advantages?

• Various cover design packages for each budget

• Opportunity to buy predesigned ebook covers

• Improvement of the existing cover

• Social media packages

• Other useful services include formatting and layout, book trailers, and book cover animation.

Book cover design prices:

• Budget ebook cover design package (one ebook cover, 3 rounds of changes) – $395

• Ebook cover design package (2 ebook cover drafts, unlimited changes to one) – $645

• Print and ebook cover package (2 paperback cover drafts, unlimited changes to one) – $795

• Premium cover package (4 cover design drafts, unlimited changes to one, promo images, audiobook cover) – $1950.

Book cover design by Damonza       

The designers at JD&J know that most readers judge a book by its cover, so they guarantee a stunning design that grabs attention from the first few seconds. And what else interesting does the company offer?

• Promotional designs for indie authors

• Conversion of the existing ebook cover into a paperback or hardback

• Ready-made book covers

• Some packages include posting promotional links to its social media with 14,000 subscribers.

Book cover design prices:

• Essentials book cover design package (2 cover drafts, 1 round of revision) – $350

• Professional book cover design package (3 cover drafts, 3 rounds of revisions) – $450

• Premier book cover design package (3 cover drafts, unlimited revisions, promo images) – $550

• Platinum book cover design package (4 cover drafts, unlimited revisions, promo images, GIF banner) – $650.

Book cover design by JD&J

The MiblArt team believes book cover design can look professional without costing indie authors a fortune. The company creates marketable and eye-catching book covers for various genres. What are its superpowers?

• No prepayment for custom book covers

• An unlimited number of revisions for all packages

• 1 month of free receiving after the book cover design is completed

• Logo design and branding

• Other useful services include logo design and branding, marketing materials, formatting, typography design, etc.

 Book cover design prices:

• Custom ebook and print cover design (1 cover concept) – $200 

• Premium book cover design (a consultation with our creative director, 2 concepts, 3 book promo images, 100% refund) – $700    

  Further reading:
  What is a children's book about comparing yourself to others?
  100 Famous Children’s Books Every Kid Should Read
  The Bookseller Buyer's Guides
  4 steps to choosing books at your child’s reading level
  Top 5 Favorite Book Features for Kids
  What is the purpose of children's books?
  Children’s literature to promote students’ global development and wellbeing

• Cover design for Kindle Vella – $120

• Illustrated book cover design from scratch (2 characters and background, hand-drawn digital art) – from $380.

Book cover design by MiblArt

This company has designed over 1000 indie authors’ covers to date. Its founder, Dan Van Oss, is the author of the new book “One-Click Cover: The Insider’s Guide to Covers That Convert.” Let’s learn more about CoverMint features:

• Up to ten revisions of the final cover

• Each package includes multiple 3D promo images.

Book cover design prices:

• Custom ebook cover – $799

• Custom ebook and print cover (front and back design for paperback) – $999

• Trilogy package (3 ebook and print covers) – $1999.

  Book cover design by CoverMint

Getcovers is a part of the Mibl group. The company’s goal is to give indie authors the best quality-to-price ratio the market has to offer. That’s why it works with a team of in-house junior designers and constantly invests in their growth. What are Getcovers’ benefits?

• An unlimited number of free revisions for each service

• 100% refund

• Additional services include logo design and marketing materials

• The company also creates movie posters and podcast covers.

Book cover design prices:

• Basic ebook cover (1 licensed image and fonts) – $10

• Standard ebook and print cover (2 licensed images and fonts) – $20

• Premium ebook and print cover (3-5 licensed images and fonts) – $35.

Book cover design by Getcovers 

For more detailed information about the companies mentioned above, visit their official website.

Therefore, if you order a book cover from a company, it can cost from $10 to $1000. 

Buy a premade book cover

A premade cover is an excellent way to save money but still get a professional book cover, as it is created according to all genre and market requirements. Moreover, you immediately see the final cover and can ask the designer to make changes if necessary. The minimal revisions are usually free. 

You can find ready-made book covers here:

Premade cover design by Getpremades

The price of a premade book cover is usually $100-150.

So, how much does a book cover cost in 2023?

Now you know all the possible options for creating a book cover in 2023. Let’s summarize how much book covers cost:

• Book cover made with a graphics editor) – $30-288

• Book cover made with a DIY tool – $0-39

• Book cover by a professional freelance designer – $30-500, or even more

• Book cover by a design company – from $10 to $1000

• Premade book cover –

  $

  100-150.

Conclusion

Each book cover design option has its advantages and disadvantages. Thus, self-made covers are the cheapest but require a lot of time and effort. To make it marketable, you can only do with a deep analysis of your genre and target audience. A book cover by a professional designer can be expensive, but it meets readers’ expectations and grabs attention.

Do you create book covers yourself or hire book cover designers? Share your experience in the comments.

The following post is a reprint of a report I offered many years ago while promoting my Directory of Book Printers.

With the new age of digital printing, PDFs or Postscript files, ebooks, print-on-demand, etc., some of these points are probably not as important as they once were. That’s good.

1. Minimize editorial changes. Try to make all your editorial changes before you send your copy to the typesetter. Making changes after your manuscript has been typeset will cost you at least two to three times as much.

2. Use camera-ready artwork (line drawings and other artwork that require no halftones) rather than photographs wherever practical. Each halftone costs $10 to $40 in additional prep costs.

3. Use bleeds only when necessary. Bleed pages require more set-up time for the presses and may also require larger sheets of paper. More paper, more expense.

4. Present clean copy to the typesetter (or page-layout person). Clean copy allows any typesetter to work faster, resulting in lower typesetting costs (or page layout costs).

5. Prepare your camera-ready copy so that all pages can be shot using the same camera setting. Don’t add in reductions or enlargements. Avoid extra camera work whenever possible. In today’s electronic age, you might not have to deal with camera-settings, but you will have to deal with PDF or Postscript standards when sending files to layout people or printers.

6. No close registrations. When doing two-color or three-color printing, stay away from close registrations. They require extra set up time – and can result in higher rejection rates as well.

7. Two-color effects from one color – You can obtain a two-color effect on your book’s cover by using screens, dropouts, and reverses. We used all three techniques on the cover of the second edition of the Directory of Short-Run Book Printers. As a result, we save hundreds of dollars over the costs of a four-color cover. [Note: I’m not sure this as true today with electronic layout and set-up.]

8. A lighter weight paper can save you money both for the cost of the stock itself and in postage for shipping your book. Many 50 lb. or 55 lb. papers are now as opaque and as strong as 60 lb. papers.

9. Seek the help of your printers in cutting costs. Talk to them early in the planning of the layout and design of your books. They may be able to suggest minor changes in your specs that will save you money without affecting the quality or feel of your books.

10. Don’t wait until the last minute. Rush jobs always seem to cost more money – overtime charges, shipping charges, mistakes, miscommunications, etc.

11. Avoid special requests – odd sizes, unusual papers, multiple screen effects, extra colors, etc. – unless they are essential for the character or content of you book. Extras cost extra.

12. Create books in signatures. Design your books to fit the press you’re going to use. What is the standard, most efficient signature for the press you will be using. Keep your book a multiple of that signature count.

13. Gang-run your books. If you can print more than one title at the same time that has the same basic size (e.g., 6×9) and thickness, your printer will often give you a break in the cost, because the set-up time for the second book should be less.

14. Pay your bills on time. Take advantage of any discounts for paying early. If you gain a reputation as a reliable payer, you’ll get better quotes from printers, especially during their quiet times.

15. Query at least five to ten printers on every book. Since book printers tend to specialize in certain sizes, bindings, or quantities, the same printer won’t always give you the best or lowest price quote.

A final thought: The lowest price is not always the best bargain. Don’t sacrifice quality, service, or delivery to price. A low-priced, poor quality production job can cost you money in lost sales. A late delivery can also cost you sales.