Pricing & Contract

Prices

What does it cost? That’s probably the first question on anyone’s mind, so let’s get down to brass tacks. Below are Design Prices only.

E-Book Covers: The base price for all e-book covers start at $175. This covers a maximum of three pieces of stock art and fonts from a standard font portfolio licensed for commercial use.  

Prices vary depending on how much time is required to manipulate and customize stock art based on an hourly rate.  

Additional Expenses: If you have your heart set on a certain background or model outside my normal resources, the price will rise to whatever the art database charges for those photos. Generally, most premium stock art runs anywhere from $15 to $30 per piece. Slightly higher for high resolution or bigger format photos.

Print Book Covers: The color profiles vary a bit here and I must use high resolution photos for your final art file. Base price for print covers start at $300. This includes front, spine, and back.

Bookmarks: $30 Single-sided. $35 Double-sided. Camera-ready. (You provide the book cover art.) If I provide the art, add $15 for each additional piece of art.

Blog Badges (for blog tours and other events): $15

Business Cards: $50 flat rate, unless we are adding premium stock art which is $15 for each piece. Cards are camera-ready. All you have to do is send the digital file to the printer.

Postcards: $30 Single-sided. $35 Double-sided. Camera-ready (You provide the book cover art.) Additional art is $15 for each piece.

Trading Cards: Custom background designs to highlight your characters or your book series. Base Price: $30 per Single-sided cards. $35 for Double-sided cards. $15 for each additional piece of stock art.

Note: Trading cards can be as simple as framed text or as elaborate as a full-color book cover. Base price is for background frame, copy-setting, and layout. If you don't own the copyright to the photos of your main characters, additional stock art will need to be purchased for an added price.

 Web Site Banners: Depending on how much art is used, most banners will run about $100.

Package Deals: Purchase any two or more projects (for the same book) and get 10% off the total price. Buy both print and e-book cover designs at the same time and get 25% off. For other package combinations, email me for prices.  

Digital Files: Your finished cover art will arrive in three sizes. Original size for Print or Digital format; Medium size for use in web promotion; Small size for use in blog sidebars.


Estimates: After you've given me your requirements, I can give you a pretty firm estimate on the final cost.  Don't worry. No arms, legs, or firstborn required.

NOTE: All prices subject to change.

NOTE, the second: Print vs Digital
Print work such as book covers, bookmarks or trading cards require the art be formatted to CMYK profiles. RGB is for digital only. This means sometimes the color will look slightly different between the digital proof and the printed one.

Payment

Paypal is the most secure means. If you live in the states, I will also accept a money order.

Once the contract is signed, you must pay one half upfront with the remaining half due when the work is finished.

Currency: All funds are in US currency. To convert your currency to dollars you can use this converter or email me. 

Refunds and kill fees

Should you decide to stop the process after work has begun, there is a 50% kill fee. This means to kill the job, I am entitled to 50% of the agreed upon price (as written in the contract). This is a standard clause so that time already spent is compensated. 

The Contract

The contract is a simple two-page form. I use a modified version created by Graphic Artists Guild. You can see the original form here. Or email me for the actual modified form.

Copyright

NOTE: If I am designing something for you from an existing book cover, you must have permission from the copyright holder to use that cover in other promotional material.

Many publishers allow you to use your cover for limited promotional use on bookmarks, trading cards, and postcards, but many freelance artists who design covers for self-published books do not. The copyright remains with the artist, so you must get written permission to use your cover art for other uses. Please check your contract before proceeding.

Copyright: I retain the copyright to the book covers I design. What I am selling is the license to use the cover art.

You may use the cover I designed for your book in whatever capacity you need as long as the original design is not modified. This means you can use the cover in bookmarks, postcards, and in book trailers, etc. whether I create them or not.