Our Book Cover Design Process — What to Expect
A friendly walk-through of how we design your book cover: what we need from you, how concepts and revisions work, and why we design for genre fit above personal taste.
A good book cover isn't just pretty — it's a marketing tool working for you 24/7 on a crowded Amazon shelf. The best covers come from a genuine collaboration: your story, your taste, our design craft, and hard-earned knowledge of what sells in your genre. This page walks you through how we work so there are no surprises — what we'll ask of you, how the concept and revision stages work, and where the honest trade-offs live.
1Before You Order: What We Need From You
Right after you order, we send you a quick intake form — a guided series of prompts rather than a blank Word doc. It takes about 10 minutes and captures everything below. You don't need to write a formal brief; just have these ready.
A one-paragraph synopsis
The story in a nutshell — hooks, tone, stakes. Don't overthink it.
Genre and subgenre
Thriller is different from psychological thriller is different from cozy thriller. Be specific.
Three comp titles
Recent bestsellers in your category whose covers you admire. These anchor the design direction.
Mood and tone notes
Dark and moody? Bright and hopeful? Corporate and clean? A few adjectives go a long way.
Non-negotiables (if any)
Things you definitely want or definitely don't want. Avoid telling us what the image should be — tell us the feeling instead.
Want to see if our style fits your genre first?
Browse 200+ covers we've designed across thrillers, romance, fantasy, non-fiction and more. The clearest brief you can give us is comp titles — pick three from your genre whose covers feel like the right neighbourhood. Spending five minutes with our portfolio before ordering tightens the brief and shortens revision rounds.
2The Design Brief
We take everything from your intake form and distil it into a short, one-page brief: genre, tone, typography direction, imagery approach, the feeling a reader should get in three seconds. You confirm it before any design work begins. This is where misunderstandings get caught cheaply.
💡 Pro Tips
- Read the brief carefully — if something feels off, say so now
- Lean on our judgement for the visual direction, but be clear about anything you feel strongly about
- A confirmed brief is the contract for the concepts stage
3Concept Stage
Based on the signed-off brief, we produce initial concepts. The number depends on your package: eBook Essential includes 1 concept, Print Ready includes 2, Launch Bundle includes 3. Each is a fully-realised direction — not a rough sketch.
⚠️ Important
- Concepts are genre-first, personal-taste-second — this is deliberate
- Switching to a completely different direction after concepts are delivered counts as a new concept request and is priced separately
- Refining and polishing one of the delivered concepts = revisions (included, see below)
4The Genre Reality (The Honest Bit)
Here's a truth we'll tell you upfront: covers are marketing tools. They're optimised to catch the eye of your ideal reader scrolling Amazon in thumbnail size, not to match your living room wall. Sometimes the concept that converts best isn't the one that would make the most beautiful art print — and when those two pull in different directions, we'll recommend the one that sells books. You have the final say, of course. But we'd be doing you a disservice if we didn't share the data-backed reasoning behind our suggestions.
💡 Pro Tips
- Trust the genre conventions — readers use them as shortcuts to find books they'll love
- If you're unsure, look at the top 20 books in your Amazon category. Notice the patterns.
- Ask us why we made a choice — we'll happily explain our reasoning
5Sourcing the Artwork
We source artwork in three different ways depending on your package and the creative direction: licensed stock photography, custom illustration, and AI-generated imagery. We always disclose which we used and what you can and cannot do with it afterwards.
💡 Pro Tips
- Licensed stock: cheap and effective, but not exclusive — other books may use the same base image
- Custom illustration: fully yours, fully exclusive, but costs more and takes longer
- AI-generated: somewhere in between — we'll tell you if it was used
- Your package description specifies which sources are included
6Revisions (Included)
Every package includes a generous number of revision rounds on your chosen concept: 2 rounds on eBook Essential, 3 on Print Ready, 4 on Launch Bundle. Revisions are refinements to the concept you selected — typography tweaks, colour shifts, layout adjustments, swapping imagery elements within the same direction.
💡 Pro Tips
- Typography: font changes, size, weight, positioning
- Colour palette: shifting mood, swapping background tones
- Layout: repositioning title, subtitle, author name
- Imagery: swapping a specific element while keeping the overall direction
⚠️ Important
- Pivoting to an entirely different concept after you've picked one = a new concept, not a revision
- After the included rounds, extra revisions are £15 / $19.99 each
7Changes After Final Files Are Approved — £80 / $100 Flat
Once you've approved the final files (print-ready PDF, eBook JPEG, mockups) and we've closed the project, any change request means rebuilding every output in the delivery bundle. That's a flat £80 / $100 per change — not per file, per request — regardless of how small the tweak looks. This is a standard fee that protects everyone: it gives us room to do the work properly and gives you a predictable number to weigh the change against.
💡 Pro Tips
- Triple-check title, subtitle, author name, and tagline before you approve
- View the cover at thumbnail size on your phone before signing off
- If you're unsure about anything, ask us — we'd rather answer than see a $100 change land later
⚠️ Important
- This applies to every change after sign-off, including text swaps, colour shifts, or element tweaks
- If we made the mistake (e.g. wrong subtitle), we fix it free — that's on us
- The cheapest change is the one caught during revisions — use that window
8Content on the Cover
Title, subtitle, author name, and a short tagline (if you have one) are included in the design. If you need a full back-cover blurb and author bio written from scratch, that's our separate Back Cover Copy add-on — unless your package already includes it.
💡 Pro Tips
- Send us the final wording of your title, subtitle, and author name early — we'll use them in concepts
- If you haven't written a tagline, that's fine — we can design without one or suggest options
- Back-cover blurb writing is a craft in itself and not bundled into basic design packages
9What You Get at the End
At the end of the project, you receive a package of final files ready for every platform you plan to sell on.
Print-ready PDF
Full wraparound cover (front, spine, back) with correct bleed for your trim size — ready for KDP or IngramSpark.
eBook JPEG
Kindle-spec, IngramSpark-spec, and generic RGB versions.
3D mockup (if in package)
Ready-to-use promotional imagery for social media, ads, and your website.
Need extra mockups for ads and social posts?
Once your cover is delivered, you can spin up unlimited 3D mockups of your finished design with our free Mockup Generator. Different angles, on-device shots, hand-holds, stack-of-books — handy for Amazon Ads creative, Instagram, your launch page, or sending to early reviewers.
10A Small Note on Collaboration
Cover design is one of the most personal parts of publishing a book — which also makes it the stage where expectations can most easily miss each other. Be honest with us when something isn't quite landing, and give us room to explain why we made the choices we did. When both sides bring that energy, we end up with a cover you love and that also does its job selling your book. If anything on this page isn't clear, just ask before you order.
Ready to brief us on your cover?
If you've decided what genre and direction you want, pick a Book Cover Design package and we'll get a brief back to you within 24 hours. Still feeling out the style? Browse the portfolio first — comp titles you spot in there make the brief much sharper.
Common Questions
How much does a book cover cost?
We offer three packages. eBook Essential covers digital-only books (Kindle/Apple/Kobo) with 1 concept and 2 revision rounds. Print Ready adds a full wraparound print cover (front + spine + back, KDP/IngramSpark-ready) with 2 concepts and 3 revisions. Launch Bundle is everything plus marketing 3D mockups, with 3 concepts and 4 revisions. Current pricing in £ and $ is on our Book Cover Design service page — everything on this page (revision rounds, post-approval £80 / $100 flat, sourcing transparency) applies to every package.
Stock photo, custom illustration, or AI-generated — which should I pick?
Licensed stock is the most common and works well for most genres — it's affordable and effective, but not exclusive (other books may use the same base image, often heavily modified). Custom illustration is fully exclusive to your book, looks the most distinctive, and costs more (and takes longer). AI-generated imagery sits in the middle — useful for moods and concepts that are hard to find in stock libraries; we'll always tell you when it's been used. We'll recommend the right mix for your genre and budget once we see your brief.
What if I don't love any of the concepts you deliver?
First — speak up. Tell us what isn't landing and why. Often it's a tweakable thing (typography, palette, focal point) and lives inside your included revision rounds. If you want to pivot to a fundamentally different concept direction, that's a new concept request rather than a revision and is priced separately. We'd rather have that conversation early than make you live with a cover that doesn't feel right.
Do you handle hardcover dust jackets and full wraparound prints?
Yes. Standard print-cover packages already include the full wraparound (front + spine + back) with correct bleed for your trim size. Hardcover dust jackets are a slightly different spec — separate spine dimensions, French flaps if you're using them, sometimes a printed case under the jacket. Mention it on the intake form and we'll quote the dust-jacket add-on alongside your main package.
How long does the whole project take, end to end?
Initial concepts come back roughly 5–7 business days after the brief is signed off. A full revision cycle (concept → chosen direction → final files) typically lands in 2–3 weeks. Variables: how quickly you respond to concepts and revision drafts, and whether your deliverables include a print cover (which needs the final spine width before it can be locked). Need it faster? Ask about Rush turnaround at intake.
Do you write the back-cover blurb too?
The cover design itself includes setting whatever copy you give us — title, subtitle, author name, taglines, awards, blurb quotes. Writing the back-cover blurb from scratch (the marketing paragraph that sells the book) is a separate craft and lives in our Back Cover Copy add-on. Some bundles include it; otherwise you can add it at intake. If you've already written your blurb, just send it through with the cover brief.
Ready to start? Browse our Book Cover Design packages to pick the right fit for your project. Still have questions? Drop us a line — we're happy to talk through your genre and direction before you commit.
What's your next move?
If you've decided what genre and direction you want, order book cover design and we'll have the brief back to you within 24 hours. Still feeling out the style? Browse our portfolio first — comp titles you spot make the brief much sharper.
Or contact support if you have questions before ordering.