Hiring a Book Designer
Posted on June 18, 2007
Filed Under Designing Book Covers, Self-Publishing with Lulu |
If the learning curve of designing your book is too daunting, hire a professional. Fees for professional book design range from $250 - $5,000. That’s quite a spread.
Professional designers discourage authors from hiring designers who charge cheap fees. The big reason is that these junior designers make printing mistakes that the pros have to fix before the book can be published. This can cause serious financial difficulty for the author, not to mention the headaches of publishing delays.
Does that mean that you need to run out and spend $2,000 - $5,000 for a professional designer? Not necessarily. Lulu has a directory of book designers that have a good portfolio and glowing testimonials from happy clients. I’ll list the top three.
Dixie Press: Offers a wide variety of services for the Lulu author. They are currently ranked at Number 1 on the provider listing.
Shearstone Creative Services ranks at Number 2. I liked this lady’s designs. They are quite vivid and creative.
RALT Creative Group offers book cover design, plus manuscript editing and formatting services. You can get their full design and editing package for $424.
The big benefit of hiring these providers is that they know the Lulu publishing system and will design your cover to Lulu’s specifications. If you’re not impressed with their portfolios, check out John Kremer’s Book Cover Designers Directory. Better yet, go there to educate yourself on book design whether you plan to hire a designer or not.
After combing through this directory, I found four designers that I would consider hiring.
Book Cover Express: Cathi Stevenson has a strong publishing background that dates back to 1981. You’ll find some award-winning designs on her website, as well as endorsements from big players in the self-publishing field. Her company offers cover and interior design, illustration and proofreading.
Fiona Raven: This is the site you want to visit if you want to learn about the book design process from start to finish. She also offers a free advertising page on her website for each of her published clients. Fiona designs both book covers and interiors.
Desktop Miracles: This company has some very impressive interior design samples.
Foster Covers: George Foster designed the covers for the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul series. You’ll also find some useful “Before” and “After” makeovers. He charges $5,000 for his covers.
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