Michael McInnis
Book Design for small presses and independent authors
You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but a memorable cover design that stays true to the tone of your book will attract readers, make your writer friends wish their books looked like yours, and make you feel extra proud.
Cover Only
- Front, back and spine design
- High-resolution, print-ready PDF
- Placeholder for provided bar code
- Print only – Does not include a Kindle or eBook file
My Cover Only package includes a print (front, back and spine) cover custom designed in Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I don’t use pre-made templates for your cover. You’ll have access to unlimited royalty-free modern or vintage stock images (unless you have specific image requests, which may require additional charges). I will provide you with 3 cover design options. With up to 3 rounds of revisions your final cover will be print-ready tailored to your printer’s specifications. In addition, you’ll receive marketing images for bookmarks and postcards. Print only – Does not include a Kindle or eBook file
Complete Book
- The complete book design
- Features everything in the Cover Only package
- Print-ready PDF
- Print only – Does not include a Kindle or eBook file
This is the complete package: print cover and the content of your book, plus marketing images for bookmarks and postcards.
I subscribe to the notion that good book design enhances the text and makes reading an organic connection between the writer and her audience.
Does NOT include editing or proofreading of the text. Manuscripts rife with typos, poor formating that requires cleaning up the document will incur additional costs.
The Design Process
Tell me about your book design needs. The design process will begin once you read and agree to my Terms and Conditions and pay a deposit of half the total cost of the project.
I’ll ask you to share detailed information about your book as well as your vision for the cover. Working together, I’ll use this information and your ideas to create a custom cover design for your book.
When the first draft of your book cover is complete, I’ll e-mail you a proof and work with you through up to three rounds of revisions to perfect the cover. I want you to be happy with your cover design.
Frequently
asked
questions
What’s the turnaround time for cover design?
Once I’ve scheduled your cover design, I’ll give you a delivery date. I’ll send you a first draft on that date and then work with you up to two additional rounds of revisions to fine-tune your cover. The time between the first draft and the final cover depends on the depth of revisions and usually takes one to two weeks.
I missed some typos in my book?
So long as you catch the typos and submit them during one of the three revision sessions, I can fix them for you. I DO NOT proofread or copyedit your work. While I edit my own work, I’m not an editor per se, I’m a designer.
How does the cover design process work?
First, I’ll ask for a detailed synopsis, your ideas, important themes and symbols, and example of covers you like or that convey the tone you’re looking for. Some authors have specific ideas for their covers, while some give me general thoughts on the design, and others just want to see what I come up with. Once I have all the information we need, I’ll develop a first draft and work with you up to two additional rounds of revisions.
What should I put on the back of my print book?
Typically, the back cover is used for blurb(s), an author bio, an author photo, review quotes, your author website, social media links, your publishing name/logo, category, and price. The choice is yours.
What genres do you work with?
I’m open to working with all genres. Many of the books in my portfolio are poetry books.
How do I contact you?
Just visit my Let’s Talk About You page to get in touch. Please note that I’m located on the East Coast of the US, so I’m on Eastern Standard Time.
How does payment work?
I’ll bill via PayPal (but you can pay with a credit or debit card even if you don’t have a PayPal account). I’ll send you an initial invoice for half the cost of your project before beginning your design. Once the final revision is approved, I’ll send you the second invoice.