Book cover design, trade-paperback grade.
Trade-paperback and hardback covers, typeset and proofed for KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books and bookstore distribution. Sized to the trim, fitted to the spine, signed off at print resolution.
Key facts
- Service
- Trade-paperback and hardback book cover design for print and digital.
- Starting price
- From $320 per cover.
- Typical turnaround
- 2 to 4 weeks from brief to print-ready files.
- Output
- KDP, IngramSpark and Apple Books cover files, plus full source artwork.
- Specialty
- Spine maths, bleed, retina thumbnail tested — every cover signed off at print resolution.
- Revisions
- Three revision rounds plus thirty days of corrections after sign-off.
A trade-grade cover, end to end.
Everything KDP, IngramSpark and your printer need — and the file your next designer will quietly thank you for.
- Two cover concepts. Two distinct directions developed to a polished comp, not three mood-board collages.
- Three revision rounds. Three formal rounds on the chosen direction, plus a polish pass before sign-off.
- Considered typography. Type pairings tested at trim size, kerned for spine width, proofed at thumbnail.
- All trim sizes. 5×8, 5.25×8, 5.5×8.5, 6×9 and custom — fitted to your final page count and paper stock.
- Print-ready CMYK PDF. With bleed, gutter and a calibrated spine — proofed to your printer's profile.
- Retailer exports. Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play — sized and saved from a single master.
- Layered source files. PSD and InDesign source handed over, with a font-license manifest you can renew.
- Two weeks of post-launch support. Tweaks for KDP rejections, IngramSpark spine adjustments, ad-creative re-crops.
Five steps, signed off by you.
Mood & references.
Genre study, palette direction and type system — signed off before any layout.
Two concepts.
Two distinct directions taken to a polished comp, reviewed at thumbnail and full size.
The chosen path.
One direction selected, three revision rounds across artwork and typography.
Final art & production.
Print-ready CMYK PDF, retailer exports, source files, font manifest, rights transfer.
Covers we have shipped recently.
Six from the last eighteen months — fiction, memoir, business, debut paperbacks. The full archive sits on the bookshelf.
What authors say after delivery.
Verified clients from the last twelve months. Names changed on request, never quotes.
Three editions, fixed price.
No hourly billing, no surprise spine-resize fees. You pick the edition, we deliver the cover.
Ebook front
- Ebook front cover only
- Two concepts, three revisions
- Layered PSD source
- Kindle, Apple, Kobo exports
Print wraparound
- Everything in Edition I
- Spine, back cover, blurb typesetting
- Print-ready CMYK PDF, bleed included
- KDP & IngramSpark templates fitted
- Hardback variant on request
Trilogy identity
- Three matching covers in one engagement
- Series style guide & type system
- Boxed-set artwork & slipcase mock-ups
- Reserved designer for 12 months
Bespoke briefs welcome. Tell us about your book and we'll write back with a fixed quote in 48 hours.
Four promises, written in.
Layered PSD and InDesign masters delivered with the final art — no locked files, no agency vault.
Copyright in artwork and layout transfers on final payment. Licensed fonts and stock are documented for renewal.
Two distinct directions taken to a polished comp — not three thumbnails we already favour one of.
Three formal rounds on the chosen concept, plus the small polish round nobody bills for at the end.
More about our book cover design work.
Our book cover design services cover paperback cover design, hardback cover design, ebook covers and the matched KDP cover / IngramSpark cover jacket files most authors need to ship to both platforms. We work with self-published authors, hybrid imprints and small publishers across fiction, non-fiction and trade book cover work. Most covers take three to five weeks from brief to print-ready files.
Two concepts, three revisions — how the KDP cover work actually runs
The process is the same on most projects. We read your manuscript synopsis, three comp titles you point us at, and the back-cover blurb. Two concept directions are produced as greyscale layouts, you choose one, then three revision rounds follow on the chosen direction. A KDP cover ships as a single JPG at Amazon's current spec; the matching IngramSpark cover is built as a wraparound PDF with spine width calculated against your final page count.
A paperback cover design is not the same job as a hardback cover design. Hardback wraps include dust jackets, flaps and a board-printed undercover; the spine titling sits at a different optical centre. Trade book cover design for any case-bound title takes the longer hand. We quote the hardback as a separate line because it is.
What good trade book cover work pays for
A good trade book cover earns back its fee by lifting the book from a long-tail self-published title into something that holds its own on a shelf. The work is in restraint as much as design: knowing when to remove a third element from the cover, when to switch typeface families, when to argue with the author about a colour they love that won't read at thumbnail. The cover designer's job is to protect the book.
Deliverables: print-ready PDF jacket for KDP and IngramSpark, ebook cover JPG at platform spec, social media variants on request, and full copyright assignment on final payment.
Questions we are asked.
Short, honest answers. Anything else, send to contact@ebookwriting.ai.
What does the starting figure include?
At ebookwriting.ai, the starting cover design fee of $320 covers an ebook front cover with three concept directions, typography exploration, two formal revision rounds on the chosen direction, and final delivery at retailer-ready resolution.
How long does a cover take?
Two to four weeks for an ebook front cover, three to five weeks for a full print wraparound including spine and back. The schedule is written into your proposal.
What if I want to take a cover in a different direction late in the process?
Two revision rounds are included on the chosen concept, and we'll always tell you honestly if a late pivot is going to weaken the cover. If a genuine rethink is needed we re-scope rather than rush a rebuild that won't sell the book.
Do I own the cover design?
Yes. Copyright on the artwork and layout transfers to you on final payment for both digital and print use. Licensed stock or font elements remain under their original licence, which we document so you can renew where needed.
What files are delivered?
Layered source files, retailer-sized ebook exports (Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo), a print-ready CMYK PDF with bleed for the paperback or hardback if commissioned, and a metadata document listing the fonts and any licensed assets.
How many cover concepts do I get?
Three distinct concepts at the first stage. From your feedback we develop one chosen direction through two revision rounds and a final polish — total rounds are capped to keep the project focused, but we've yet to need more.
Often paired with this.
A cover that prints clean.
A 15-minute discovery call, a written proposal in 48 hours, a fixed-price quote that includes every revision in scope.