Hey everyone, I'll be finishing a short book soon, so I'm beginning to think about other issues, such as the cover. My understanding is that if a publisher wants your title, they will provide their own cover. Is this always the case? My plan had been to find an online artist, and ask them to create art I could use. Has anyone done that who can advise me? I would ideally mesh with an artist and collaborate on the cover, rather than have a shadowy Mr X do it.
Publishers are highly unlikely to let the writer create a cover; they have people to do that, and they normally have a better idea of what kind of cover sells in the genre than most writers do. Of course, that doesn't mean they won't occasionally produce a cover that sucks and causes the book to flop... Also, how short is 'short'? Short novels weren't uncommon a couple of decades ago, but most publishers these days won't publish books that are unusually short for their genre.
Thanks for your help again Edward. The book is currently around 160 standard book pages. I could make it longer fairly easily. As it's my first, I wanted something quite tight and in general, I can't see myself writing over 300 pages at any time. If you've found this to be an issue though, I'll happily note it down as potential factor.
A little off topic but my friend has found several artists over the years through craigslist to work on his website. All were freelance of course but very professional and worked closely with my friend to get the product he was wanting. His first experience was a bit pricey and afterwards he learned he had some negotiating room.
It is standard for a publisher to hire the artist, and you as the author may or may not have the opportunity to provide input. Generally the larger the publisher the less likely a new author would have input. A smaller publisher may consider artwork you would provide, but a good artist to do a cover is going to cost a lot more than pocket change. Often it takes more than just an 'artist' but someone that is familiar with not only the genre but what aspects of cover art is important to attract readers, and also the space for bleed and titlework must be incorporated. If you do obtain artwork, be sure there is a contract that grants permission to use the art work and under what circumstances/formats.
What is the genre? Also, that is too short to be picked up by a publisher, I think. It is a nice length for a Novella though, so if you are done telling the story, self publish it. I know a graphic artist who is working with me on my current book cover. There are probably lots out there, and I would recommend finding one.
You could always go to DeviantArt and check out various artists. You'd be surprised how many are up for commissions and would gladly take on the work.
If you're working with a publisher, they will generally handle the cover design. Different publishers will welcome different levels of input from you during the process. If you're looking for an artist to produce a cover for a book you plan to self-publish you could try Fiverr. There appear to be several artists there selling cover design services very cheaply.
