Craig-Hansen.com

Hi.

I’m an independent author, true. But for many years, I gained valuable layout and design experience in settings as varied as book publishing, newspapers, Web sites and even boring corporate SOP manuals. I even hold a nice little award for the state of Wisconsin in “Best sports section – Editorial.” So, I have a lot of experience in layout and design.

Now, I am NOT an artist. I don’t create original artwork. That’s not something I can help you with.

But if you’ve been using stock photos, and are shocked to find out two or three other authors have covers that use the same stock photo, and you want yours to stand out and not seem like a copycat image? I can help.

If you love your stock or original photo, but you’re not happy with how your text looks on that photo? I have a huge font library and a good eye for effective design. I can help.

If you’re new to indie publishing and this is your first book cover? I can help.

If you have a lot of book covers but think they could look better with this very specific type of cover design service? I can help.

If you’re not sure whether you like the stock photo you’re using, or need elements from a couple images merged into one? I can help.

Examples of My Work

One author I helped out recently is Melonie Phillips. She had a photo she really wanted to use, because she was related to one of the people in the photo. Working on her own, this is how her mock-up for Camp Vamp: Freshman Year looked when she went to Kindleboards, asking for feedback:

Camp Vamp Freshman Year will be released sometime in 2011.

As you can see, the typography here was problematic. It lacked pop and personality, blended too easily into the photo, making it hard to read, and the source-photo was a bit soft, and had no supernatural feel.

With these challenges in mind, I contacted the author and offered my help. Once she sent me the original source photo, I went to work. First, with the supernatural nature of the title, I wanted to make these otherwise cute teens seem a bit more… supernatural. I won’t bore you with all the steps, but I decided to go for a bluish-purple wash and then painted the whites of their eyes red. I then selectively cropped the photo to make it seem less like a self-taken camera-phone photo and increase the dramatic impact of their appearance in general.

These steps rescued what could have been an over-exposed, grainy photo and gave it impact.

I decided on a black background because of the supernatural genre, even though it’s YA, and moved the title and author’s name to the black frame areas to maximize visibility. I centered the author’s name and then I centered the title for a uniform look

I delivered three different takes on the typography for the author to choose from. Here’s the first take I delivered to her:

Camp Vamp Cover Redesign A

In the second design below, I used all-red typography, to play off the red eyes.

Camp Vamp Cover Redesign B

And in the third design, below, I went for a slight variation on the first design, with different fonts of course:

Camp Vamp Cover Redesign C

I delivered all three of these versions to Phillips, sized to 600 by 800 pixels and 300 dpi, so that it will work for both the Amazon Kindle format, as well as a CreateSpace front cover image.

And this is the sort of thing I do. I work quickly, and I use my layout and design experience to deliver a maximum-impact cover for any author who needs my help. I will always deliver at least three design options for an author to choose from, and if the client is still not completely happy, we can mix-and-match features, or I’ll redo it, until the client is satisfied.

What Are People Saying?

In the case above, Melonie Phillips wrote the following upon receiving the three designs:

I really like these. At first the red eyes took me by surprise. Then I showed them to my sixteen year old niece … She said they are bad–s. Ha ha! I take that to mean they are awesome. And that is the age group I am going for. I can’t make up my mind which one just yet. Thank you! -Melonie Phillips

So What Do I Charge?

Since I’m not offering original artwork, my service will naturally be lower-priced than many folks who are illustrators and do offer original artwork.

I want anyone who needs this sort of help to have a chance to afford it, so while I have a maximum amount I’m willing to charge, I’ll work with any client to make sure my help is within their budget. Even my maximum per-cover charge will only require you to generate a few sales to earn back your investment.

Because I’m an indie author, too; I know what it’s like.

If this sounds like the kind of service you need, contact me at craigintwincities at yahoo dot com.

I’ll work with you and flesh out the details and offer you a customized quote. And just so no one gets scared, I’ll let you know this much: my maximum per-cover charge would be $25. There are discounts for multiple covers and other considerations. Talk to me. I’ll make sure you can afford my help.

I accept PayPal payments in US funds only.

I ask for half up-front, and half on completion. If any author decides not to use my designs, within five (5) working days of completion, I will refund (through PayPal only) any payments made for work not accepted by the client.

My fee is only for the final, accepted cover. There is no additional charge for the “three takes.” That’s me earning the job.

Contact me for further details.