Book Design Services: Hire a Book Designer

For a short text-only book (up to 20,000 words), an Ebook cover ($199) and Ebook formatting ($89) cost $288. A print launch with a Print-Ready cover ($399) and All three editions formatting ($429) costs $828 at that length. Other lengths are in the calculator. Children’s books cost more because the illustration is the book: $2,595 for up to 16 illustrations or $3,495 for up to 24, with formatting included. Your estimate lands within 10% to 15% of your written quote.

It depends on who publishes your book. With AuthorWings publishing, one project manager runs both, so your files match the stores you publish to. If you publish yourself through KDP or IngramSpark, or use another service, we deliver files to that platform’s exact requirements. Name your platform on the call, so the files are right the first time.

One order can cover several formats, and each format adds some work. The Ebook cover ($199) is ebook only; add the paperback wrap (spine and back cover) for $149. Print-Ready ($399) covers ebook, paperback, and hardcover. Illustrated ($999) adds custom artwork, a matching series look, and social media graphics. For the inside pages, All three editions ($429 up to 20,000 words) covers ebook, paperback, and hardcover, and costs less than buying each edition separately.

Yes. Audiobook cover art is a $149 add-on to any book cover design tier. It is laid out as its own square file at 3000 × 3000 pixels, above the ACX minimum of 2400 × 2400 (as of October 2026), with the title and author name placed to read well at small sizes. You can add it at the start or after your main cover ships.

Yes. Your ebook is one EPUB file that adjusts to any screen size (a reflowable ebook). Amazon KDP, Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble all accept it, and we check it in Kindle Previewer, Amazon’s free checking tool, before delivery. Print files are set up separately, because KDP and IngramSpark ask for different page settings. Every book formatting package includes these checks.

It depends on the services you book. Cover design takes 7 to 10 business days on Ebook and Print-Ready, and 10 to 14 on Illustrated. Formatting takes 3 to 21 business days, depending on length and layout. Illustration packages take 3 to 4 weeks from your approved plan. Your review time adds to each. For children’s books, the art comes first and formatting follows it. Your quote includes a written timeline.

We can help. On the free call, we look at your current design and tell you honestly whether changes can fix it or a fresh start is faster. If you have the editable files from your last designer (PSD, INDD, or AI), we can often work from them. If you only have flat images, the project is quoted as new design, because it has to be rebuilt. Missing files are a common reason authors get stuck.

You receive the editable files and the finished files for everything you order. Cover: a layered PSD, an AI file if there is custom artwork, print-ready PDFs for each print format, the ebook image, and the audiobook square if added. Formatting: an EPUB for ebook stores, a print-ready PDF for KDP and IngramSpark, and the InDesign or Vellum file. Illustration: the character guide, layered Procreate or PSD files, print-ready files, and ebook versions.

Yes. You own the cover design, the interior layout, and every illustration drawn for your book, and you keep the editable files. There is no licensing fee, no royalty on your artwork, and no clause tying future editions to us. Stock photos and fonts are the exception: they are licensed for use in your book, not owned by you or by us.

Yes, and we recommend it. We keep the same designer on later books in a series whenever possible, because matching fonts, colors, and layout tell readers the books belong together. Book one takes the longest, since that is where the series look is created. Each book after it moves faster, because the look is already set.

A book designer creates one part of how a finished book looks. A cover designer works in Photoshop and Illustrator, following your genre’s style and each store’s size rules. An interior designer works in InDesign or Vellum, setting the fonts and spacing and laying out every page. An illustrator works in Procreate or Photoshop from a character guide. Many books need two of the three. Children’s books need all three.

Cover design only, interior layout only, or illustration only start at $199, $89, and $99. Nothing requires you to combine them. Authors who already have a cover they like can book the interior layout alone.

We work with contracted specialists, chosen by reviewing their published work and assigned by genre. The difference from hiring a freelance book designer directly is who handles the vetting, the brief, the rounds of changes, and the store file checks. Here, a project manager handles all four. Hiring directly means you handle them, which suits authors who have run a design project before and want that control.

Yes. The lowest price for a complete design is $288: an Ebook cover ($199) and Ebook formatting ($89) for a book up to 20,000 words. It includes one design idea, two rounds of changes on each service, and ebook files only. It is affordable, and it is limited to ebooks, so on the call we will tell you whether a print edition matters for your launch.

Authors searching for a book designer near me usually want someone responsive, not someone close by. Design is remote work, and a layered PSD or print-ready PDF is the same file wherever your designer lives. AuthorWings is registered in Brooklyn, New York, and works with authors in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. When you search for book design services near me, look for working hours that overlap yours and a team you can reach.