FAQ

I specialize in fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and comedy, but am happy to discuss other genres as well. I will tell you frankly if I don't think I'm a good fit for your project.

First, you write the book (or at least make plans to). When you're ready for a cover you reach out to me via email (authorallegra@gmail.com) and book a free consultation. During this conversation, which can  be over text, phone, zoom, or email, you'll tell me a bit about your book and ideas for the cover and I'll brainstorm with you to find something that both fits the market and represents your work. 

If you are satisfied that I understand your vision and want to commission me, I will pencil you into my que and begin looking for the stock art, fonts, and resources I'll need to complete your cover. You will be asked to provide me with your chosen trim size and aproximate page count. 

Once I begin working, I tend to be very communicative with my authors. I'll send you work in progress screenshots and value your feedback and ideas. Early changes are easy changes, so I work hard to make sure the base layout is strong before I start adding details. I continue working through the photomanipulation or vectoring stage, then usually add in the typography and go in for some hand-painting on top to add that special extra something. 

When YOU are happy with it, I create the final print-ready files and send you an invoice. Once paid, I email you all the files, which are then yours for commercial use!

Yes and yes! Many designers charge more for your naked cover and typography PNGs, but I'm not one of them. Your naked cover is a powerful tool for promotional images and is yours as part of your commission. If you want it or the typography as a separate PNG, just let me know. 

I offer a 5% discount on 3 or more covers booked at the same time. 

The book world, as a whole, is rather antagonistic to AI. It is making it harder for artists and authors alike to make it out of the growing slush pile flooding onto Amazon, and is hurting real creatives every day while being trained on their work. While the tools themselves are not to blame, the current corporate policies around them are predatory. Many readers are cognizant of this situation and will not pick up a book with an AI cover. Furthermore, a good artist will know the genre and market you are launching into like the back of their hand and will be able to give you industry insights into what is selling. AI will only generate an image. 

We then come to the matter of typography, which is often added on top of an AI image that was not created with typo in mind. Typography is an art and science in itself. For competitive results which will look good next to comparable titles, you need specialized software and experience to seamlessly incorporate text onto art. 

Most of all, though, you should avoid AI covers because this is the very first thing every reader will see. It deserves as much love and attention as the text inside. 

I get my stock from a variety of reputable stock companies, and will always be happy to show the licensing docs for every single image. As most covers contain dozens of individual pieces of stock, I usually don't hand over the licenses unless you ask as it takes some time, but if you're ever worried, I've got your back.

While I do not deliberatly use any AI generated content, in today's stock image world sometimes AI sneaks in unnanounced and can fool even the exprerts. I do my absoloute best to check every single asset I use, but I cannot 100% guarantee it. 

When I cannot find the stock I need on my usual sites, I have a number of other tools such as 3D modeling which can help fill in the gaps. As with stock, anything I do not create myself from scratch will have the requisite licensing documentation. 

Yes! If you want to pay in installments, you certainly can. I cannot release the final files until the commission has been paid in full, but I can give you watermarked versions for printer proofs!

Yes! I love going all out! Give me your gold embossing, your sprayed edges, and your naked covers with sumtuous character art. Want chapter headers? I've got them! Need character cards? Look no further! Banners and graphics? You bet!

I'd be happy to do part or all of a special edition's design work. Please take a look at both my illustrations and book covers for examples. I am also happy to show you some finished kickstarter projects I participated in.