When you see the self publishing masses on Youtube telling you how important your book cover is, they are absolutely correct. A bad cover can kill a good book faster than any of the characters that might be lurking inside—so this is crucial. Here’s what I did with  Accent Reds, how I (kind of) messed up, and then thankfully managed to recover it.

1 — Know When to Commission Your Cover

If you’re an indie author, you’d think commissioning a book cover would be one of the fun bits, right? Turns out, it’s only fun if you don’t do what I did.

First mistake: I have very specific ideas about what I don’t want — generic fantasy covers, obvious stock images, all that. So when my original designer (who nailed the first book’s cover) ghosted me completely, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride.

Next came the Google rabbit hole: “cover designers” brings up so many results you half expect to find a Balrog lurking at the bottom. And let’s be honest — the endless DMs from designers and “marketers” bragging about how amazing they are just screams desperation. So I ignored those and went through a reputable online agency. I won’t name them, but they advertise everywhere and promise you professional freelancers with respectable CVs. They take 10% for the privilege — fair enough if they keep things smooth.

I had a clear brief: sample covers, sketches, screenshots — the lot. I pitched to a few designers whose portfolios I liked. Most politely declined. The one who said yes quoted me double what I’d paid before. I circled back to my original designer — still MIA. So I swallowed my doubts (and the cap on my budget) and went with the new guy.

I thought my detailed brief would make things easy. Rookie error number two: he wanted to do his own thing. However, after a few rounds of discussion and compromise, we landed on a cover I actually love — it echoes the first book’s vibe, so I can’t complain.

Then came the spine and back cover. He asked, “How many pages are in your manuscript?” Cue the hollow laugh — I hadn’t finished the final edit yet, so of course I didn’t know. And there it was: the penny drop moment. You can’t design a full cover — spine included — until you have the final page count and trim size. Obvious in hindsight, but I completely missed it.

Fair play to the designer — I confessed my rookie mistake, and he agreed to shelve the project until I was ready. About a year later (long story), he honoured that promise, turned around the spine and back cover fast, and the finished result looked great. He’d been paid in full up front — plus the site’s additional 10% fee — so I was lucky he didn’t vanish into the ether. If he had, I don’t know where that would have left me with the third-party agency. Thankfully, I didn’t have to find out.

Lesson learned:
Don’t commission a cover until your manuscript is in its final, releasable form. And while you’re at it, think twice about hiring a designer at all.

If you have a clear vision, a decent eye, and some Canva skills, you can DIY a respectable cover. Use licence-free photo sites like Unsplash. Tweak it in Canva. Spend an hour or two looking at the shelves in Waterstones to see what actually sells. I’m a photographer, for heaven’s sake — in hindsight, I could have done this myself. Next time, I will.

So:
✅ Finalise your manuscript first.
✅ Get your page count and trim size nailed down.
✅ Save your money if you’ve got the skills.

 

Editing next. I might need a lie down and some paracetamol before I tackle that one…