DIY book Covers? Don't Even Think About it: 4 Reasons You Need A Professional Book Cover

I know what you’re thinking… you’ll just create your own book cover and save time, money and energy, right? Wrong. Don’t do it. Here’s why:

For 99% of authors out there, this just isn’t realistic. At least not if you want to actually sell your book.

Sure, you can create a book cover yourself, but the problem is that even if you’re artistic, book cover design is difficult to master. Creating an eye-catching design that contains all the elements needed to perform well in the marketplace takes a lot of time, effort, and skill that not just anyone can mimic. Besides, as a self-publishing author, your energy is better spent polishing your content and prepping for your big launch!

Let’s cut to the chase; I’m an author and yes, I do work with Archangel Ink, and yes, I do hope that you will check out our book cover design page and get an amazing cover!

What you may not know is that I was a client first, and I always hired Archangel Ink to design my book covers! Why? Because I know it’s in the best interest of my book, my time and my wallet. Not only do I believe in the quality of the covers, I know you’ll be stunned when you see your sales increase because of it.

I’m writing this from the standpoint of an author with no design skills. I couldn’t make a book cover if I tried (and I did try, just for fun, keep reading to see my Frankenstein monster), so I let the experts do the work.

If you are a designer at heart and want to delve into book cover creation, then go for it. Maybe you can even create designs on the side for a little extra cash if you have the chops.

For most of us though, it’s better to let the pros do what they do best, so we can focus on what we are good at and enjoy.

It’s the mindset: Do what you do best, and let others take care of the rest. For me, I LOVE keyword research, and as such, don’t need others to do this for me. At the same time, I know that design is not something I will be good at or have an interest in.

At Archangel Ink, we want to help you make the best decision for your book cover design needs. For the majority, we believe that decision is to get a professional book cover done by us. Let’s see if I can convince you with the following four reasons:

Don’t DIY Your Book Cover Reason #1: You Can’t Make a Cover Look This Good

Here are three of my favorite covers Archangel Ink has ever done:

Fiction book cover (yes we do those!) that looks beautiful. The colors work together well, and extremely professional outcome here.

This is one of my personal favorites that we have done. Sleek, elegant, simple, yet skillful. Also, a best seller on Amazon for several months in a row, so there’s that. 😉

A picture speaks 1000 words… Need I say anything about this one?

Ask yourself: Could I make covers like these above? If yes, then maybe you are part of the 1% and I hope you’re getting paid for your talent! If not, get your cover done by a specialist.

Don’t DIY Your Book Cover Reason #2: You Don’t Know the Market

Our cover designer knows the book market. She takes what is currently out there in your genre, and then makes something that is a peer to the top performers, but also stands a step above the rest.

What’s more? Every cover you get is thoroughly examined by our team before it gets passed on to you. You get multiple eyes on it that know the market and know what is selling at the time.

Your cover needs to fit in, and also stand out. Our designer makes that happen, and it’s just one reason why our current clients keep coming back.

Don’t DIY Your Book Cover Reason #3: You Don’t Have Any Design Skills

I took a stab at creating a cover for my book, just to see what i could come up with. Was this a real attempt? Not really. Could I have done much better? No way.

Let’s take a look at what I came up with. Hopefully your cover wouldn’t look as bad if you decide to create your own:

Part of me kind of loves it… I mean come on, everyone that saw it would ask what the five green shirted men were doing running TOWARDS a volcano. I, of course, wouldn’t have any clue. They just looked cool so I threw them in.

Even if you think you have the skills to make a cover, the truth is that you probably don’t. Not trying to rain down hellfire on your design skills, just remember that quality book covers are in a league of their own.

Now let’s take a peek at the one Archangel Ink created for me:

This one is a 3D sample of the cover for my upcoming book release. I am in love with it, and I can’t help but share it everywhere I go.

I thought that I would be getting back something with a volcano, but my vision for the book was only complete when I had an artist do the work.

Don’t DIY Your Book Cover Reason #4: It’s a lot of Work

Even if you do have super design skills, it takes additional work to get a final product in all of the various forms that you need.

Our design package includes:

Kindle version
Paperback version
3D Covers for social media/website
Banner for book marketing purposes

And we can also do audio and hardback with dust jacket covers as well. It might be easy for you to figure out how to create all of these different formats, but most of us will struggle. I’ve tried to create my own 3D options before, and get sucked down a rabbit hole full of garbage conversion websites throwing ads in my face at every turn.

And even more difficult are print book (wrap-around) covers. Calculating spine dimensions to the fraction of an inch, ensuring active elements are within the safe printing zone, and planning for your barcode? No thanks, not going to even try to DIY that. Don’t get stuck here.

Again, I’ll be honest. We are not the only company that creates great book covers. There are many options, price points and skill levels out there to choose from. However, here at Archangel Ink you not only end up with an amazing book cover, you get quality design work, years of experience with professional results and a supportive team that will keep your best interests at heart.

-Jordan and the Archangel Ink Team

Archangel Ink