Home › Book Cover Design
Book cover design
On Amazon your book is a thumbnail beside twenty others, and the reader decides in a second. We design an original cover for your genre, test it at thumbnail size and deliver print and ebook files that KDP and IngramSpark accept.
Tell us the book, the genre and any ideas you have. A cover designer replies within one business day with a written price. Nothing is charged until you approve it.
The short answer
Columbia Publication designs original book covers from $300 for a front cover and $500 for a full print cover with spine and back. Each is researched against bestsellers in your genre, tested at Amazon thumbnail size and delivered as print-ready PDF and ebook files for KDP and IngramSpark, with two revision rounds. Cover design is also included in every publishing package from $1,499.
Prices checked October 26, 2026 · Reviewed by Gia Kahn, Lead Editor · Next review November 2026 · How we check
Is this you?
A reader judges your book in about a second.
Template covers look like templates. Stock images signal the wrong genre. A beautiful design can still fail if the title cannot be read at thumbnail size, and a print cover with the wrong spine width is rejected on upload, delaying the launch.
We research the covers that sell in your category, design an original concept to your brief, check it at the size readers actually see, and deliver files built to each platform’s exact specifications.
Prices
Fixed starting prices. Your designer confirms the exact figure in a written quote before any work starts.
| Cover | From | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Front cover (ebook) | $300 | Original front cover researched against your genre, tested at thumbnail size, delivered for Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo |
| Full print cover | $500 | Front, spine calculated from your page count and paper, back cover with copy, author bio, barcode and ISBN, print-ready PDF |
| In a publishing package | Included from $1,499 | Full cover plus formatting, ISBNs and distribution to every major store |
Custom illustration or photography is quoted separately. Every cover includes two revision rounds; extra rounds are quoted before any work starts.
What a cover must do
Six tests, checked before any cover leaves us.
Type, imagery and color tell the right reader this book is for them before they read a word.
Title and author legible in Amazon search results, where most buyers first see it.
Curiosity, tension, calm or warmth: the cover promises what the book delivers.
Distinct on a page of competitors while keeping the conventions readers expect.
Color profile, resolution, bleed, trim and spine width correct for KDP and IngramSpark.
Your vision, refined through two revision rounds until you sign off.
Specifications
| Ebook cover | Print cover | |
|---|---|---|
| File | JPG or TIFF | |
| Size | Ideal ratio 1.6:1, e.g. 2,560 × 1,600 pixels | Trim size plus spine, at 300 DPI |
| Bleed | Not needed | 0.125 inches on every edge |
| Spine | Not needed | Width calculated from page count and paper |
| Safe area | Keep text clear of edges | Text at least 0.25 inches from trim |
IngramSpark’s requirements are similar, with small differences. We deliver files for both.
Have a cover already? Our free cover review gives you a designer’s written notes.
Get My Cover QuoteThe process
Your ideas, plus an analysis of the covers selling in your category right now.
Usually two to three directions, each with the reasoning behind it.
Your chosen direction refined through two revision rounds: imagery, type, color and layout.
Ebook JPG, print-ready PDF and PNG files for promotion, checked against platform requirements.
When it is done
You search your genre and there it is, among the bestsellers, and it looks like it belongs. The title reads at thumbnail size, the colors say the right genre, and readers click. When you hold the printed copy, the spine is centered and the back cover reads cleanly.
“It turned out better than I could have imagined when I first started.”
Jason Patterson, author of City of the Gods, whose cover we designed. Other covers we have designed include The Amylets Fantastic Adventures and Uncharted Road, Faithful God!
Options
Original designs only. No templates.
Ebook only
From $300
An original front cover for Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo, tested at thumbnail size.
A front cover that holds up at the size a shopper actually sees it on Kindle, Apple Books and Kobo, for a book you publish as an ebook.
Two revision rounds
Price This for My BookMost chosen
From $500
Front, spine and back with copy, bio, barcode and ISBN, ready for KDP and IngramSpark print.
The complete wrap, front, spine and back with your copy, bio, barcode and ISBN, accepted by KDP and IngramSpark print.
Two revision rounds
Price This for My BookBest value
From $1,499
The full cover plus formatting, ISBNs and distribution to every major store.
The cover plus everything needed to put the book on sale everywhere, from formatting and ISBNs to distribution, for one price.
Global Publish and up
Price This for My BookWhat you are covered by on every cover
Paid in full upfront once you approve the written quote. Need the interior laid out too? See book formatting.
What you can count on
How it runs
We’ve started with Cover design. Add anything else your manuscript needs, and a specialist sends an itemised quote within one business day. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Written quote within one business day. Nothing is charged until you approve it. 100% of your rights stay yours.
Questions
A front cover starts from $300 and a full print cover with spine and back from $500. Custom illustration is quoted separately, and cover design is included in every publishing package from $1,499.
Two revision rounds on every cover, covering imagery, type, color and layout. Extra rounds are quoted before any work starts.
Ebook covers: JPG or TIFF, ideally 1.6:1 such as 2,560 × 1,600 pixels. Print covers: a PDF at 300 DPI with 0.125-inch bleed, a spine sized to your page count and text at least 0.25 inches from the trim.
A high-resolution JPG for ebook stores, a print-ready PDF for KDP Print and IngramSpark, and PNG files for your website and promotion.
No. Every cover is an original design made by a person for your book.
Yes. Many authors come to us when a cover gets views but not clicks. Our free cover review gives written notes first.
The concept work, the two revision rounds and how quickly you reply at each round set the schedule. Your timeline is confirmed in writing with your quote.
In full, once you approve the written quote for your cover. That reserves your designer and fixes the delivery date.
Tell us the book and the genre. A cover designer replies within one business day with a written price.
Get My Cover QuoteWe use cookies to measure visits and the performance of our ads. You can accept or reject them. Privacy policy
