How to Gain Ownership of Your Self Published Book Cover
Talk to friends and colleagues., Create a listing online., Interview several designers., Draft a written contract., Get the designer to sign your contract., Register the copyright.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Talk to friends and colleagues.
You may know someone who is a skilled artist or graphic designer and is willing to work with you to design an exclusive cover for you as a work made for hire.
If the art on your cover is work-for-hire, you own the copyright to it.Even if you don't personally know any graphic designers, someone you know may have a designer they can recommend.
Personal recommendations often are stronger than finding someone on your own.
When you have a connection with the designer, they typically have a personal interest in doing good work for you.
Working with someone you know also may get you a reduction in price relative to hiring a professional, but don't take advantage of this.
Even if your designer is a close friend or relative, show that you respect them and their profession by paying them a fair rate for their work.
If they intend to offer you a discount, let them offer it – don't ask for one or assume you'll get one. -
Step 2: Create a listing online.
Even if you're not lucky enough to know someone who's willing to create your cover for you, there are many websites that allow you to list your job and find a suitable designer.Keep in mind that you're not likely to get an experienced, top-notch designer this way.
The work of skilled designers typically is in high demand, and they aren't going to be looking for work on online job boards.
However, you could easily find a beginner or student who has the skills and talent to design a beautiful cover for you at a fraction of the price an experienced professional would charge.
Before you place your listing, do a little research on the acceptable going rate for projects such as yours.
Don't insult designers by offering less than their work is worth – even if they're just starting out.
You also should avoid trying to find someone to create a cover for you for free.
If you're willing to hire them to design your cover, be willing to compensate them for their time and effort. , You want your book to look great, so even if you're feeling rushed for time, this isn't a situation where you want to just hire the first designer who expresses interest in your project.
Take your time to talk to several designers and review their portfolios.Not only do you want to make sure they have the skills to pull off what you want, you also want to make sure their artistic vision and design aesthetic matches your needs.
Someone whose portfolio is full of dark, gothic, black-and-white images probably won't have the right aesthetic to create a sunny cover design for your happy coming-of-age novel.
You also need a good understanding of the time it will take them to complete the project and the sorts of deadlines and time constraints they're comfortable with.
When you talk to designers, have a few basic ideas in mind so you can brainstorm possibilities and they can give you a reliable estimate of how long the project will take them. , To create a valid work-for-hire, you must have an explicit written agreement that sets forth the terms of the project and establishes that you've commissioned the work for your use only and will own the rights to it after its completion.You may be able to find samples or agreement templates online that you can use as guides – but read them carefully and make sure the language you're using will achieve your goals and meet your needs.
The contract should include specific deadlines for completion and the types of files the designer will deliver to you.
Check with the company you're using to self publish your book to get the appropriate page dimensions, file sizes, and other specifications the designer will need.
These figures also should be included in your contract.
Create a clause related to ownership and identify the book cover explicitly as a work for hire.
State that the artist or designer is creating the work for you and he or she has no ownership right in the finished product. , Since copyright protection begins from the moment something is created, have your designer sign the work-for-hire agreement before they begin working on your cover design.Make sure the designer understands that the work they're creating for you is a work-for-hire and they'll have no copyright ownership interest in it.
If you've agreed to let the designer include the design in their portfolio or to provide attribution to the artist of the work, this should be spelled out in the contract.
However, neither of these things affect the copyright ownership in the work.
Ideally, both you and the designer should sign the same contract.
If this isn't feasible – for example, because you hired someone online and they live far away – consider using an electronic document signing service to transmit and digitally sign the contract online.
Both you and the designer should have a copy of the signed contract before work begins on your book cover. , Since your book cover is a work-for-hire, you own the copyright in it, which means you must register that copyright.
This is a separate copyright from any copyright you registered in the test of the book itself.The copyright in a work for hire lasts 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
This term differs from the copyright in your book, which will last for your life plus 70 years.
The easiest way to register your copyright is to use the U.S.
Copyright Office's online registration service on its website.
This service allows you to submit electronic copies of the work for deposit, pay lower registration fees relative to mailing in a paper application, and check the status of your application at any time.
Keep in mind that registration isn't strictly necessary to own the copyright, although it does provide benefits such as the right to sue for infringement in federal court. -
Step 3: Interview several designers.
-
Step 4: Draft a written contract.
-
Step 5: Get the designer to sign your contract.
-
Step 6: Register the copyright.
Detailed Guide
You may know someone who is a skilled artist or graphic designer and is willing to work with you to design an exclusive cover for you as a work made for hire.
If the art on your cover is work-for-hire, you own the copyright to it.Even if you don't personally know any graphic designers, someone you know may have a designer they can recommend.
Personal recommendations often are stronger than finding someone on your own.
When you have a connection with the designer, they typically have a personal interest in doing good work for you.
Working with someone you know also may get you a reduction in price relative to hiring a professional, but don't take advantage of this.
Even if your designer is a close friend or relative, show that you respect them and their profession by paying them a fair rate for their work.
If they intend to offer you a discount, let them offer it – don't ask for one or assume you'll get one.
Even if you're not lucky enough to know someone who's willing to create your cover for you, there are many websites that allow you to list your job and find a suitable designer.Keep in mind that you're not likely to get an experienced, top-notch designer this way.
The work of skilled designers typically is in high demand, and they aren't going to be looking for work on online job boards.
However, you could easily find a beginner or student who has the skills and talent to design a beautiful cover for you at a fraction of the price an experienced professional would charge.
Before you place your listing, do a little research on the acceptable going rate for projects such as yours.
Don't insult designers by offering less than their work is worth – even if they're just starting out.
You also should avoid trying to find someone to create a cover for you for free.
If you're willing to hire them to design your cover, be willing to compensate them for their time and effort. , You want your book to look great, so even if you're feeling rushed for time, this isn't a situation where you want to just hire the first designer who expresses interest in your project.
Take your time to talk to several designers and review their portfolios.Not only do you want to make sure they have the skills to pull off what you want, you also want to make sure their artistic vision and design aesthetic matches your needs.
Someone whose portfolio is full of dark, gothic, black-and-white images probably won't have the right aesthetic to create a sunny cover design for your happy coming-of-age novel.
You also need a good understanding of the time it will take them to complete the project and the sorts of deadlines and time constraints they're comfortable with.
When you talk to designers, have a few basic ideas in mind so you can brainstorm possibilities and they can give you a reliable estimate of how long the project will take them. , To create a valid work-for-hire, you must have an explicit written agreement that sets forth the terms of the project and establishes that you've commissioned the work for your use only and will own the rights to it after its completion.You may be able to find samples or agreement templates online that you can use as guides – but read them carefully and make sure the language you're using will achieve your goals and meet your needs.
The contract should include specific deadlines for completion and the types of files the designer will deliver to you.
Check with the company you're using to self publish your book to get the appropriate page dimensions, file sizes, and other specifications the designer will need.
These figures also should be included in your contract.
Create a clause related to ownership and identify the book cover explicitly as a work for hire.
State that the artist or designer is creating the work for you and he or she has no ownership right in the finished product. , Since copyright protection begins from the moment something is created, have your designer sign the work-for-hire agreement before they begin working on your cover design.Make sure the designer understands that the work they're creating for you is a work-for-hire and they'll have no copyright ownership interest in it.
If you've agreed to let the designer include the design in their portfolio or to provide attribution to the artist of the work, this should be spelled out in the contract.
However, neither of these things affect the copyright ownership in the work.
Ideally, both you and the designer should sign the same contract.
If this isn't feasible – for example, because you hired someone online and they live far away – consider using an electronic document signing service to transmit and digitally sign the contract online.
Both you and the designer should have a copy of the signed contract before work begins on your book cover. , Since your book cover is a work-for-hire, you own the copyright in it, which means you must register that copyright.
This is a separate copyright from any copyright you registered in the test of the book itself.The copyright in a work for hire lasts 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.
This term differs from the copyright in your book, which will last for your life plus 70 years.
The easiest way to register your copyright is to use the U.S.
Copyright Office's online registration service on its website.
This service allows you to submit electronic copies of the work for deposit, pay lower registration fees relative to mailing in a paper application, and check the status of your application at any time.
Keep in mind that registration isn't strictly necessary to own the copyright, although it does provide benefits such as the right to sue for infringement in federal court.
About the Author
Janice Stone
Committed to making crafts accessible and understandable for everyone.
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