Let me bring
your worlds to life

Augusta Scarlett

What can I do for you?

Example of a book cover in ebook and print

Custom Book Covers

Talk with me about commissioning a custom ebook cover or an ebook and print book bundle.

Example of a custom illustration / painting.

Artwork & Graphics

Are you looking for cover art, a custom illustrated web graphic or a logo design?

Examples of premade covers.

Premade Covers

Need a cover right now? Browse available premade covers. I can customize any to fit your needs.

Selected Covers & Artwork



Self Portrait with Cat

About Me

  • I've been working on book covers since 2015 when a friend of mine hired me for her book cover and introduced me to other authors needing covers

  • Before designing covers I've been a university systems librarian and an architectural image curator, held several positions in museum collections, and for a short while graded standardized tests, creating art all the while

  • I have a weapons-grade case of ADHD, and will happily blather about it if provoked

  • "Augusta Scarlett" is my business name. I picked it by juggling names from baby name lists until I found a combo available on Gmail, as my actual name was already taken. Call me Augusta

  • The cat's name is Sora, he is an elderly curmudgeon, and this is his favorite place to sit


Testimonials

Celia Lake


"Augusta has an absolute knack for creating covers that not only catch the eye but bring the characters to life. Her attention to detail improves every image, and I know whenever we're working on a cover the communication will be clear, timely, and thorough."

Karl K. Gallagher


"Augusta produces wonderfully evocative covers for my books. Readers and reviewers have praised the covers for capturing the spirit of the stories."

Portfolio

Click on a cover to see a larger version. You can then navigate through the lightbox by swiping (on mobile) or clicking/tapping on the arrows to the left and right of the image.

Ebook Covers

Eye-catching covers to suit your book. Ready for Amazon, Kobo, Wattpad, Smashwords, Apple Books, Bookfunnel or any way you distribute your books.

Print Covers

Paperback, hardcover, dustcovers and casebound book covers for Amazon, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Lulu or other POD or traditional printer.

Artwork & Graphics

I can provide custom artwork, box set and audiobook images, and logo design.

Ebook Cover

$150+

Ebook cover
  • Custom ebook cover

  • Stock images and 3D elements

  • Unlimited revisions

  • 3D mockup if desired

  • Limited copyright for covers, promotional materials and giveaways

Add-ons

  • Audiobook cover

  • Full copyright license to sell other items using the artwork

  • Rush order

Ebook & Print

$200+

Ebook cover
  • Custom ebook cover

  • Full wrap print-ready cover for paperback

  • Stock images and some 3D elements

  • Unlimited revisions

  • 3D mockup of cover if desired

  • Limited copyright for covers, promotional materials and giveaways

Add-ons

  • Print-ready hardcover and/or casebound design

  • Audiobook cover

  • Full copyright license to sell other items using the artwork

  • Rush order

Cover Artwork

$800+

Ebook cover
  • Art in portrait or landscape

  • Full wrap print-ready cover for paperback, hardback and casebound as you need

  • Unlimited revisions

  • 3D mockup of cover if desired

  • Audiobook cover

  • Copyright license that lets you use the artwork for advertising, promos and giveaways

Add-ons

  • Full copyright license to sell other items using the artwork

  • Rush order

Graphics & Web Art

$150+

Web graphic and logo example
  • Logos and wordmarks

  • Art to fit your website or social media dimensions

  • Full copyright to use as you see fit

Add-ons

  • Rush order

Premade Covers

I have a small rotating selection of premade covers available through different storefronts.If you buy a premade cover you can add the text yourself, or I can customize it to your needs by:          > Changing front, spine and back cover text: title, subtitle, byline, tagline, back cover copy
          > Making minor changes to the artwork, such as hair and eye color
          > Adding your existing logo or series graphic
          > Adding an ISBN bar code to the back cover
If you need more customization, please talk with me before purchasing the cover to get my timeline and a quote for the work.Be sure to check out every site, as I sell different book covers through each!

Etsy storefront

On Etsy

I sell premade book covers, Zoom backgrounds and 3D character packs on Etsy.

Etsy storefront

On SelfPubBookCovers

I sell premade book covers via SelfPubBookCovers, a site that allows you to purchase a book cover and customize the text yourself on their site. Or you can order a full paperback or sequel cover directly through them.

 

How It Works

A note on "AI"

I do not use AI (generative images) in my covers or artwork. That being said, stock image sites are currently overrun with mislabeled AI-generated imagery that is getting harder to identify, much to my frustration, so if I accidentally use one that we identify later as AI, I will update your cover with another image at no cost to you.

Working with a cover designer

If you've never worked with a cover designer before, or if you're wondering what it's like to work with me, my client cosy fantasy romance author Celia Lake has published several blog posts about our development process.

Scheduling

I typically book 4-8 months in advance. If you have a tight deadline I may be able to fit your book in earlier for a rush order fee. Please ask!Covers and graphics using stock images typically take me 1 week per cover, 2 weeks if we are establishing a series look with the first book. Artworks take 2-3 weeks, depending on the size and complexity.However, the timing depends on how responsive you are. If it takes you more than a day to approve designs and changes, my work is delayed that much longer, especially if I have to begin work on another client's cover while finishing yours.Thank you for understanding!

Ebook & Print Covers

The process more-or-less follows these steps:1. When you contact me, we'll discuss your book and your needs. If we agree to continue, I'll invoice you for a deposit of 50% of the final cost.If you choose to cancel the project for any reason before I start, let me know and I'll refund the whole payment, no questions asked. Life happens! But if you cancel after I begin work, I'll keep the deposit.2. A few days before your cover is scheduled I'll ask for more information to complete a brief for your project.After you approve the brief, I'll begin designing. We'll probably go through a few iterations of the project as the design evolves, especially if this is a cover for the first book in a series—I like to devote extra time to establish a coherent overall look.3. I'll invoice you when you approve the final cover. Once I receive your payment, I'll send you the final, high-resolution version.4. Typically stock photos are covered in the price but if you need specialty stock such as historically costumed models I may need to add the cost of the photo to your invoice, with your approval, or you can pay for the photo and send it to me.5. I am happy to use stock photos that you purchase and send to me, provided that they are not AI-generated and that you own full rights to them. (Send me a copy of the receipt for my records.) This will not reduce the cost of the cover, as most of the cost is for my time and experience.6. You may use the final image for your book cover, for box set covers, for social media and advertising, and for swag you give away for free. If you wish to sell any items with your book cover on it--such as t-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, etc.--then you'll most likely need to purchase an extended license for the images.Licensing and copyright is complicated! If you have questions, please ask. I will happily answer.

Premade Covers

1. When you purchase a premade cover from Etsy or SelfPubBookCovers, you will receive a copy of the cover image without text. You may either do the typography yourself (or in the case of SelfPubBookCovers, do it on their website), or I will do it for you.What I can do for free on Etsy covers:          > Change front, spine and back cover text: title, subtitle, byline, tagline, back cover copy
          > Minor changes to the artwork, such as hair and eye color
          > Add your existing logo or series graphic
          > Add an ISBN bar code to the back cover
If you need more customization than the list above, please contact me before purchasing to get a quote for the additional work and to see when I can schedule you.2. I aim to get premade customization done and sent to you within 72 hours. It may take longer for more extensive work or if I am on vacation and forget to mention it on the websites. Under a time crunch? Contact me and ask if I'm available.If you purchase via SelfPubBookCovers you'll need to pay for extra changes as per their policy. But if I can't get to your additional work within 72 hours, they will find another designer to do it for you.3. For extra customizations I'll invoice you when the cover is finished and you approve it. Once I receive your payment, I'll send you the final, high-resolution version.4. You may use the final image for your book cover, for box set covers, for social media and advertising, and for swag you give away for free. If you wish to sell any items with your book cover on it--such as t-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, etc.--then you'll most likely need to purchase an extended license for the images.Licensing and copyright is complicated! If you have questions, please ask. I will happily answer.

Artwork & Graphics

1. When you contact me, we'll discuss your book and your needs. If we agree to continue, I'll invoice you for a deposit of 50% of the final cost to reserve your place.2. A few days before your cover is scheduled I'll ask for more information to complete a brief for your project.When you approve the brief, I'll get to work. We'll probably go through a few iterations of the project as the design evolves.3. Upon approval of the final image, I'll invoice you the rest of the cost. Once I receive your payment, I'll send you the final, high-resolution artwork along with any book covers and other graphics that you need.4. I do not use AI in creating artwork, but I do use multiple methods and media. My art can be fully drawn and painted, or created using 3D imagery and other elements with extensive overpainting. You'll see how it's done throughout the course of the commission as I send you updates.5. Graphics such as logo design may be fully hand-drawn or designed using stock imagery depending on your needs and the design.6. Pricing is dependent on the size and complexity of the piece. Web graphics and logo designs are typically on the low end, starting at $150, while full cover artworks are on the high end, starting at $800.7. If you plan to sell any items with your graphic or artwork on them (other than your books!), we'll need to discuss extended licensing.

Advice on Book Cover Design

Book cover with checkmark

I created a book cover design checklist that you can download from Google Docs. Use the checklist to see if your book cover measures up.

Elements of a Successful Cover

It seems strange, but a book cover
should not be a picture of what happens in the book.
Your book's cover
should communicate how a reader will feel.

You may have a strong vision for your book cover, but is it a good book cover? A book cover needs to advertise a book, not illustrate the story, and has different requirements.

Here's advice on what you need for a successful book cover.

0. IMPORTANT: The book cover design must be readable at 1.5" tall, which is the size at which most online book browsing people will see the cover in search results.

This item is #0 because it is so important that it transcends list numbers. If your cover is a muddy mess in an Amazon search results list, it won't get looked at. All of the other advice below is useless if all a potential reader sees is a blob."Readable" does not always mean that all the text must be understandable. What readable means in art and design terminology is that the important shapes on the cover must be visible and identifiable. If it is a text-based style, then the title should be legible. If it is a character-based cover, you should be able to recognize the outlines of the characters. If it is an object-based cover, the object should be immediately recognizable.

Book covers at small sizes showing how the images should contain recognizable shapes


1. A successful cover accurately reflects the genre and sub-genres of the book.

Imagine picking up a book that you think is a cosy mystery, only to discover halfway through that it's actually a serial killer thriller. Would you ever pick up another book from that author? Consider a reader looking for a Warhammer-style military science fiction book and skipping your milSF novel because your cover artwork is anime style, not the gritty, semi-realistic style the reader expects.Make sure your readers can find your book by using the cover to signal exactly what genre and sub-genres your story is. Here are a few examples of how granular sub-genres can get.

GenreSub-genreSub-sub-genreSub-sub-sub genre
Science fictionSpace operaAlien 
Science fictionMilitary SFNear future 
RomanceRegencyGaySweet
RomanceParanormalShifterOmegaverse
RomanceParanormalMonsterWhy Choose?
FantasyUrbanHeist 
FantasyRomantasySapphicCosy
FantasyRomantasyMonsterSteamy


2. A successful cover signals the mood of the book.

Is it romantic? Cosy? Suspenseful? Epic? Dark academia? Cottagecore? Uplifting? Character-centered? Thrilling? Scary?If your cover promises a thrilling space opera with swashbuckling cats but the story is an introspective analysis of existential ennui, you'll give your reader mental whiplash. The book cover should serve up exactly what your story dishes out.


3. The best cover strikes a balance between looking like other covers in its genre and looking just different enough to stand out.

Your book cover should say "Do you like this type of book? You'll love this one!" No potential reader of cozy space opera will look twice at a novel whose cover looks like dystopian cyberpunk.

Example: Shifter romance book covers often have the animal that the protagonist turns into photobombing the hero or the couple, as in the four covers below.Each cover handles the shifter animal differently, from using a bear's face close up as the background on Defender Cave Bear to having the wolves the protagonists turn into fading into magical mist on Sinking on Steamboat Lake.


4. Your cover should hint at the tropes and themes in the book.

Readers love tropes! Even the readers who claim they hate tropes (what they hate are tropes done badly). Pick out your tropes and feature them on the cover. You'll find there's a lot of overlap between tropes and sub-genres.Examples:

  • Science fiction: space opera, aliens, time travel, power armor, galactic civilizations, first contact

  • Fantasy: swords, assassins, magic, epic, paranormal

  • Romance: enemies to lovers, billionaires, wrong side of the tracks, Western, Regency

  • Mystery: cats, noir, cosy, historical

  • Any genre: found family, underdogs, heist, action, cosy


5. A book's cover should hint at the location, culture, and time period of the story.

For example, a mystery set in Joseon Korea should not have a cover similar to a paranormal fantasy novel in WWII Croatia.That example is a bit obvious, but readers look for settings. Novels about women in World War II are currently popular, and you can find them because they almost all have a picture of a woman from the back in 1940s clothing, with 2 or 3 WWII-era airplanes flying overhead, a building or landscape to indicate which country, and often a suitcase or bicycle. The typography is usually sans serif, in white or red.Seriously. Here's fifteen books I found in five minutes of searching on Amazon. (None of these covers are mine.)

Frequently the woman is wearing a red coat or dress to ensure she's the focal point--and if not, often the font is red--but the "woman in a red coat" motif is used quite a lot in suspense and thriller covers as well, so it imparts tones of suspense, fear and danger appropriate for WWII.Hearkening back to #3 in the list, about appearing similar but also standing out: these covers look alike, but readers of "women in WWII" novels use all these images as shortcuts to find their next book. If you don't use any of the genre signals, you risk missing out on someone who really wants to read your novel. Find another way to stand out from the crowd, like the two covers that use shadows of airplanes on concrete, the one which surrounds the heroine with piles of books, or the one which puts the title into a bright, saturated yellow.In conclusion: don't risk losing a reader who really wants your cosy Caribbean paranormal romance by settling for a cover that doesn't tell readers that's what it is.


Workshopping Your Cover

When workshopping a cover:

  • Show it to people who READ in that genre. If your friend doesn't read cosy romance and you show them a cosy romance cover, they won't understand the tropes or what readers want from that book. You want the opinion of people who know the genre.

  • I have seen the above happen with non-romance-readers telling a time-travel Viking romance writer that her smooth-shaven cover model was completely wrong because historical Vikings were bearded and hairy, when he was, in fact, perfect for the genre.

  • Don't ask "Do you like the cover?" This leads to people appraising it as ART, not as ADVERTISING and giving you false positives or negatives.

  • Instead, ask "Would you pick this up and read the back of the book?"

  • Show them the cover at 1.5" tall and ask if they would click through to the book's page.


Final Thoughts

A scene pulled straight from the book might look like nonsense to a reader who hasn't read the book yet.You might hate a certain style of cover, but if your target readers are buying books with those covers, you should seriously consider that style. Example: flat illustrations on romance novels. You might think they look like comic books, but your readers may love them and think stock photos look old-fashioned. Why lose those readers?Stock photos are limited when it comes to poses, expressions, and costuming. You will probably end up compromising on all of those unless you are willing to invest in custom photography. If you've got $1000+ to invest in your cover image, I can direct you to some custom photographers' websites.Nobody has ever returned a book because the heroine's hair is the wrong shade of red. Don't sweat the details too much.You wrote a book! That's awesome! Let's give it a cover that will find your readers.

Get a Quote

I am accepting new clients, but I book 4-8 months in advance. If your deadline is sooner, I may be able to fit you in for a rush fee. Please ask!Neither of these forms sends you a copy, alas (a drawback of the platform I'm currently using for this website).

Want a quote?
Fill out this form!

Something else?
Fill out this form!

Thank you!

Your message is wending its way through the interwebs to my inbox. I aim to reply to emails within 2 business days. I do, however, have a weapons-grade case of ADHD so if you think it's been a little too long, you're not sure if your message got lost, or if you just need to add more information, please feel free to follow up via email at: [email protected].And if you got this far, here are some cats in case you're one of the writers who love them.