[TechnicianCerberus]

So I recently ordered 5 premade covers so I could update my books as well as have a cover ready for the new book I'm about to release. The price was very reasonable but it still stretched my budget to the limits.

Now the process of this kind of service is that you select a premade cover from their list, then they change the cover with your title, name, and any other details you want on the cover. It's a simple procedure. Right off the bat I let the cover designer know that two pairs of the covers I ordered were in the same series and I'd like them to look the same. That's not unreasonable right? I'm not asking for a custom design or anything, just the same fonts and layout for those covers. I can't see how it would take any extra time or effort to plan that out beforehand, and in a way could even make it easier.

The response is that to do that I'd have to pay $15 extra per cover, not just for the ones changed to look like an already existing cover but for EVERY cover. That's over a 3rd again the price I'm paying. I inform the cover designer that I can't afford any extra charges and ask him to do what he can.

So the covers arrive and every single one is different. He asks me to let him know if I'd like some changes, so even though there are several I'd prefer I just request basic font changes on two of the covers as well as a minor layout change so at least the covers in the same series look somewhat similar. Again, I'm informed that for font changes there's an extra charge of $15. I again inform him that I can't afford any extra charges and ask him to do whatever he's willing to do.

So here's how I see the situation. Even though he knew he was doing covers for books in series he deliberately used different fonts and layouts. Unless he has some restriction on using the same font, I can't see any reason he'd do that aside from to create a situation where I'd have to pay extra for the covers I want.

To be clear, I've been polite and accommodating to him from the beginning, and he's been up front about what I can expect. Still, I can't be satisfied with the service and consider it to be dubious at best. While I'm happy to pay for the work he provided as promised I don't intend to use his services again, even to make the desired alterations to covers I'm not satisfied with.

So is there something I'm missing here? Am I being unreasonable?

 

[George Applegate]

It sounds like a bait 'n switch.

 

[ShayneRutherford]

He asked you if you wanted changes, and then told you he'd charge your for something that requires a few mouse clicks to change? You're not the one who's being unreasonable, IMO. I'd suggest asking for your money back and finding someone else to get covers from.

 

[Jim Johnson]

Sounds like you were reasonable and the designer didn't deliver. Maybe post the name of this designer to warn other writers.

 

[Wifey]

You can ask for the covers blank (no writing at all) And do Title and Name yourself. That's what I always do. I never get charged extra for that.

 

[TechnicianCerberus]

Once my business with him is concluded I likely will post his name. He was recommended by kboards members and it sounded like he had a solid reputation, so this situation is really unexpected.

 

[Navigator]

Once my business with him is concluded I likely will post his name. He was recommended by kboards members and it sounded like he had a solid reputation, so this situation is really unexpected.

Oh man that's really unfortunate. =(

You're not being unreasonable at all either. I fail to see why it ought to cost extra $$ just to have the same font used on all the books. That makes zero sense to me.

 

[Shelley K]

A fond change is nothing. That's something he really should have done with no problem. A layout change, on the other hand, can range from simple to complicated, depending on the other elements on the cover. If it's something more than just shifting the title from one place to another without having to change anything else, I don't think a designer charging for time spent is unreasonable.

It's hard to judge without having the details.

 

[TechnicianCerberus]

The layout change was swapping the position of the author name and subheading. From my limited experience with cover design that seems like a fairly simple change, and the cover designer seemed to agree because it was the font changes he wanted to charge extra for.

 

[cinisajoy]

Did you specify upfront the font on covers A, C  and E needed to be the same?  Before the guy did the covers the first time.  If yes, then the cover artist is pretty much to blame.

 

[Guest]

Telling someone to do what "he can" is a tacit agreement to accept whatever he chooses to do for you. If you can, back out of the deal or take the advice posted here to get the plain covers without any script.

Sorry this happened to you. I hope you post this person's name here.

 

[Guest]

Have you already paid?

 

[Matthew Stott]

Sounds like they're trying to stiff you for extra cash. Cost's more just to have the same font on a few of the books? Huh? I can't see why that would be the case.

 

[Jake Kerr]

I have two thoughts here, one of which people probably won't agree with:

1. He did not mislead you. He outlined his pricing and his change policy. When you asked him to change it, he declined. So I think he was entirely within his rights to treat this situation the way he did.

2. The workload for font changes is mere seconds, so his customer services is horrid. Truly wretched. He's running a cover assembly line, and nothing more. Now if you were paying at an assembly line rate, then I would be more sympathetic to his position.

To elaborate on no. 2. I don't know how busy this person is, but it is relatively easy to create a script that will take a form and output the fields on a cover. If this person is doing dozens of covers a day, it is entirely possible that he doesn't even look at the covers he is creating for you unless you point out an error. e.g. He creates the covers. You put the info in a form. Boom. He pushes a button and covers are done. The entire production process is him pushing a button. In such an assembly line approach to book covers, he may have a policy that there is NO custom work. He's churning out widgets (and supposedly pricing accordingly).

Now I don't know if that's true or not, but it seems like a possibility to me.

 

[Allyson J.]

This sounds like a certain very well-known cover designer that I've worked with a few times. He is reputable. His prices are clearly posted on his site plus any additional costs for series branding, font changes, etc. When you buy a pre-made cover, all you get is the PREMADE cover with your title and name changed from the dummy title. If you want anything else, you pay.

I think it's unfair to say he took advantage of you. If you want anything customized on a premade cover, you are billed for those changes.

 

[TechnicianCerberus]

After reading through the responses and considering the situation carefully I'll admit these things.

1. In spite of outlining my wishes, I was too passive in giving him an open pass to do what he wanted.
2. He told me up front what I could expect, and then he followed through.

I won't go as far as to say that he cheated me. That said, I consider the fact that he was unwilling to view the situation and react accordingly when it would cause him little or no extra work and satisfy his customer to be unprofessional, as was his unwillingness to make simple changes to the same ends. Combine that with my suspicion that he may have deliberately designed the 2 pairs of covers in the 2 series to be so clearly incongruous that I'd have to pay to have them changed, and I cannot consider him to have dealt with me in good faith. This suspicion is due in part to how events played out, and in part to the fact that even before he delivered the covers he was already pushing me to pay extra charges. At that point I began to worry that there would be problems with the end product and he wouldn't make any free changes, and my suspicions were correct.

I'm of the opinion that he deliberately provides an unsatisfactory product at base price so he can charge extra for changes, and requires customers to pay in advance and his initial request for design specifications is deliberately vague to facilitate this process. To shift culpability to the customer he is up front about the extra fees, because he knows that once they've paid in advance they have no choice but to accept his shoddy work or pay extra.

I got what I paid for, but I won't be using his services again.

 

[Michael J Elliott]

If, as other KBoarders have said, he told you there would be additional charges for some tweaks to the premades I don't think he /she was being unreasonable as long as you were notified about the costs BEFORE you purchased. I've used two premades from my designer (GX Designs) and asked for a quote on extras, changes etc. He always gives me a price before I made a commitment and always sends proofs for my approval first. Did you get any proofs from the designer? If you didn't then I think you may have some cause for complaint but otherwise I think you may have just made assumptions on what you would be recieving.

 

[Monie]

I think I know who you are referring to and if I'm correct his site does state that he charges extra for font text changes. So, I don't think he is being unreasonable.

.Combine that with my suspicion that he may have deliberately designed the 2 pairs of covers in the 2 series to be so clearly incongruous that I'd have to pay to have them changed.

If they were premade covers I don't see how the above is possible. If I am correct in my guess, the cover designer sells post of sell designs concepts that he created for other authors but they weren't right.

I have a feeling that you didn't read through his site enough before you purchased. If you had your would have know his policy and that he was following it.

 

[TechnicianCerberus]

This is my first time ordering covers, and I'm definitely inexperienced at it. If the general consensus is that I'm being unreasonable then I'll take your word for it and leave it at that.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

 

[TaraCrescent]

I actually created a KBoards account just to reply to this.

I think I know who you are referring to. And I've used this designer for multiple books over the last year and a half (both for premade covers and custom work), and I've been extremely happy.

And yes, I think you are being unreasonable.

Premade covers are just that. Premade. The designer swaps out your title, author name and sub-title, and that's it. Font changes are not included. I know this is clearly stated on the website as well.

If you want a series, the designer has to do extra work. It doesn't matter if you think it's just a click or so - he has the right to charge for his work and his time. (And it's not just a font change generally - the title, subtitle and author name all have to be re-positioned on the new cover so the series can look uniform.)

If you want customization, you'll have to pay for it.