Cover art

[Ramah]

Are you that close to finishing or just thinking ahead?

[Gandwarf]

Are you that close to finishing or just thinking ahead?

I finished book 2 today. I was on holiday and did a lot of writing

Anyway, what kind of prices should I expect? I am kinda blundering about here.

[torstan]

Wow, good work! What size? Resolution? Level of detail? Do you want the artist to also do the layout? Will it be a wrap around cover, or just a front cover?

If it's a wrap around then you might be interested in this artorder challenge:
http://artorder.blogspot.com/2009/08...ge-part-2.html

As for ballpark prices, it's going to be a couple of hundred dollars at least I'd expect, but I'm not an expert. You can certainly contact a few artists and ask for their rates for the task you are describing - and the more precise you can be, the more accurate their quotes will be. However it's certainly better to have a figure in mind before you go asking. You'll find a lot of quotes will be well above the couple of hundred dollar mark. The trick is in finding someone who wants the experience and is good. ConceptArt is probably a good bet for that as there are lots of art students on there.

[Karro]

There'd be a lot of garbage to wade through, but a lot of great artists have work up on Elfwood (I even have a gallery there, but I'm a mediocre artist, at best). If you dig into those that are most favorited or the Mod's Choice there, you'll find some great work, and some of those folks are often open to commissions work.

[Karro]

I finished book 2 today. I was on holiday and did a lot of writing

Anyway, what kind of prices should I expect? I am kinda blundering about here.

Also... Congrats on getting some writing done. I've recently started getting some preliminary details together, myself, in preparation for the eventual opportunity to write (post grad-school, and post baby-needing-mommy-&-daddy's-every-waking-minute, I suppose), even without a completed map (it's taken me over a year, and while I'll continue on with it, writing is my first and primary love).

I wouldn't give up on traditional publishing outlets, completely. Although, I've heard of some who have found success by self-publishing first, and attracting the attention of mainstream publishers thereby, but it seems like it's a pretty rare story.

[philipstephen]

i may need to read the details of your post more carefully, but unless you are self-publishing, usually the publishers will choose the cover artist and pay for that, not the author.

how are you going about getting your books printed?

and congrats on finishing your project! that is quite the feat.

I am just starting my novels... and working on the world map has taken longer than i thought it would...

phil