šØ The Real Cost of a Professional Book Cover
By D.C. Salmon ⏱️ Reading Time: 5 minutes In this post: Commissioning Peter for Book 3, the financial breakdown of cover design and resizing, spine width calculations, and avoiding costly debut author mistakes. Today, 14 October, is the date marked in red pen on my calendar: Peter over at Bespoke Book Covers is officially booked in to begin work on the cover for Book 3, An Atlantic Shadow . The plot of this third instalment centres on a legendary, long-lost pre-war automobile nicknamed ‘La Voiture Noire’ (the Black Car)—the fabled Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic. If that missing chassis were unearthed today, experts estimate it would fetch upwards of $100,000,000. I actually began drafting An Atlantic Shadow roughly three years ago, immediately after finishing An American Treasure , well before An Irish Mystery made its debut in May 2025. Having tackled the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels in Book 1, followed by a proper buried-treasure hunt across the American...
