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BOOK COVER DESIGN FOR AUTHORS

Book covers that sell the story.

Readers decide in a second whether to click on your book. We design covers for self-published authors that look right for the genre, hold their own in Amazon search and carry your author brand across a whole series, in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook. Every one of USA Today bestselling author Jack Cartwright’s covers is ours.

3D paperback mock-ups of five crime thriller covers designed by The Limelight Company: Hard Rain, Man Down, Fall Out, Capital and Into Thin Air
THE HONEST TRUTHReaders do judge a book by its cover.

On Amazon your cover is a thumbnail in a grid of dozens. Before anyone reads a word of your blurb, it has to signal the genre and set the mood, and make a promise about the story. Get it right and everything you spend on ads and launches goes further. Get it wrong and good writing gets scrolled straight past.

CASE STUDY: JACK CARTWRIGHT

Every cover for a USA Today bestseller.

Jack Cartwright, our co-founder, is a USA Today bestselling crime author with over a million books sold. We’ve designed every cover across his three series, in all four formats, along with the box sets and mock-ups, and the ad graphics that go with them.

Each series has its own look, but they share one brand, so a reader who finds one Jack Cartwright book can pick out the rest straight away.

How we market Jack’s books →
3D mock-ups of five Jack Cartwright crime novels with covers designed by The Limelight Company

The Wild Fens Murder Mysteries

20+ BOOKS
Secrets in Blood by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
Secrets in Blood
One Deadly Night by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
One Deadly Night
Run From Evil by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
Run From Evil
Burden of Truth by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
Burden of Truth
Murder at Heart by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
Murder at Heart
Into the Woods by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
Into the Woods

The Deadly Wolds Mysteries

6 BOOKS
When the Storm Dies by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
When the Storm Dies
Until Death Do Us Part by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
Until Death Do Us Part
The Devil Inside Her by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
The Devil Inside Her
Secrets From the Grave by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
Secrets From the Grave

DCI Cook

2 BOOKS
A Winter of Blood by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
A Winter of Blood
A Secret to Die For by Jack Cartwright: 3D paperback mock-up of a cover designed by The Limelight Company
A Secret to Die For
MORE OF OUR WORK

Crime and thriller covers, built to be clicked.

More covers we’ve designed for crime, thriller and mystery authors. Titles big enough to read at thumbnail size, imagery that sets the mood, and a look that wouldn’t be out of place next to the genre’s bestsellers.

Fall Out by Tom Fox: 3D paperback mock-up of a action thriller cover designed by The Limelight Company
Fall OutACTION THRILLER
Hard Rain by Mark de Bruin: 3D paperback mock-up of a crime thriller cover designed by The Limelight Company
Hard RainCRIME THRILLER
Into Thin Air by SL Fraser: 3D paperback mock-up of a mystery cover designed by The Limelight Company
Into Thin AirMYSTERY
Born Dead by Dennis Low: 3D paperback mock-up of a war thriller cover designed by The Limelight Company
Born DeadWAR THRILLER
Mirror Mirror by Patricia Fell: 3D paperback mock-up of a psychological thriller cover designed by The Limelight Company
Mirror MirrorPSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
Blood Hunt by Daniel Rice: 3D paperback mock-up of a police procedural cover designed by The Limelight Company
Blood HuntPOLICE PROCEDURAL
Alive by James Morgan: 3D paperback mock-up of a revenge thriller cover designed by The Limelight Company
AliveREVENGE THRILLER
Capital by Mark de Bruin: 3D paperback mock-up of a crime thriller cover designed by The Limelight Company
CapitalCRIME THRILLER
Skin by Patricia Fell: 3D paperback mock-up of a psychological thriller cover designed by The Limelight Company
SkinPSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
Man Down by Tom Fox: 3D paperback mock-up of a action thriller cover designed by The Limelight Company
Man DownACTION THRILLER
Alone by James Morgan: 3D paperback mock-up of a survival thriller cover designed by The Limelight Company
AloneSURVIVAL THRILLER
Your book here.Tell us about it →
SERIES DESIGN

Designed as a series, read as a series.

Someone who finishes book one should recognise book two on sight. Each series gets its own system for layout and type, with a colour scheme to match, so every new cover reads as the next instalment and sells the rest of the series for you.

A Jack Stinger Novel

The same hero silhouette and bold type on every book. Only the colour changes; the promise stays put.

A DI Brightside Crime Thriller

Moody rain-soaked colours and one shared layout link every case in the series.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Everything your book needs to look the part.

Genre research

We look at what’s selling in your category, so the cover tells the right readers what genre it is before they’ve read the title.

Ebook cover

A front cover that reads clearly as a thumbnail in Amazon search results, which is where most readers first come across it.

Paperback and hardback wraps

Full print covers with spine and back, built to your trim size and page count for KDP, IngramSpark or any other printer.

Audiobook cover

A square version for Audible and other audiobook stores, designed for that shape from the start.

Series branding

One look across every book in a series, so readers recognise the next instalment and carry on reading.

Mock-ups and ad creative

3D mock-ups and graphics for your website, socials, Amazon A+ content and ads, all cut from the same artwork.

HOW IT WORKS

From first idea to print-ready files.

01

Brief

First we talk through your book and its readers, and where it’ll sell. Then we study what’s working in your genre right now.

02

Concepts

We design several first concepts, each coming at the story from a different angle, so you can compare real options side by side.

03

Refine

We develop the one you like best through rounds of feedback until every element, from the title to the type, is exactly right.

04

Files

You get print-ready and ebook files, an audiobook version if you need one, and 3D mock-ups ready for launch day.

COVERS + AMAZON ADS

A great cover makes your ads cheaper.

Your cover is the ad. In Amazon’s sponsored placements it’s often all a reader sees, so a cover that earns the click brings down what you pay per sale. We design covers with your Amazon Ads in mind for exactly that reason, and it’s why authors often ask us to run both.

QUESTIONS AUTHORS ASK

Book cover design, answered.

How much does a book cover design cost?

Stop thinking of your cover as a cost. Call it a cost and you’ve cut yourself off from a critical part of your business and turned it into a negative. It’s an opportunity. Better still, look at it the other way round: a cover that doesn’t look the part is the lost opportunity, because every reader who scrolls past is a sale and a review you never get. We don’t sell off-the-shelf packages. Tell us what you need, from a single ebook cover or full print wrap to an audiobook version or a whole series, and after a short conversation we’ll give you a clear quote before any work starts.

What do I need to give you to get started?

Send your title and author name with the genre and a short blurb. If you’re printing, add your trim size and page count. A few covers you love from your genre help as well, and we’ll do the research from there.

Can you design print covers for KDP and IngramSpark?

Yes. We supply print-ready paperback and hardback wraps with the spine and back cover built to your printer’s template. You also get the ebook front cover, and a square audiobook version if you need one.

Can you design covers for a whole series?

Yes, and we recommend it. A series shares one layout and type system, with colour to match, so readers recognise the next book straight away and keep buying through the series. Several covers above belong to one.

Do you make 3D mock-ups and ad images too?

Yes. Each cover comes with 3D mock-ups like the ones on this page, ready to use on your website and socials and in ads. If we’re also running your Amazon Ads or social ads, we build that creative from the same artwork.

Do you only design crime and thriller covers?

No. What you see here is a selection of our crime and thriller work, and we design for other genres too. The test is the same in any of them: your cover should look at home on the shelf beside the bestsellers in your genre.

START HERE

Where are you right now?

Four quick questions, and we’ll show you where we’d start. Your answers come straight to us with your message, so you won’t have to explain it twice.

What best describes you?

Choose the one that fits best.

Give your book the cover it deserves.

Step into the Limelight.

Talk to us about your cover →