Hiring a Cover Designer

I suppose for some genres hiring a book cover designer makes sense. There are certain inherent requirements for the more popular ones, which includes (and I know I keep making this point, but it's important) font style. I'm specifically thinking about genres such as romance and fantasy; also thrillers and while I'm no expert, probably sci fi.

I'm advised that a serviceable book cover can be had for as little as $100.00*, with "little" being relative. A hundred dollars is a lot of money to me, but I'd possibly be willing to spend that if it was advantageous (but certainly not for a ninety-nine cent novella ~ I'm not insane).

*Most sites advise that you'll need to spend at least $500.00.

For what I specialize in ~ call it women's fiction or commercial fiction with a female lead ~ I've never found a creator who "gets it". I tried a couple of times. While I was unwilling to spend a hundred dollars, I did commit to forty (believe me, cheaper designers than that are out there). What I received was awful. Hated, hated, hated them. These covers weren't worth a dollar, much less forty. My experiences were akin to practical jokes.

There's a reason all my covers were so bad. Rarely are artists called upon to produce a cover for women's fiction. Most of them have no clue how to do it. Fantasy? Sure! They can whip one up in a couple of minutes. They understand what's required from having done it so many times. Romance? Just make sure you use a curlicue font.  

No, I didn't scour the internet for possible designers. I used Fiverr, since that was the only place I knew to go. Naturally I checked ratings and work product and went with those who showed some degree of expertise. If I hadn't already wiped those first two designs from my hard drive, I would display them here, but suffice it to say that whether it was cultural differences or simply the first artist's quirk, she couldn't create a woman. I hired her for my first two novels, and both covers featured someone who looked like a ten-year-old girl. Maybe there was a language barrier. I actually used both covers for a time (because I didn't know what else to do), and no wonder no one bought those novels. 

I previously detailed what happened with the cover for The Diner Girl. The artist didn't know what a diner was, and I had to send him an image to clarify. Then he slapped an Indian woman on the cover surrounded by what looked suspiciously like the diner photo I'd sent him. And the font was yellow and HUGE. And I'm not a fan of yellow. (I don't care about the cover model's ethnicity, but it didn't match the main character I'd written as young and blonde.)

If I had any hope that I could sell enough books to recoup my expenses, I wouldn't be so anti-hired design (good hired design). As things stand, as long as my covers are pleasing, that's enough. And frankly, I dread the back and forth required when the artist doesn't create my vision. I'll push back a couple of times, but any more than that seems...I don't know; bitchy? So I just end up accepting an inferior product. 

My Canva subscription costs me $12.99 a month. That's forty-three cents a day. That I can afford, although I don't even recoup that monthly expense from sales. But you know, my Canva designs aren't terrible, which is more than I can say for the ones I commissioned.