General FAQs

The Author Buddy is run by two real life buddies, Rachel Christley and Perrin Brunson. Learn more about us here!

Turnaround time varies depending on the details of your order and our current schedule.

Please see FAQs below regarding Premade Book Cover turnaround time for more information.

No, we only sell each Premade Book Cover Design once. We never resell covers.

However, the images used in creating most of our premade cover designs are stock photos and are not exclusive to the author who purchases the premade cover design, so another author may have a cover that uses some of the same source images as the ones used on your cover.

We pride ourselves in creating unique Premade Book Cover Designs though, and regularly check online to see if other book cover designs are using similar images so we can try to avoid too similar designs.

 If the artwork used in a Premade is original artwork, it is noted in the premade cover design listing.

Our specialty is Romance Book Cover Design, but we also offer designs for other genres. If you have a specific genre in mind and want to discuss it with us, feel free to email us at hello@theauthorbuddy.com.

Absolutely. For more information about custom cover design, visit our Custom Cover page here.

Of course! We love showing off our Portfolio!

Credit in your book is certainly not required, but we do appreciate it!

If you purchased a Premade Book Cover designed by Perrin, or worked with her on a Custom Cover Project, please credit “Perrin of The Author Buddy.”

If you purchased a Premade Book Cover designed by Rachel, or worked with her on a Custom Cover Project, please credit “Rachel of The Author Buddy.”

If you purchased a Premade Book Cover from our website and aren’t sure of the designer, please contact us for that information, or credit “The Author Buddy.”

If you hired us for a Beta Read, Proofread, Line-Edit, or Quote & Teaser Service, please credit “The Author Buddy.”

Technically, no.

As the purchaser, once final payment is received, you will be granted exclusive license to the use of the final cover artwork for your book and promotional materials. No one else may use that artwork for their book.

We (The Author Buddy and Christley Creatives) retain full rights of the finished artwork as the cover designer (meaning you cannot claim that you designed the cover yourself), as well as the right to showcase all of the covers and other artwork we create in our portfolio and promotional materials, but we cannot resell them or reuse them in new Premade or Custom designs.

As most of our designs use stock photography/imagery, please note that the designs are also still bound by the terms of the stock imagery usage license, and the stock images still legally belong to the original creator. Most of the stock images we use in our designs are licensed under the Standard License.

Book Cover artwork should not be modified in any way. If you need revisions to your design in the future, please email us at hello@theauthorbuddy.com.

Absolutely! There may be an additional fee depending on the revisions needed. Please email us at hello@theauthorbuddy.com to discuss the details of the revision request.

Oh boy, do we! lol

Check out our Services page for more information about everything listed above.

Premade Book Cover Design FAQs

Of course! Check out our Premade Book Cover Design Portfolio!

We also have a Previously Sold Premades page that includes premade covers that were purchased but their books have not yet been published.

Premade cover designers all have slightly different processes, so it’s a great question to ask even if you’ve purchased a Premade from someone else before!

When you decide to purchase a Premade Book Cover Design from us, you’ll place your order on our website at theauthorbuddy.com. Please contact us through email if you have any trouble completing your purchase on the website.

Once we receive the order and the payment is finalized, we will send you a confirmation email within 48 hours. The confirmation email will include the details of your order, and we’ll provide information on any additional services you’ve requested, or additional customization requests.

If you already have your customization information for your eBook (title and author name) and provided that with your order, we usually send the mockup for your review with the confirmation email, or if our schedule does not allow that, we will provide an estimate on when you can expect to receive that with your confirmation email. A mockup needing only included customizations (title and author name) usually takes no more than two business days. For additional revision requests, turnaround time will vary.

Once you receive the mockup of your customizations and reply to us with your approval, we will deliver the final file package through email (a Google Drive link) usually within two business days. This can vary depending on our current schedule, the details of your order and any additional services you’ve requested.

The final eBook file package will include your eBook jpg file (1600x2560px) formatted for KDP and most other platforms, and Title Graphics, both in full color and solid black with transparent backgrounds, for use in your promotional materials and book. Your file package will also contain any additional services you have requested, such as Amazon A+ Content graphics, unless we have discussed other arrangements/timeline with you.

If you ordered the Print package (Paperback Cover) as well, in the confirmation email, we will ask for your book’s final page count, trim size, paper color, ad back blurb. If you do not have this information yet, that’s completely fine! Once you have this information finalized, just reply to our email with that information, and we’ll start on the customizations for your Paperback Cover. You may receive your file package in two rounds if your Paperback information is not finalized at the time of the eBook customization completion.

At that point, the cover is yours! If you have any trouble with your files during publishing, need additional revisions, or need anything else, just reply to our email thread. We’re always happy to help!

Absolutely!

Customization of the title, author name, and blurb are included for free with all Premade Book Cover Design purchases. Some minor revisions can also be completed for no additional charge, depending on the specifics of the design.

If you need additional revisions, just select “I need additional revisions” for your customization option when you purchase your design, and we will contact you about the details of your request.

You can also email us at hello@theauthorbuddy.com to discuss your revision requests before you purchase, and we can let you know if an additional charge will be needed for those revisions and an estimate for the fee.

Once we receive the order from our website and the payment is finalized, we will send you a confirmation email within 48 hours.

If you already have your customization information for your eBook (title and author name) and provided that with your order, we usually send the mockup for your review with the confirmation email, or if our schedule does not allow that, we will provide an estimate on when you can expect to receive that with your confirmation email. A mockup needing only included customizations (title and author name) usually takes no more than two business days. For additional revision requests, turnaround time will vary.

Once you receive the mockup of your customizations and reply to us with your approval, we will deliver the final file package through email (a Google Drive link) usually within two business days. This can vary depending on our current schedule, the details of your order and any additional services you’ve requested.

When you purchase the eBook package for a Premade Book Cover Design, you receive:

  • eBook jpg file (1600x2560px) formatted for KDP and most other platforms
  • Title Graphics, both in full color and solid black with transparent backgrounds, for use in your promotional materials and book

When you purchase the Print package for a Premade Book Cover Design, you receive:

  • eBook jpg file (1600x2560px) formatted for KDP and most other platforms
  • Title Graphics, both in full color and solid black with transparent backgrounds, for use in your promotional materials and book
  • Paperback PDF formatted for KDP (or other printer if you choose) using the specifications you provide to us (trim size, page count, paper color)

Absolutely! Many of our authors do this.

Just select “I do not have the title and author name ready” for your customization option when you purchase your design.

You certainly can, and this is very common.

If you do not have the title and/or author name ready, just select “I do not have the title and author name ready” for your customization option when you purchase your design.

If you are purchasing the Print package and do have the title and author name, but do not have the final page count, trim size, or blurb, just complete your order and we can get that information from you through email when you have it.

You definitely can!

Just select “I do not have the title and author name ready” for your customization option when you purchase your design.

The only time limit is if you purchase the eBook with Print layaway package, the layaway must be cleared within 12 months of the date of the eBook purchase, or there will be an additional charge when the Paperback is requested after 12 months.

We do not hold or reserve Premade Book Cover Designs without payment.

However, you can order the cover on the website even before you’re ready to use it. Just select “I do not have the title and author name ready” for your customization option when you purchase your design.

No. We do not provide the native file format for cover artwork (PSDs, AIs, etc), and Book Cover artwork should not be modified in any way. If you need revisions to your design in the future, please email us at hello@theauthorbuddy.com.

We will provide the flat artwork for your cover with no title and no author name if requested.

Absolutely! Just check the box that says “I am interested in making this cover a series” when you place your order.

Yes. In order to keep our prices affordable, we purchase the Standard Image License for stock imagery, as this is sufficient for most author’s needs. The Standard Image License includes unlimited digital (eBook) sales and up to 500,000 units in a print/paperback run. This limit is set by the stock image provider. If you expect to go, or end up going, over these limits, please email us to let us know, and we will assist you in purchasing an Extended License for the images used in your cover.

We are happy to provide proof of the licenses for the images used in our premade covers upon request after you’ve purchased your premade.

We do not use AI generators in any step of the process in the creation of any of our designs.

All of our designs are created using licensed stock images, or original photography and artwork. We make every effort to avoid AI generated images from stock photo providers, and we monitor the policies of the stock providers regularly to ensure we are aware if AI imagery is ever added to their collections.

Depending on our schedule, we release new Premade Book Cover Designs 1-2 times per month. We call these “drops,” and they’re announced in our Email Newsletter first, and then on our social media channels.

Yes, but we will ask for that information through email after purchase. We’ll need to know your trim size, page count, paper color, printer (like KDP), and we’ll need your blurb for the back of the book.

Yes, the Paperback charge is required for each finished file needed. So if you purchase a cover with a $30 Paperback fee, for example, and you’re using both KDP and B&N, the total Paperback charge would be $60.

Custom Book Cover Design FAQs

Coming Soon!

BETA READING AND STORY SERVICES FAQs

We currently offer:

  • Professional Beta Reading
  • Premium Beta Reading
  • Team Beta Reading
  • Quote & Teaser Service
  • Proofreading
  • Line Editing

To learn more about our services, please click here.

This is such a great question! Free beta readers are a wonderful resource for any author, and we do recommend that you build a network of beta readers you can trust and who adequately represent your intended reader, whether you turn to people in your life or other authors.

However, a Professional Beta Reader is a great resource in addition to those free beta readers for many reasons. Here are some of the most common reasons why you need a Professional Beta Reader:

  • When you do not have a network of beta readers in place…this is especially true for new authors.
    • Our team of Beta Readers are experienced, professional, and dependable, and with our growing team, we can offer an availability far beyond that of free beta readers.
  • When the beta readers you do have are not an adequate representation of your intended audience, or are unfamiliar with your genre, subgenre, intended tropes, or intended steam levels.
    • We ensure that we have experienced Beta Readers for an incredible range of genres, subgenres, topes, and steam levels, so you always know we will have a reader who can give you the most valuable insight into your story’s efficacy.
  • When you’re worried about free beta readers copying, distributing, or pirating your work
    • Our Team of Professional Beta Readers are dedicated to ensuring ethical, secure, and confidential handling of all projects, so you can be confident in the security of your manuscript with our team.
  • When you’re concerned that your beta readers won’t have the time or capability to get you insightful, thorough feedback.
    • With our two levels of Beta Reading Services (Professional and Premium), you know you will get a thorough and complete analysis of your story when you work with our team of Beta Readers, and we prioritize timely delivery of feedback on all of our projects.
  • When you’re worried that your beta readers will be “too nice” and not give you critical feedback, or alternately, you’re worried they’ll be too brutal and rip your book to shreds.
    • Our Team of Professional Beta Readers delivers honest feedback with the goal of helping you get your story to shine it’s brightest, and we do not withhold necessary critique. However, it is just as important for you to know what parts of your story are already hitting the right notes, so you will always get a balanced, well-rounded, encouraging, and thorough analysis from our team.

Our Professional Beta Reading Services are a valuable part of many author’s publishing process, and we’re always happy to meet new authors! Ready to get started with your Beta Reading Project? Fill out our Beta Read Signup Form now!

More information coming soon!

Beta Readers all have slightly different processes, so this is a great question to ask even if you’ve had a beta reader before!

When you decide to sign up for a Beta Reading Project with us, you’ll fill out the Beta Read Signup Form on our website at theauthorbuddy.com. Please contact us through email if you have any trouble with the form on the website.

Once we receive your signup form, Rachel will evaluate your project’s genre, subgenre, tropes, steam level, themes, content & trigger warnings, and our current schedule to find the perfect Beta Reader for your story.

If Rachel has no additional questions for you, you will receive your deposit invoice through PayPal with your anticipated dates of service and book delivery information. If we need additional information regarding your project, we will get in touch through email prior to send your deposit invoice. Most project requests will be processed within 72 hours.

Your first invoice will be for the 50% deposit of your project (cost of half the anticipated word count PLUS any add-ons). Please note that deposits are non-refundable and non-transferrable.

The project dates on the invoice are subject to change, since the project won’t be reserved on our calendar until payment of the deposit invoice is received. Once your deposit invoice has been paid, your spot on our calendar is reserved, and your beta reader is assigned.

When your manuscript is ready, please us with the document attached to email us at christleycreatives@gmail.com, or share it in Google Drive with this email address. This is Rachel’s direct email address. Your manuscript must be delivered within 24 hours of the project start date that is indicated and approved at the time of scheduling and deposit. We use manuscript completion dates for scheduling purposes so that we can ensure a reader is available for your project and deadline.

For the most effective and efficient beta read, we ask that the author not access the document during the beta read to make any revisions or resolve comments by the beta reader(s) until the full read is complete. We may make a copy of the document in Google Drive for this purpose, but it will be delivered back to the author upon project completion with all notes. 

Once your Beta Reader has completed the project, Rachel will send you the manuscript with comments, as well as the feedback document. She will also send the second invoice for the remainder of the word count.

With your project completed, if you have any specific questions regarding the feedback you received, please get in touch with Rachel. We’re always happy to help!

Absolutely!

When filling out your Beta Reading Signup Form, there is a filed labeled “If you have any particular concerns about your book that you want our Beta Reader to be aware of, please let us know here. For example, if you live in one country and your story is set in another, and you want particular attention paid to regional word choices.” Please include any concerns you have, or specific questions you’d like to ask your reader, in this field.

We do have team members who are happy to read dark, taboo, or violent content, but please note that ANY potential triggers must be included in your signup form.

We will not subject our beta readers to potentially disturbing content without their consent, and failure to properly include trigger or content warnings on your project could result in your project being cancelled without refund.

Disclosing the nature of your content helps us protect our betas, and also ensure your manuscript is assigned to the reader who will best represent your target audience.

When filling out your Beta Reading Signup Form, there is a filed labeled “Trigger and Content Warnings” Please include any any potentially concerning, problematic, triggering, or disturbing content in this field.

Some examples of disturbing content that would need to be disclosed:

  • Bully Romance
  • Intense or graphic descriptions of violence, abuse, blood, and gore
  • Sexual or physical assault or abuse, or sexual or physical harm, either in action or in fantasy/inner thoughts. A description of what someone wants or intends to do needs a warning whether or not they actually carry out the action, or carry it out on the page.
  • Vivid panic attacks or descriptions of mental anguish and mental illness
  • Incest
  • Death/loss/grief (especially child loss)

Once we receive the order from our website and the payment is finalized, you will receive a PayPal invoice or email communication from us within 72 hours.

Turnaround time varies by service.

Time Zones: We work in US Eastern time (GMT-5) and will deliver beta reading projects by end of day (please take this into account with your deadline).

Beta Reading: We require one business day per 10k manuscript words for completion of Beta Reading Projects.

Rush fees will apply if 10k/day timeframe cannot be accommodated by the author (if you need a faster turnaround time than our 10k/day policy). There will be a $35 fee added to projects that need to be completed within 6 weeks.

Line-Editing: Turnaround time for Line-Editing requires at least 2 business days per 10k manuscript words. *LIMITED AVAILABILITY – Cannot be added to projects with a deadline within 6 weeks.*

Both our Professional and Premium Level Beta Reading Services include in-line comments and feedback within the text itself, as well as a single-page Feedback Document detailing overall impressions and evaluation of your manuscript based on genre trends, tropes, and reader experience.

Learn more about our Professional Beta Reading Services here.

For authors in need of an affordable, but more thorough, story analysis than Beta Reading, we now offer Line Editing, where we provide extensive in-line feedback to help your story shine its brightest. This service includes Stylist Editing, comprehensive analysis of overused words and phrases, word choice, tone, sentence structure, and story flow. 

Turnaround time for Line-Editing requires at least 2 business days per 10k manuscript words. *LIMITED AVAILABILITY – Cannot be added to projects with a deadline within 6 weeks.*

Line Editing options available:

  • As an add-on with your Beta Project, at a discounted rate of $3.50/1,000 manuscript words
  • As a standalone service at the standard rate of $5/1,000 manuscript words

Our Proofreading Service includes a thorough analysis of your manuscript for typos, missing words, and grammar and punctuation mistakes. While our Beta Readers occasionally make note of typos and other proofreading concerns as they see them, our Beta Reading packages do not include comprehensive proofreading by default.

Proofreading options available:

  • As an add-on with your Beta Project, at a discounted rate of $1/1,000 manuscript words
  • As a standalone service at the standard rate of $1.50/1,000 manuscript words

You’ll share your manuscript with us via Google Docs and we will use the Suggesting mode to correct typos, and grammar and punctuation mistakes. This will allow you to quickly review all of the suggestions and accept or reject them right in Google docs, saving you tons of time in the editing process.

For issues like missing words or anything less obvious, we will make a comment within google docs noting the issue for you to evaluate and address as needed.

Our authors love our Quote & Teaser service where we pull the most eye-catching teasers from your book for use in promotional materials.

  • If you have trouble finding awesome quotes for your #sundaysnippets & #tuesdayteasers, Bookstagram Reels, and #Booktok
  • If you need a variety of long & short quotes for promotional materials & graphics
  • If you wish you had someone to tell you what will draw readers in

You’ll share your manuscript with us via Google Docs and we will highlight all of the wonderful quotes you’ve created that we think would ensnare a reader and work for teasers, snippets, and promotional graphics. That way, you can reference the context of the quote. We’ll also copy them into another doc, formatted and spaced for easy access whenever you need them.

We will never deliver less than 3 quotes for a novella or 5 quotes for a full-length novel, although there is no maximum!

Of course, many of our authors do this.

Just make sure to include your manuscript completion estimated date on your Beta Read Signup Form.

Your manuscript must be delivered within 24 hours of the project start date that is indicated and approved at the time of scheduling and deposit. We use manuscript completion dates for scheduling purposes so that we can ensure a reader is available for your project and deadline.

However, we do reserve the right to require a completed manuscript prior to scheduling in some cases, like very tight rush projects or on projects that have had multiple reschedules. This is to ensure that we can maximize our readers’ availability and respect their time and schedules.

We’d love to introduce you to our Professional Beta Reading Team, so we’ve put together a fun bio page for all of our readers! All of our current readers are listed on this page once they are trained and accepting new projects.

When selecting a reader for a project, Rachel evaluates the experience, specialties, triggers, and schedules of all of our readers to find the best fit for each book, as well as her years of experience as a professional beta reader and her knowledge of the authors and the industry. When possible, Rachel also researches each new author we work with to get a feel for their readership to make sure she selects a reader who will best be able to speak to the requirements of that readership.

You may request a specific reader on your Beta Reading Signup Form.

However, please note that Beta Reader scheduling is dependent upon availability, but we will try to accommodate requests if possible within the reader’s schedule. If you request a reader who is unavailable, we will contact you with options for your project.

When your manuscript is ready, please us with the document attached to email us at christleycreatives@gmail.com, or share it in Google Drive with this email address. This is Rachel’s direct email address.

For Google Drive documents: For the most effective and efficient beta read, we ask that the author not access the document during the beta read to make any revisions or resolve comments by the beta reader(s) until the full read is complete. We may make a copy of the document in Google Drive for this purpose, but it will be delivered back to the author upon project completion with all notes. 

For Word documents: We will make a copy of the document in Google Drive, but it will be delivered back to the author upon project completion with all notes. 

Please note: your manuscript must be delivered within 24 hours of the project start date that is indicated and approved at the time of scheduling and deposit. We use manuscript completion dates for scheduling purposes so that we can ensure a reader is available for your project and deadline.

We do try to accommodate rush projects when we have a reader available, but please make sure to note your deadline, and whether it is a hard deadline, on your beta reading signup form.

There will be a $35 fee added to projects that need to be completed within 6 weeks. We require one business day per 10k manuscript words for completion of Beta Reading Projects. A rush fee will be applied if you need a faster turnaround time than our 10k/day policy.

We definitely understand that sometimes things take longer than anticipated, especially in writing, and we do try to accommodate reschedules as much as possible. The most important thing is that you have a story that you love and are proud of, and we always want to help support our authors in that!

That said, reschedules can be complicated to accommodate, as we often have projects booked back-to-back. When one project reschedules, or multiple projects are moved around, sometimes it’s not as easy to fit into our queue. It requires evaluating all of the projects currently on our schedule and coordinating with our beta readers and sometimes multiple authors to find an appropriate solution to make sure all of our projects are still delivered within required deadlines.

For a project that is months out from the anticipated project dates, a reschedule is easy to accommodate. All you need to do is email us with your new anticipated manuscript completion date and deadline, and whether this is a hard deadline or flexible, and we will get the schedule adjusted and send you a confirmation email with your new dates.

For projects where we are made aware of the reschedule request within 8 weeks of the beginning of the scheduled project dates, please note that our standard one business day per 10k manuscript words turnaround time may need to be extended as we work to fit your project into the schedule. So, if your project was originally scheduled to take 5 business days, please note that it may take longer depending on how we were able to fit it into the schedule.

Additionally, projects where we are made aware of the reschedule request within 6 weeks of the beginning of the scheduled project dates may be subject to a reschedule fee, at our discretion, in order to accommodate the project within our schedule, as these projects can often become a rush situation.

When a reschedule is needed in an urgent or rush situation, you will be offered all options available including moving to a new spot on the schedule, or a different beta reader if one is available.

To request a reschedule, please email us with details of your situation, your new anticipated manuscript completion date and deadline, and whether this is a hard deadline or flexible, and we will contact you with the available options.

We post updates regularly on our blog with our current beta reading, quote & teaser service, proofreading, and line-editing availability, and that is where you can find the most current information about project availability.

You will receive TWO invoices beta reading, proofreading, and line-editing projects.

The first invoice will have the anticipated dates of service, book delivery information, and non-refundable and non-transferrable 50% deposit (cost of half the anticipated word count PLUS any add-ons). The dates on the invoice are subject to change, since the project won’t be reserved on our calendar until payment of the deposit invoice is received.

The second invoice will be sent at project completion for the remainder of the word count.

Please see the Payment FAQs below for more information about forms of payments accepted.

For standalone Quote & Teaser Service Projects, you are able to pay right here on our website right after you have completed the Quote & Teaser Service Signup Form.

If you miss the payment somehow during the signup process, just email Rachel at christleycreatives@gmail.com and she will send you a PayPal Invoice.

Please see the Payment FAQs below for more information about forms of payments accepted.

Credit in your book is certainly not required, but we do appreciate it!

If you hired us for a Beta Read, Proofread, Line-Edit, or Quote & Teaser Service, please credit “The Author Buddy.” If you would like to credit your beta reader(s) specifically, please credit “[Reader Name/Reader #1 Name & Reader #2 Name] of The Author Buddy.”

Payment FAQs

We accept payment through PayPal in US dollars. All website payments are processed through PayPal, and our invoicing (for customs, commissions, and other services) is done through PayPal as well.

No, you do not need a PayPal account to order through our website.

Yes, you can pay with your credit or debit card through our PayPal checkout processing. You do not have to have a PayPal account to do so. At checkout, just select “Credit or Debit Card” and then follow the prompts to pay as a guest.

We’re very proud to offer the option of Print Layaway to our authors, because we believe that flexible payment plans make prepublishing services accessible.

When you purchase a Premade Book Cover Design from our website, you can select the “eBook Package with Print Cover Layaway” option for your Cover Choice. You will pay the eBook price for the cover design when you complete your order.

We will send your confirmation email for your eBook just like any other order, and you’ll receive your eBook file and Title Graphics (and any additional services you’ve selected) in your file package delivery.

Whenever you are ready for your Paperback customization, just reply to our email thread for your order. We will send you a PayPal invoice, and once that is paid, we’ll get your Paperback file customized and delivered.

The layaway must be cleared within 12 months of the date of the eBook purchase, or there will be an additional charge when the Paperback is requested after 12 months.

We do not offer refunds on Premade Book Cover Purchases, Custom Cover Design Deposits, Beta Reading Deposits, or other Author Services Deposits.