Design Process
At Deranged Doctor, every project is a team effort.
Your dedicated project manager oversees communication and collaborates closely with your designer, allowing the creative team to stay focused on producing the best possible cover.
Why We Work with Project Managers?
We work through a structured team system to keep your project efficient, organized, and creatively focused.
1. Better focus on your cover
Cover design often involves detailed feedback, multiple directions, and refinements. Managing all of this directly would interrupt the designer’s creative workflow. Your project manager takes care of all communication and translates your feedback into clear, actionable direction for the designer—so they can stay fully focused on your cover.
2. Faster, clearer communication
Many questions are not design-related (pricing, bookings, payments, packages, etc.). Our designers don’t handle administrative tasks, so your project manager is your dedicated point of contact for everything you need. This ensures you always get fast, accurate answers without slowing down the design process.
3. Just Like Authors, Designers Are Creatives
Our designers pour a great deal of creativity into every cover they create. Receiving harsh feedback on their work can feel very much like an author reading a critical review of a book they poured their heart into. As a fellow creative, you probably know how a single poorly chosen phrase can overshadow an entire day's work. That's why your project manager may occasionally soften or rephrase feedback before sharing it with the designer, ensuring your message is communicated clearly while keeping the conversation constructive and solution-oriented.
To begin the process, please email us with:
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Number of covers needed
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Genre(s)
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Preferred timeline, including deadlines for each cover
We will reply with available dates for your first cover proposal. Once the dates are confirmed, a $50 non-refundable deposit per cover slot is required via PayPal invoice to secure your booking.
After we receive the deposit, we will confirm your booking and assign a project code (e.g. 2027-1234) to each cover to help track your project and ensure easy file retrieval after completion. You will then receive a cover brief, which must be completed and returned no later than two weeks before your scheduled start date. Please review the brief guidelines before filling it out.
You are welcome to contact us at any point between booking and production if you need to update or discuss your project.
NOTE: Brief accuracy & revisions
A complete and accurate brief is essential. Missing or incorrect information may result in additional revision charges starting from $50, as significant time may be required to correct direction based on incomplete input. If this is your first time filling out the Cover Design Brief, please have a look at the Guidelines - here.
Project start confirmation
7–10 days before the agreed start date (cover proposal ETA), we will email you to confirm that you are ready to begin. If your booking was made well in advance, we may also ask you to review your brief and update it if necessary.
First draft
Your assigned senior designer will spend approximately 5–7 hours creating your first cover concept. The initial proposal will be delivered on or before the agreed date. Please provide feedback or revision requests within 2 days of delivery to keep the project on schedule.
Revisions
All packages include unlimited revisions within reason. However, additional charges apply in the following cases:
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Incomplete or incorrect brief submissions
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Major changes in creative direction after work has started (e.g. switching from a symbol-cover to a character-based cover)
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In rare cases, if a project repeatedly stalls or cannot progress after multiple revisions, we reserve the right to cancel the project.
Final approval
Once the front/eBook cover is approved, it is transferred to our handover team for final production. This includes:
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Clean-up and alignment checks
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Series consistency checks (if applicable)
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Creation of paperback and promotional materials
After this stage, any further changes are subject to additional charges.
Payment
Once the final design is approved, we will issue a PayPal invoice for the remaining balance.
Delivery
Final high-resolution files are delivered by Tanja or Jovana after payment confirmation. You will receive an email with “HANDOVER” in the subject line.
Each project is reviewed by multiple team members before delivery, including your project manager, designer, supporting designer, and final quality control. While we take great care, we still recommend that clients carefully review all delivered files.
The client is responsible for final proofreading and verification of all files and final products before publication.
We strongly recommend ordering a physical print proof before approving your book for full print production.
NOTE: Proofing your designs
Deranged Doctor Design cannot be held responsible for printing or production errors. All files are supplied as print-ready and approved digital designs; however, final print quality, color accuracy, trimming, alignment, and any production-related issues are the responsibility of the client and the chosen printer. We strongly recommend ordering a physical print proof before full production to check all elements under real printing conditions, including centering, bleed, color shifts, scale, and overall layout. Any issues that could have been identified at proof stage are considered outside our responsibility once files have been delivered and approved for print.
Once the cover is approved, it is considered final.
Any changes to the artwork after approval or final file delivery will incur additional charges starting from $100, depending on complexity. Post-approval changes require:
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Reworking layered artwork files
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Reapplying effects and compositions
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Updating all finalized deliverables
These adjustments typically require a minimum of 2 hours of work, and pricing depends on scope.
We offer unlimited revisions within reasonable scope, with the following exceptions:
Exception #1: Revisions requested because you changed your mind
If you request a specific composition or model and later decide to change it after the initial concept has been created, additional charges will apply. This also includes cases where a mock-up for the main character (MC) pose or composition has been approved, but changes are requested once the high-resolution version is in production.
These changes require additional design time and will be billed accordingly. Fees start at $50 for smaller changes, such as color adjustments, and may increase to $100 or more for larger changes, such as switching to a different model or significantly altering the composition.
Exception #2 Full Concept Change
We develop the initial concept based on the brief you provide. If you approve the direction and begin revisions, but later decide to change the concept entirely (for example, switching from a “people cover” to a “symbol cover”), a $200 kill fee will apply.
This fee covers the work already completed and is required if you wish to discontinue the current design and start over. Once the fee is paid, the existing design will be scrapped and the project will restart from the beginning with a new concept. The new design will be charged at standard rates.
Project Cancellation (Kill Fee Policy)
If you decide after seeing the first draft that our design style isn’t the right fit and you do not wish to proceed with revisions, you may cancel the project at no additional design cost. Our policy is that clients should not pay for work they do not intend to use.
However, this applies only if the project is cancelled after the first draft and before any revision requests are made. If revisions are requested and a revised file has been delivered, a $200 kill fee will apply to cover the time and work already completed.