I found a book designer online, and paid her to do my cover and my manuscript. All the design is done and I’m now looking for a publisher. I just heard from my designer that she might need to re-do the files if my publisher’s specifications are different, and she’ll charge me to do that. Now I’m wondering why she didn’t tell me that before the work was started, and finished! How can I find a publisher whose specifications match my files as they are right now?

S.A.

Authors should never let anyone format/design their files until they know who the publisher will be. (And, most publishers offers those services anyway as part of their publishing packages.) Each publisher will have specs that must be followed.

If your files aren’t designed to those specs, you’ll need to pay your designer all over again to re-do the work. Some designers actually scam authors in this way. They know the author doesn’t have a publisher or specs yet…but they convince the author to let them go ahead and do the work, knowing they’ll get paid double in the end.

I do not recommend trying to hunt and peck around the Internet to find a publisher whose specs match your files. That would be a huge waste of time, and may even be an impossible task. It’s a better idea to simply let your publisher design your files.

If a designer designs files without a printer’s specs, and then wants more money to re-do the work later, it’s possible that person purposely formatted those files at a size (or in a way) that no publisher would be able to work with.

I previously wrote about this topic RIGHT HERE.

You can find reputable cover design services HERE, and interior formatting/design services HERE.