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In this post, I want to answer your question when it comes to source files.

Do you need source files when it comes to designing your e-book cover?

Should you order them?

What does it mean to get source files for an additional fee?

We’re going to talk about that because a lot of companies out there charge extra fees simply just to get the source files.

More about Ebook Cover and Source Files?

Maybe you’ve already written your book, and now you’re ready for an e-book cover. You’re shopping around for different companies that are doing e-book covers and services, and you’re probably trying to figure out what is the right approach.

There’s this additional checkbox that I could tick. That checkbox says: Hey, do you want the source files? And sometimes it’s an extra additional fee.

By the way, if you’re serious and you want an e-book cover done right, check out 5StarAuthor.com – My team and I will take care of an e-book cover for you. And we offer this service as well. We’ll design you a professional e-book cover.

Here’s your basic e-book cover design. And this might be a fee – let’s say it’s $300. And then you have this another one, let’s say this is the Plus plan. It’s this plan, but you get your source files.

What does it mean when they’re talking about source files?

What it means is the source files are the things you can change or manipulate. It allows you to have the originals. Anything that you want to do it allows you to take that to any other designer, and you can make changes and modifications to it.

If you want, it will depend on you. For some people, once your book cover is done, it’s done because people are going to recognize it. And you don’t need to make changes. On the other hand, if you feel you might have a version number (volume 1,2,3), you may decide to have a similar book cover but just subtle upgrades and changes.

Having Art Source Files – Is it worth it? 

Maybe you want different colors, a picture in the background. Then it would be worthwhile to get those additional source files. 

How much should you pay for them?

Sometimes there are $100, $150 and sometimes they’re even $300 or more. It depends on the organization. 

Here’s a source file over here.

Here’s an e-book cover which you could change if you want. You could manipulate this 25 number. If you only have the final version, which is what you typically will get when you order an e-book cover, you won’t be able to move it and modify it.

Now even when you get the source files, you may not be able to do that without having the right software. Some people use illustrator. Some people use Photoshop. Some people use other software.

It doesn’t matter. The point is that you’re able to modify and manipulate the text. You can move around the different elements. You can even change the color of them and so forth.

That’s what you can do with the source files. And that’s why you may want to get them. Of course, if that’s not something you’re interested in, think about what if you want to change in the future.

If you need to modify something, change the typography you will need source files. I could turn this text from this font to another font. Well, I could easily do that pretty quickly.

And all of a sudden, now I have a whole different feel and look to the book — the same thing with the colors. If you didn’t have the source files, you’d have to recreate this from scratch, which takes additional costs, time and money.

Key Takeaway: I would always recommend you get the source file. That way, you could make some tweaks and changes in the future. 

Final Word

I hope that gives you some insight into source files. And you’ve learned more about source files.

Sometimes it’s an additional fee. We typically include it with especially with our premium packages here at 5StarAuthor.com

If you need a professional e-book cover, let us know.