Frequently Asked
Questions
ZAQ Designs & Publishing does not do the printing or offer a royalty system like a traditional publisher. Our main goal is to help self-publishers, or indie authors’ stories and dreams become a reality with astonishing, eye-catching book covers and interior design.
You’ve come to the right place! Most of the best cover designs have been created from an author giving us complete creative freedom. We will collaborate with you on the basics of what you like from some of the book cover design samples you provide. Our ultimate goal is to create a concept that will be very eye-catching and professional. We will provide mockups for you to choose from.
Yes, ZAQ Designs can format your book for print. We ensure the look will be very professional and clean like it is designed and printed from a big publishing house.
Yes, we offer professional proofreading and copyediting services.
The design process depends on what services you require from us (e.g., design complexity, extent of feedback and revisions) The average turnaround time for a basic book cover design is around two weeks or within 14 days to receive book cover mockups. Most simple, text-driven novel-style books usually take 1 to 3 months from start to finish. If you have a specific deadline, let us know and we can arrange the schedule accordingly for the best available time slot.
We always try to make sure our design packages are affordable. Not all books are created equal. Some, if not most of our cover designs require brainstorming sessions, extensive photo manipulation, and other advanced design methods. We always strive to make your book cover a Best Seller quality. If you have any questions regarding the cost of our professional services, please fill out the form or contact us and we will answer your questions within 48 hours.
Absolutely, we can do eBook cover only design.
Yes, we can convert your standard manuscript to eBook format.
Yes. When you’re ready to upgrade to print, we can coordinate a schedule to make it happen. You will only need to pay the difference between the eBook and print package.
Payment terms are 50/50. The author/client agrees to pay 50% non-refundable deposit before work commences. The book cover design process consists of four phases: brainstorming, photo-illustration, cover design and approval process which will take up to 14 days before we can proceed with the rest of the full-book design. When the cover design is selected and approved, we will proceed with the interior design.
Due to the precarious nature of releasing original concepts, the amount of time invested, and the monumental amount of work it requires, we cannot offer a refund on the deposit payment. We will continue to work with the author/client but if for any reason, before the second (2nd) round of revision, the author/client is not completely satisfied with the preliminary design then he/she will not be held accountable for the remaining balance if author/client wishes to cancel the project with ZAQ Designs and Publishing.
If the author/client paid full price for the design package in advance, we can only refund 50% of the amount paid. In this case, ownership of any presented design ideas cannot be granted.
Credit Card is the preferred payment platform for ZAQ Designs. We use PayPal services, but you can pay PayPal with any credit card or debit card. You are not required to have a PayPal account to pay the invoice.
We will send you an initial invoice with 50% deposit of your selected design package before any work commence. When the work is completed, finalized and approved, We will send you a second and final invoice for the remaining balance. Once the final invoice is fully paid, we will email the Hi-Res print-ready files.
We do not accept eChecks or Checks at the moment.
ZAQ Designs does not physically print books, but we format books professionally for IngramSpark, Amazon KDP and other traditional printers.
Since ZAQ Designs is not a publisher, we do not provide ISBN. If you are going to print a book either through P.O.D. (Print-On-Demand) services such as IngramSpark or traditional printing, you will need an ISBN. Depending on who you use, some eBooks do not require ISBN. ISBN (International Standard Book Number) can be purchased through Bowker at myidentifiers.com.
If you plan to use the Amazon KDP P.O.D. (Print-On-Demand) services, KDP can provide an ISBN free of charge.
We can generate an ISBN barcode if you provide us with ISBN numbers at no extra charge with a book package purchased through ZAQ Designs & Publishing.
If you already have an ISBN number, you do not need to purchase a barcode. If you have already purchased a design package with us, we’ll be more than happy to to generate a barcode using your ISBN numbers.
Absolutely! We can take your finished front cover and design the back cover, spine, add the barcode, and set up the layout to the specifications required by the printer of your choice.
Due to personal and financial information on your KDP account, it is difficult for us to assist with helping get your book on Amazon KDP. We can help by providing a walk-through step-by-step guide for getting the book uploaded to your KDP account. First, you will need to set up a seller account on kdp.amazon.com. Contact us for more information.
Absolutely! At the beginning, we will collaborate with you on your ideas for the cover. We will provide a form for you to fill out before getting started on the design process. While filling out the details on the provided form, share some book cover design samples you like so we will have a better idea of what you’re looking for.
You keep 100% rights to the cover design. When the invoice is paid in full, you will receive the master files. We do not take any royalties from your book or design. You retain 100% profit and rights for your book cover design. We only retain the rights to showcase the cover and interior designs on our website portfolio and social media promotions.
Yes, we’ll be happy to use your photos. We recommend the photos to be large size and high-resolution as much as possible. We cannot use small, web photos. Printers will reject covers that are blurry, low-resolution and/or pixelated.
Yes, we do sell sheets, bookmarks, audiobook covers and promotional mockup packages. Some of these items are add-on services. Please contact us for more information.
Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is free to register. Please visit loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink for more information and instructions. We will also be happy to assist with this process if needed. This will be an add-on service to your selected book design package. Contact us for more information.
Yes, all ZAQ Designs prices are in United States Dollars (USD) only.
Absolutely! You don’t have to live in Kansas for ZAQ Designs to help you. Everything is designed from the lovely state of Kansas (known for tallgrass prairies, sunflowers and tornadoes), but through digital communication we can work with you no matter where you are!
Do you still have questions? Use our contact form to reach us. We’ll answer your questions as soon as possible.
“I guess there are never enough books.”
~ John Steinbeck