let’s bring your stories to life
Welcome to Selkkie Designs, a place where you can find custom book cover services, premade covers and marketing materials for your stories.
Reading these terms and submitting a request is a legal contract between Selkkie Designs and the client. The information entered by the client is a legally binding signature of everything contained within this agreement.
If you need a contract (pysical signed document of this agreement) Selkkie Designs will provide one upon request.
† WORK AND DESIGN PROCESS
• After both parties agree that Selkkie Designs and the Client are a suitable fit for the project, a date for the project will be scheduled. Once the date is set, the Client will complete a design form containing all necessary information for the design process.
• After reviewing the completed form, Selkkie Designs and the Client will discuss the best creative direction for the project based on genre, target audience, and appropriate industry trends. Following this discussion, Selkkie Designs will provide the Client with initial ideas or a rough, quick sketch reflecting the agreed-upon direction.
• On the scheduled project date, the Client will receive the first draft of the book cover. Based on the feedback provided by the client, Selkkie Designs will make additional updates and refine the draft until it becomes the final design. Selkkie Designs will not proceed with changes, acquisitions of new stock, or other resources without first obtaining the client's approval.
• Unless the client requests an excessive number of revisions or asks the artist to restart the design when the project is halfway through or nearly complete, the final payment for the project will not exceed the price ranges stated on the Services page. If the client requests an excessive number of revisions or a new concept, Selkkie Designs will not proceed with any changes or new drafts without informing the client of the additional costs for those changes.
• The estimated delivery time is approximately 1 to 2 weeks, depending on the complexity of the design, the speed of communication between the Artist and the Client, and the number of revisions required.
• In the event that the Client abandons or cancels the project after work has begun, Selkkie Designs reserves the right to make slight adjustments to the unfinished design and repurpose it as a premade cover available for public sale.
† AI INFORMATION
• The use of AI-generated images is harmful to other fellow artists, as it is categorized as art theft, and to clients, as readers may refuse to read or purchase their stories. Additionally, Amazon and other publishers do not support the use of AI-generated content and reserve the right to remove the client's books from their platforms.
• Selkkie Designs does not use or endorse the use of AI-generated images in her work. Selkkie Designs uses legitimate, licensed stock materials and hand-drawn elements to create her book covers. All materials used in Selkkie Designs' work are properly licensed, ensuring that clients can confidently prove their covers contain no AI-generated elements.
• Furthermore, feeding or uploading any of Selkkie Designs’ creations, designs, or images into any AI or generative platform (including but not limited to Midjourney, ChatGBT, Firefly, DALL·E, or similar tools) is strictly prohibited. Doing so constitutes an unlawful act of copyright infringement. Selkkie Designs reserves the right to take legal action to protect her intellectual property if such unauthorized use occurs.
† PAYMENTS
• Selkkie Designs does not require deposits or any type of upront payment. The Client agrees to provide full payment upon completion of the commissioned work, after reviewing and approving the final design.
• The price ranges for each type of project are stated on the Services page. The final price includes: the complexity of the design, hours of work, acquisition of stock photos or other necessary resources like fonts or 3d rendered elements, add-ons, and extra revisions.
• Selkkie Designs does not normally require any upfront payment. However, in cases where the creation of the project requires the purchase of licensed resources (such as stock images, fonts, or 3D elements), the Client will be informed in advance, and a portion of the payment may be requested to cover these costs. Any amount paid for this purpose will be fully deducted from the final project price. Alternatively, the Client may provide the necessary resources, provided that they are properly licensed.
† UNDERAGE CLIENTS
• Selkkie Designs does not accept commissions directly from individuals under the age of eighteen (18) without prior communication and consent from a parent or legal guardian.
• Before any project can begin with a Client under the age of 18, Selkkie Designs must first discuss the terms, scope, and payment arrangements with an adult who will act as the responsible party for the agreement. No project will proceed without this confirmation.
† CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS
• Cancellations made by the client before Selkkie Designs begins work on the project are free of charge.
•Cancellations made by the client after Selkkie Designs has started work on the project will be charged based on the hours of work already completed by the designer and the cost of any resources already purchased (if that is the case). If the client provided an upfront payment for acquiring necessary resources, they will only receive a refund of that payment if the resources have not yet been acquired. However, if the resources have been purchased with the client’s prior approval, the client is not entitled to a refund.
• If the client requests a premade cover, in the case of cancellation, the premade cover will be restored to its original state and made available for resale.
• In case of postponement after the artist stared designing the book cover, the files will be placed on hold, and the project will resume on the date agreed upon by the client and the designer, after the client pays 50%. The other 50% will be payed when the project is complete.
• There are no refunds for premade book covers. Once purchased, each premade cover is considered exclusive to the client. If the premade cover does not meet the client’s requirements, the client may contact Selkkie Designs to discuss the possibility of relocating the cover or making additional modifications. If the client and Selkkie Designs reach an agreement to relocate the cover, it will only be resold for the same price the original client paid for it. The relocation process will be handled by the original client.
† PREMADES
• All original premade covers created by Selkkie Designs will form part of the Artist’s public portfolio and may be showcased on Selkkie Designs’ website, social media platforms, or promotional materials. The edited version of a premade cover, which includes the Client’s title, name, and personalized modifications, will not be shared publicly by Selkkie Designs until after the Client makes their official reveal or provides written consent.
† REVISIONS
• Upon agreement of the first initial draft, which includes main images, concepts of backgrounds, editing services, and overall design, the client can ask at any time for revisions.
• Revisions are complicated changes that might alter the overall look of the original design, changes that require more time to be completed and reintegrated in the overall design. Such revisions include: change of elements or objects' position; replacement of elements or objects; adding more objects or elements; changes of background; changes of color or texts, etc. These revisions are included in the price range stated on the Services page. If the client needs these sort of revisions AFTER the cover is complete and the client gave their final ok, the revisions will be charged with 30 extra USD each.
• Any requests which do not meet industry standards, genre-appropriate design, or any offensive or explicit ideas which violate terms of service will not be allowed. If the client needs a revision that has not been named above, please contact Selkkie Designs via email, the artist will get back with an answer within 48 hours.
† CREATION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Client agrees in all forms to add the following to formats in any form of ebook, print copy, audiobook, or future forms of creative content to acknowledge Selkkie Designs of their work:
► Physical Copies: Cover Design by Selkkie Designs
► Digital Copies/Social media: Cover Design by Selkkie Designs
• Selkkie Designs would greatly appreciate receiving a copy of the physical book featuring their cover, though this is not required.
† LICENSES
• The Client warrants that they hold all necessary rights, trademarks, and permissions for any materials they provide to Selkkie Designs for use in the design process. The Client agrees to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend Selkkie Designs from any and all copyright or permission infringement actions resulting from materials supplied by the Client.
• Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing and paid for as a full copyright transfer, all intellectual property rights and copyright to the created design remain the sole property of Selkkie Designs.
• After full payment has been received, the Client is granted an exclusive, non-transferable license to use the final design for the agreed purpose (book cover, interior book designs, marketing materials). This license does not include the right to modify, resell, redistribute, or claim ownership of the artwork.
• Any full transfer of copyright must be negotiated and confirmed in writing and is subject to a substantially higher fee than the original project price, reflecting the complete cessation of ownership and rights by Selkkie Designs.
• The Client is not allowed to alter, share, or edit the files provided without Selkkie Designs’ written permission.
• The use of Selkkie Designs’ artwork or any part thereof for merchandise or physical goods (such as prints, mugs, tote bags, or any other commercial products) is strictly prohibited without prior written consent from Selkkie Designs. A separate licensing agreement and additional fees will apply for such use.
† IMAGES FOR DESIGN
• All images licensed by a third-party are for materials of up to 500,000 copies in digital or print.
• If the Client’s book sells more than 500,000 copies, an extended license is required for the continued legal use of the design.
• The acquisition of an extended license includes two components:
The Client must purchase extended licenses for all third-party stock resources used in the creation of the cover design (including, but not limited to, stock photos, textures, fonts, or 3D elements).
The Client must also pay Selkkie Designs 50% of the original project price as a designer’s extended license fee. This payment grants the Client the extended right to continue selling the book featuring Selkkie Designs’ artwork beyond the initial 500,000-copy limit and reflects fair recognition of the designer’s contribution to the project’s success.
• In cases where the book cover is entirely hand-created by Selkkie Designs (meaning no third-party stock resources were used and the artwork is 100% original), the Client must pay the full original project price again to obtain the extended license. This payment compensates Selkkie Designs for granting extended commercial rights to the Client for the continued sale and distribution of the book.
• For any extended or enhanced licensing, please contact Selkkie Designs in advance.
• Selkkie Designs retains the right to use the client’s final book cover design, name, and book title (or any other design that is not a book cover) in Selkkie Designs' portfolio and to market and promote her services.
• Selkkie Designs retains copyright and ownership of all editable designs and draft materials. Modification of any kind (removing or adding text, change of colors, change of dimensions, etc.) of the designs is NOT allowed by third parties. Any needed modification or revision of the original design will be made only by Selkkie Designs or by someone else with Selkkie Designs' written permission.
• Client must legally own any provided images or have rights to them and takes full responsibility for any actions or claims against images. No responsibility or action is provided by Selkkie Designs.
• Selkkie Designs does not use generative ai images for creating book covers or any other digital materials. All resources used by Selkkie Designs are legitame stocks or original creations.
† CONFIDENTIALITY
• All client information is confidential and only to be utilized by Selkkie Designs to complete the designs required. These are classified information that will not be given out or shared with any third party.
• The final design can be shared in the artist's portfolio only after the client has revealed the design, or has given Selkkie Designs written permission to reveal it or in 2 years after the design is made if the client didn't state otherwise when contacted by the designer.
• Selkkie Designs will not be held liable when artwork is deemed similar to other artworks merely based on general cover trends, themes, and genres.
† PROOFING
• Client must test and try proofing of printing. Designs will be adjusted if needed based on proof copies.
• At no time will Selkkie Designs be held financially or legally responsible for any problems, costs, fees, or expenses incurred by the client as a result of using the book cover design. Selkkie Designs is not liable for incidental, indirect, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages of any kind, including loss of revenues or profits, loss of business or reputation, or loss of data, in any way related to her services. Selkkie Designs is not responsible for any claim, loss, or injury based on errors or any other inaccuracies appearing on our site or in our clients’ written documents, including without limitation as a result of any breach of the terms and conditions of this agreement.
† COMPLETE AGREEMENT
• This agreement is the entire agreement of all parties.
• No additional promises or conditions, written or oral, apply to this agreement that are not included herein.
• If you need a contract(physical signed copy of this agreement) please ask Selkkie Designs to provide one.
† APPLICABLE LAW
• All images presented on this website have been created with paid resources. The final products of those creations belong to Selkkie Designs. Any sort of alteration of Selkkie Designs images (cropping, removing text, changes of color, adding of filters or overlay, etc.) are not allowed. Redistribution of Selkkie Designs works is NOT allowed without giving rightful credit (website, social media, etc.) and without Selkkie Designs' written permission.
• Do not claim any of the images presented on this website as your own. Do not upload any of Selkkie Designs' images in any generative ai platforms, such as Midjourney, Firefly or any other. They are the property of Selkkie Designs and any unlawful claim will represent theft and will be treated as such.
• By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, you also acknowledge and expressly agree that this agreement will be governed by the laws of Romania. The Courts of Romania shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all disputes between the parties. In case of a conflict or a dispute, both parties agree to try to resolve the dispute amicably, and only in case of failure will they refer it to the competent courts.
† SEVERABILITY
• The finding of any provision of this agreement to be invalid or unenforceable does not render the remaining provisions invalid or unenforceable.
