What to do when your cover designer or book formatter closes their business!

So this EXACT situation happened to me: my trusted formatter and cover designer went out of business. The company I used, recommended to clients, and you all, closed shop. So what did I do and what should you do if this happens to you?

Eventually, we all retire. Maybe someone was freelancing for cover design and book formatting and then realized they needed a more stable income, or health insurance, or just didn’t like entrepreneurial life. Whatever the reason, they’re no longer in business. But you as an author are. So what do you need to do?

First and foremost, recognize this ISN’T about you. There could be some serious reasons for this change and it likely wasn’t an easy decision. Don’t antagonize this person or company, don’t tell them they are ruining your book launch. Don’t be a jerk. Be professional.

Make sure you understand when work will stop. Is this an immediate no more work being done situation? Or will they finish out your contract? You need to understand firm deadlines and if they are stopping work and you are mid-project ask about a partial refund.

In every instance, ask for your source files. Whether they just started a project for you, just finished, or this is from a project you did years ago, you need your source files. Even to make one small text edit, it’s better to have the working files packaged with images and fonts (tech designer lingo) than having to reformat the WHOLE THING.

Once you have these source files, save them in two places. One on a hard drive and one on the cloud. ALWAYS have a backup.

Now you can start to plan for next steps. Who will be your next formatter or cover designer? Can you hire them to make tweaks to existing files if needed?

This is one of the not fun parts of being an indie author but you’ll get through it.

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[DaleLRoberts]

I didn't even know this and am super bummed about it. That sucks. The owners were such sweet people and I'm really sorry to hear about this closure. SD Huston updated me when she beta read an upcoming book where I mention Formatted Books. Man...that sucks. Really. Thanks for breaking the news.

[echoheron]

THANK YOU! This is great information. Very useful. I had this experience with my formatters who just disappeared for months in the middle of a major multi-book project.I had many corrections to be made. When I went to other formatters, they couldn't help without the "source files". I had no idea what those were. Now I know and will try to retrieve them from the original formatters who are now back in business.

[SDHuston]

Thanks for sharing your experience and how you've handled moving forward! I always ask for source files for my projects. In most cases, I get them but not always. I've actually just ran into this issue with my map designer. He did an awesome job on my map for my current series, but being a discovery/intuitive writer, I didn't have the whole map figured out (cities, castles, water bodies, etc.). Each book concentrates on just one part of the map for each kingdom. Now that the second book is almost done and I have locations to add, I found out my map maker went out of business. I'm still trying to figure out if I should hire a new designer or just do it myself....

[MargaretPinard]

I had that happen to my first book when I went back to change the dimensions to match my others... the partner of the deceased (DEF closed) tried to find my files...I don't even remember if they got them to me, but we (new cover design firm) managed to get it done!

[conwayfitzgerald]

I thought I had found a formatter but was very disappointed with the lack of customer service. Fortunately I do not impose artificial deadlines on myself. Though now I'm thinking I might want to utilize a less 'boutique' outfit and go with one of the bigger self-publisher outlets (like Book Baby). Among my fears with this first project is having mistakes made or getting completely ghosted. At least with a bigger 'factory' they have better hand-holding for the newer self-publishers, and are less likely to vanish overnight.