I hired Damonza.com to design symbol-based fantasy covers in early 2017. I used the new covers to rebrand a series (final covers pictured below).
Quality/Skill: (1/1 star)
I can only speak for this designer’s symbol-based covers, but I was very happy with the end result. During the process, I felt no hesitation asking for changes or additions such as flames, cracks etc. The designer took pains to understand the bare bones of my vision and took that vision in hand with the utmost confidence to bring the covers to fruition.
Four concepts of the first cover were offered to me at the initial draft stage which I was absolutely amazed by. I’d never had a designer do this before and it took so much stress off the process (getting rid of the ‘what if I’d done this type of cover’ feeling).
I was extremely hard pressed to choose between the concepts.
This designer is so very talented.
Professionalism: (1/1 star)
Before I ordered through the site, I asked a whole bunch of questions – I wanted hardcovers done, new interior formatting, and all kinds of fancy things. These questions were promptly answered by the admin team. Throughout the order, which took a couple of months, the admin team were always helpful and polite.
One of Damonza’s real strengths is that you don’t actually deal directly with the designer. You relay all changes and queries to the admin team who then pass the information on to the designer and vice versa. Did the designer not feel like doing the work on a particular day? Did they have other covers to work on? Did they have a family event that would take a few hours? Did they feel unconfident about a certain aspect of the cover? No idea! It was f*cking great. Also, if you are an author who feels awkward asking for change after change, this system is perfect for you.
All of Damonza’s pricing—for run-of-the-mill orders—is listed on their site which is such a refreshing change. Because my order involved some specific requests, I emailed to ask which options to select and was then able to order through the site with complete ease. They also gave me a 10% discount on my bulk order.
Punctuality of Delivery: (1/1 star)
I was informed my first draft would be ready within 14 days. I received four concepts within a week. The revisions usually took one day for turn around. Some of the interior formatting changes took 2-3 days—sometimes the weekend was a factor in receiving those later.
Communication: (1/1 star)
Damonza’s admin team were a pleasure to work with. To this day, if I have a query, I receive a timely and pleasant response. I think they all do yoga.
There were a few times when requested changes were missed—or the wrong files were sent to me. But take that with a grain of salt. There were three interior files (for e-book, paperback, and hardcover) and three covers (for e-book, paperback, and hardcover) flying around for four books. I’m surprised it didn’t happen more. All in all, they made tracking the revisions and final files very clear—supplying me with a folder of all the final files for each book at completion.
Other: (0.75/1 star)
Damonza is costly in comparison to other designers. But with them, you aren’t just paying for a cover, you are paying for a professional design service from the outset to the end. In my experience, that is hard to come by. After several years interacting with other designers, I would gladly pay the higher fee to ensure a smooth process. Damonza values their service highly, and I’ve got to say they earn it.
I do think the cost for cover revisions could be less. I had to get a bestseller tag added to each cover and was taken aback by the cost (several hundred dollars)—though I could tell they’d simply calculated a standard hourly rate. Again, Damonza knows their value, and compared to designers who charge similar amounts, they are miles ahead in every way. But if there’s one thing I could provide feedback on, it’s that.
The other thing to note is when I used them in 2017, there was a limit to post-order revisions on interior formatting. During the process, no limit. But afterward, there was a limit. For a re-branded series, that was no issue. If you plan to use them for interior formatting on a new series, I would check the cost for ongoing interior revisions first.