Part of our guide to licensing cartoons as an author (coming soon)
Can you use a cartoon on a book cover? Yes. At CartoonStock we license cartoons for covers as a custom license, quoted for your book. Our standard publication license covers cartoons inside a book only, so a cartoon on a book cover always starts with an email to us rather than a purchase on the site.
Why a Cartoon on a Book Cover Is Licensed Separately
A cover does more work than an interior page. It appears on every copy, on every online listing, and on every ebook thumbnail. It’s the image people see before they decide to buy.
So we quote cover use to fit the book, rather than selling it from a fixed price list. The cartoonist gets paid for a use that carries more weight than an interior cartoon, and you get a license that matches what the cover will actually do.
If you’re licensing cartoons for the inside of the book as well, that part works as normal. Our post on permission to use a cartoon in a book (coming soon) explains the standard license.
What We Need to Quote for a Cover
Email us or use the enquiry form, and include:
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- The cartoon ID, or a description of what you’re looking for
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- The book’s title and format: paperback, hardback, ebook or all three
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- The expected print run, including ebook downloads
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- Whether the book will sell in the US or Canada
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- Where on the cover the cartoon will appear
The more of this you send in the first email, the faster we can quote. If the cartoon is also going inside the book, tell us that too, so we can quote both uses together.
Plan the Design Around the Cartoon
This is the part of a cover project to plan earliest. Cover designers often crop, recolor and lay type over images. With a cartoon on a book cover, each of those needs our written agreement first.
The only change a license allows without asking is the caption font. Anything else, including cropping to fit a cover shape or placing the book’s title over the drawing, needs agreement before you go ahead.
So talk to us before the design is final. Tell us what the designer has in mind, and we’ll tell you what’s possible. It’s far easier to design around a cartoon than to redesign a finished cover.
Covers for Self-Published Books
Covers matter a great deal to self-published authors. A cartoon on the front sets the tone and stands out in a thumbnail.
The process is the same. Tell us the format, print run and where you’re selling. Remember that if any online store open to US or Canadian buyers lists the book, you’ll need worldwide territory. Using cartoons in a self-published book (coming soon) covers the rest of that route. If your publisher handles design and permissions, check who handles image permissions, the author or the publisher (coming soon) before anyone contacts us.
Using the Cover to Promote the Book
A cover appears in marketing by default: on retailer pages, in launch posts, in adverts. When you ask for a cover quote, describe how you plan to promote the book, so the license can reflect it. Can I use the cartoon when promoting my book? (coming soon) explains how promotional use works more generally.
The Bottom Line
You can use a cartoon on a book cover, but it needs a custom license rather than a standard one. Send us the cartoon, the format, the print run, the territory and the cover plan, and agree any design changes before the cover is finished. CartoonStock licenses cartoons for covers and interiors alike, and every license pays the cartoonist.
Licensing cartoons for publishing · Ask us about your book
Q&A: Cartoons on Book Covers
Q: Can I use the same cartoon on the cover and inside the book?
A: Yes. Tell us about both uses and we’ll quote them together.
Q: Can I get a clean file to try in a cover mock-up first?
A: No. Previews carry a watermark, and the clean, high-resolution file arrives once the cartoon is licensed.
Q: Does the cover cartoon need a credit?
A: Every licensed cartoon needs the credit www.CartoonStock.com. Ask us about placement when you request your cover quote. How to credit a licensed cartoon in a book (coming soon) covers credits inside the book.
Keep Reading
Which license size to choose when you don’t know your print run (coming soon)
Related Posts
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- Licensing cartoons for trade and academic books (coming soon)
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- Filling in your publisher’s permissions log (coming soon)
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- Questions to ask before licensing a cartoon (coming soon)