Work samples--Are they of YOUR work?

[authorcharlenew]

I recently posted a request for book cover designs. As I went through the offers, I believed the images the sellers posted as examples were samples of their own work.But one title and image on a cover supposedly created by a person looked very familiar. I went through the other offers and sure enough, someone else had the same cover displayed in their samples.

Do sellers get to choose from a stash of images to represent their work?? If so, this is very misleading and frankly wrong! Please advise. Because I don’t want to believe the person I hired is able to create a genre specific cover when they’ve never tackled it before.

[somaginer1996]

This sounds like a case of sellers misrepresenting their own work. It can unfortunately be quite common, especially with design or photoshop gigs, so you always have to be on your guard against it.

It’s not allowed, but people do it anyways.

I would give you advice, but I’m a seller, and not in the design/visuals field 😕

[matevzs1]

Yea, well Fiverr is full of great sellers, but there are also many bad sellers among us too unfortunately. So the only advice we can give you here is that you check every seller before you order. Check his reviews, description and ask few questions. In most cases genuine sellers don’t have only 5 stars reviews with generic “Outstanding Experience!”, but people usually write good things about good sellers. 😉 Also gig descriptions can show you if that person know what he’s selling and of course when you contact him, if you ask few questions and only answer is “I can do that” or “Yea, no problem” even on more specific questions, well, I would suggest to get away from that seller, as experienced sellers will answer you with specific answer and explain all your questions. 😉 This is it probably.

[authorcharlenew]

Yea, well Fiverr is full of great sellers, but there are also many bad sellers among us too unfortunately. So the only advice we can give you here is that you check every seller before you order. Check his reviews, description and ask few questions. In most cases genuine sellers don’t have only 5 stars reviews with generic “Outstanding Experience!”, but people usually write good things about good sellers. 😉 Also gig descriptions can show you if that person know what he’s selling and of course when you contact him, if you ask few questions and only answer is “I can do that” or “Yea, no problem” even on more specific questions, well, I would suggest to get away from that seller, as experienced sellers will answer you with specific answer and explain all your questions. 😉 This is it probably. 🙂

Thank you, matevzs1. Good advice. I’ve already weeded out the ones whose gigs are obviously not along my lines. But I thought as I went through the images they posted that they were of their work. I really wasn’t sure if contacting the sellers to ask more questions was the course we took. (Thinking about it, it only seems right to be able to.) I notices some of the sellers put an additional link to their portfolio, which I was glad to hop to and check out.

I’ll be honest, there were several authors who told me to steer clear of fiverr. But an equal amount had good results working with the sellers here.

Thanks for the tip. Will contact those I’m interested in. 🙂

[gina_riley2]

Thank you, matevzs1. Good advice. I’ve already weeded out the ones whose gigs are obviously not along my lines. But I thought as I went through the images they posted that they were of their work. I really wasn’t sure if contacting the sellers to ask more questions was the course we took. (Thinking about it, it only seems right to be able to.) I notices some of the sellers put an additional link to their portfolio, which I was glad to hop to and check out.

I’ll be honest, there were several authors who told me to steer clear of fiverr. But an equal amount had good results working with the sellers here.

Thanks for the tip. Will contact those I’m interested in. 🙂

What kind of cover are you looking to get?

Are you looking for original artwork or stock with 2-D or 3-D cover?

Or the cover for a printed edition?

I write eBooks so I have bought a several types.

[kha1ed]

Hi there,
Just use chrome and right click on the picture and choose google image search. By doing this, you can see how many times that pictures were copied and in which sites. If none, then it is original.
I also do that for the profile picture!

[authorcharlenew]

Hi there,

Just use chrome and right click on the picture and choose google image search. By doing this, you can see how many times that pictures were copied and in which sites. If none, then it is original.

I also do that for the profile picture!

Oh, great idea! Thanks. 🙂

[authorcharlenew]

What kind of cover are you looking to get?

Are you looking for original artwork or stock with 2-D or 3-D cover?

Or the cover for a printed edition?

I write eBooks so I have bought a several types.

I’m re-launching my series and need e-book and print. 🙂

[gina_riley2]

I’m re-launching my series and need e-book and print. 🙂

For my ebooks, I buy stock photos and give to seller with the title, my name and genre.

I do not rely on sellers to pick stock photos for me because of potential legal issues. I have no idea if they got it legally or downloaded copyright from Google - I would be the one to ultimately answer for it. If I buy it, I can prove I have permission to use it.

I recommend you do the same.

Typically, the first 3 in the portfolio are the seller’s or something they may have downloaded. A good seller should be able to create their own. If they used stock for ebook (not profile picture), don’t let that deter you. Their job is to utilize stock, merge it and make a great cover for you. Any past the third or those with reviews are ones they did for clients.

Ignore the reviews as they could be fake, look at the live portfolios. How do they look?

Getting ebook 2d or 3d is simple and many provide it.

Getting print is bit more tricky. You have to do more research and find the right seller, not everyone can do print well.

[authorcharlenew]

For my ebooks, I buy stock photos and give to seller with the title, my name and genre.

I do not rely on sellers to pick stock photos for me because of potential legal issues. I have no idea if they got it legally or downloaded copyright from Google - I would be the one to ultimately answer for it. If I buy it, I can prove I have permission to use it.

I recommend you do the same.

Typically, the first 3 in the portfolio are the seller’s or something they may have downloaded. A good seller should be able to create their own. If they used stock for ebook (not profile picture), don’t let that deter you. Their job is to utilize stock, merge it and make a great cover for you. Any past the third or those with reviews are ones they did for clients.

Ignore the reviews as they could be fake, look at the live portfolios. How do they look?

Getting ebook 2d or 3d is simple and many provide it.

Getting print is bit more tricky. You have to do more research and find the right seller, not everyone can do print well.

I did state in my requirements that stock images must be from reputable vendors and not the google free images. But, you’re right. How would I know for sure unless I choose and give them the info (which some required). But, I hate scowering those sites for the right image. grumble lol. One reason I want a cover artist to do my covers. I created the covers on my 1st editions. They’re not bad (I also have an artist’s eye), but I’m making changes as the series continues and am planning a big re-launch.

I guess I just need to bite the bullet and filter through stock photo sites myself. But if I do that, I might as well just save the money and spend the time creating the covers too…

The ones I saw in my offers were identical book covers, not just the same image used. Same author, title, design.

[coremedia]

Slightly off topic, I always feel going off people’s work samples does not tell the whole story. Sometimes your end result can be based on what the client wants as opposed to how creative you can demonstrate. Your end result can be a lot more bland than you would like to be. I’ve certainly been in this situation where a client was so adamant what he wanted he wasn’t open to suggestions no matter how good they may have been.

For me it shouldn’t always be about the work samples, it should be about how much the seller understands your project & what you want. Through communication with the seller you should be able to tell how experienced they are & whether they are qualified to do a good job for you.

Like you say, anyone can grab a few ‘samples’ together & claim they created the original even if they didn’t!

[james_polamz_k]

Yea, well Fiverr is full of great sellers, but there are also many bad sellers among us too unfortunately. So the only advice we can give you here is that you check every seller before you order. Check his reviews, description and ask few questions. In most cases genuine sellers don’t have only 5 stars reviews with generic “Outstanding Experience!”, but people usually write good things about good sellers. 😉 Also gig descriptions can show you if that person know what he’s selling and of course when you contact him, if you ask few questions and only answer is “I can do that” or “Yea, no problem” even on more specific questions, well, I would suggest to get away from that seller, as experienced sellers will answer you with specific answer and explain all your questions. 😉 This is it probably.

You’re so on point! I’m so new here, but you’re right! My buyers were so impressed that they took time writing lengthy reviews, and one even gave me a tip after I delivered her 100 poems. It was only a very busy client (I supposed) who didn’t even communicate with me at all, from the beginning to the end, that gave a generic “Outstanding experience!” I was even scared he wouldn’t give a review.

So yes, if I were to buy from a seller, heartfelt ❤️ reviews is a must.

Thank you @matevzs1

[Guest yourcgbuddy]

I use my own work to showcase.

But some seller do copy. This is the reason I put my names in the labels and covers I create so that someone else can not use it.

To use original images to create a design you either have to provide one or buy stock photos while ordering the gig. For a $5 gig sellers will usually use images from google, unless you do one of the above, because it is too tiresome to create an image plus design for that price.

Remember sellers will get maximum $4 from a $5 gig.

[Guest expertpeople]

Sample will help you to get the task
but sometimes they only come for sample

[mahmud685]

Sample can be the best solution for you. You can ask for sample first.

[richpmedia]

There certainly seems to be a curious inconsistency in quality to some portfolios, which suggests to me that the designer is sometimes relying on some sort of template or automated design site to churn out covers.

Looking through some book design gigs last night, I even noticed one that contained the cover to a book by quite a celebrated septuagenarian novelist. No other samples! Hmmmmm… 😉

As a book designer new to Fiverr, I can at the very least guarantee work that is lovingly crafted and bespoke.

(Hint, hint!)

[rishidas]

Hi there,

Just use chrome and right click on the picture and choose google image search. By doing this, you can see how many times that pictures were copied and in which sites. If none, then it is original.

I also do that for the profile picture!

Wow! I checked yours and it is authentic. lol

[kha1ed]

Wow! I checked yours and it is authentic. lol

Yeah, that’s me there lol

[miiila]

Hi there,

Just use chrome and right click on the picture and choose google image search. By doing this, you can see how many times that pictures were copied and in which sites. If none, then it is original.

I also do that for the profile picture!

That´s a good tip, but keep in mind that some more savvy sellers ‘treat’ their pics, tilt profile pics etc. to counter that. It helps to quickly weed out a whole lot of gigs/sellers, though. 🙂

[authorcharlenew]

There certainly seems to be a curious inconsistency in quality to some portfolios, which suggests to me that the designer is sometimes relying on some sort of template or automated design site to churn out covers.

Looking through some book design gigs last night, I even noticed one that contained the cover to a book by quite a celebrated septuagenarian novelist. No other samples! Hmmmmm… 😉

As a book designer new to Fiverr, I can at the very least guarantee work that is lovingly crafted and bespoke.

(Hint, hint!)

Yet I can’t find your gig to check it out. 😉

[richpmedia]

Yet I can’t find your gig to check it out. 😉

Oh no!

Please excuse me. I’m new! 😳

I assumed you could click on my username and be whisked away to my gig in a flash, but if that’s not possible, here’s the direct link:

https://www.fiverr.com/richpmedia/produce-a-magnificent-ebook-cover-design-for-you

I am technically listed in the new user category, but I think it’s on page 6 zillion, or something!

Even I almost gave up finding myself, but let’s not get too philosophical… 😁

[pedromleitao]

The problem with the live portfolio on Fiverr is that it’s a binary system - either everything gets thrown in there, or nothing does.

Now, I’ve done work in the past for certain clients that certainly DOES NOT represent the quality of my work - I just delivered what was asked, it’s not my fault that they asked for s**t.

The only option is to turn off the live portfolio. What a shame.

[authorcharlenew]

The problem with the live portfolio on Fiverr is that it’s a binary system - either everything gets thrown in there, or nothing does.

Now, I’ve done work in the past for certain clients that certainly DOES NOT represent the quality of my work - I just delivered what was asked, it’s not my fault that they asked for s**t.

The only option is to turn off the live portfolio. What a shame.

Really? They show all your jobs or none of them? That’s not right. I wouldn’t want everything shown either, for the reason you stated. I’ve seen authors’ covers look like a mess but that’s exactly what they wanted. You’d link Fiverr would allow you to select what you put up for review. I did notice some have collages of their work.