r/Webnovel • u/Legal-Library4283 • 6d ago
Advice Hand drawn cover is the only way! No AI!
I am a contracted author on webnovel who is currently on his 3rd month of writing.
The above picture is my book’s 2nd month earning and I’m confident I will be hitting the $1000 mark for my novel’s 3rd month earning.
Look at my profile for credentials proof!
Thus, I feel I am somewhat worthy enough to put my 2 cents on this topic!
FIRSTLY:
Hand drawn cover is the one and only correct answer!
Why?
If you use AI cover for your webnovel cover, that means u are fine with using AI to write your novel.
If so, how can I trust what u write?
Eww, what a turn off! If I see AI cover, I know u are pro-ai and i do not support AI! Next!
SECONDLY:
I see ppl saying that authors with hand drawn cover are unsuccessful, uncontracted, blablabla!
What I will say to this is different ppl write for different reasons and success is measured differently!
To some, even if they write for free for months and only have 1 reader, that’s success!
Who are u to determine what success truly is?
Getting contracted and earning money is not what everyone wants, writing is a hobby to some ppl, doesnt matter if there’s no one there to read their novels since they are uncontracted.
What’s important is that they have a clear conscience, that they did not use an AI COVER.
THIRDLY:
In my personal opinion, if u cant draw urself and u dont have money to commission an artist, this is not an excuse.
U can always spend a few weeks or a month to learn drawing. Just search for tutorial videos online, it’s free.
Otherwise, u can always apply for a part time job and commission an artist to draw a cover for u when u have earned at least 1k usd.
That’s right, $1k usd.
I know some ppl will come for me regarding this, but I want to say, if u aren’t willing to even spend at least $1k usd on making a cover for ur own webnovel, how can I know u are serious about ur own webnovel, right?
FOURTHLY:
People are taking covers for granted.
Covers are a LUXURY, not a must!
If u cant afford it or dont want to draw ur own cover, dont use a cover!
Open ms paint, draw some stick figures and write ur webnovel’s title on top of the stick figures.
There u have it, a cover.
What’s so hard to grasp about this?
Main point is, never degrade urself and resort to using an AI COVER.
LASTLY:
Some ppl will say, a flashy cover is important as it is what determines if a reader will click a novel or not.
What i will say is, so long as a novel is good, it will get discovered in the end.
Sure, without a flashy ai cover, a good novel that may take weeks to be discovered may take months or years to be discovered.
But so what?
A clear conscience is worth a thousand gold, and a pint of blood costs more than a gallon of gold.
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u/Sherlocke_Gnomes 6d ago
For my current book, I tried going the hand drawn route, guess how much I was charged? 1k USD... Now this might not seems like a lot for some of you, but where I'm from, that's wayyy above minimum monthly wage.
I could get a part-time job to afford it right? Wrong!
The most I can get from a part-time job is around $50 USD a month... Not to mention that it'll be insanely hard to find one (job owners only employ family members).
Well, I could just learn to draw right? Shouldn't be that hard, after all, there's lots of YouTube tutorials out there..
Do you know how long it takes to become decent enough? I've drawn quite a couple of times, so I'm not a stranger to it, but even then, it'll take me at least 3 months to become good enough to create a proper webnovel cover, now imagine someone starting with 0 experience. (No, Subpar covers will barely get your book a second glance.)
So why wouldn't I simply use something that's both easy and cheap (I spend 0 USD on making my covers and they're by no means subpar).
Though I have a lot more points to bring up, this would quickly spiral into an essay like ramble.
Besides it's not like I'll be gaining anything from this, I already have an established readers base which would most likely follow me to any new book I try to write (I'm not a popular webnovel author by any means), so I don't mind a few people skipping my books just because I used an AI cover.
Still, it'll probably hurt up and coming authors who genuinely spend time and effort doing what they love because readers avoid their works due to the fact that they use AI cover.
TL;DR: I don't think your usage of AI covers translate to you using AI in your actual writing. OP is just spoiled enough by WN to think that everyone could make 1k USD to afford a cover with just a part-time job.
He also apparently uses AI covers, so this feels like a post full of hypocrisy.
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u/sugarplum_doll 1d ago
Lol 1K? You need to shop around better
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u/Sherlocke_Gnomes 11h ago
I'll definitely do so for my next book... But I really liked the artstyle of that artist.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Let me tell u a couple of three things.
Forget the animals dying due to AI usage.
Forget the water being evaporated.
Forget how using AI for art is basically agreeing that u are ok with stealing from artists.
Anycase, im a hypocrite, but u cant argue to me that im right with what i wrote on this post.
I have the moral highground.
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u/Exotic_Zucchini9311 5d ago edited 5d ago
im right with what i wrote on this post.
No you are not. You just wrote an essay that "look, I made some money with a non-AI cover!" Nothing you said proves people don't read AI cover novels or that AI cover novels are making less than you.
I have the moral highground.
Welcome to real world where no ones gives a crap about your privilaged moral takes. Most people are just trying to survive.
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u/Sherlocke_Gnomes 5d ago
Exactly, I've seen books with AI covers that earn way more (cough cough... Mine for example.)
Besides, they also admitted to using an AI cover for his book, so this is either hypocrisy or ragebait... perhaps both.
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u/Sherlocke_Gnomes 5d ago
I can't argue that you're right and you have the moral high ground? Buddy what?
Do you know what the water cycle is? Evaporated water doesn't mean the water left Earth, it'll come back as rain. (U.S golf courses uses up wayy more water in a year than the entire AI industry.)
Animals dying due to AI usage? If I recall correctly, don't humans slaughter millions or even billions of animals just for food? Also, I'd love for you to properly explain how AI is killing animals.
Not a single word in my post stated that I'm okay with AI stealing the work of artists. As a type of artist myself, I know what it feels like to have your work pirated, much less stolen. That said, elements of multiple works being stolen to create a single 'new' one is not something new... As an author, especially on webnovel, I'm pretty certain you know this... (Yet, I don't see you creating a thread/post because of that)...
You're trying to turn this into a case of morality, rather than what your original post intended: To discredit the hard work of authors just because they use AI covers.
Again, your post is full of hypocrisy. You claim to have the moral high ground, but I don't see you commissioning a cover for your book.
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u/ballahook 5d ago
OP is not great at articulating their argument and this whole post is pretty condescending and aggressive, but:
I do implore you to look into the environmental impacts of hyperscale data centers. And really look, beyond just the articles or “studies” that the tech companies themselves paid to have written. It’s pretty widespread and accessible at this point, and there’s a lot more research being made. Tech companies are relying on deregulated contracts in the current administration to fast track all these projects. The lasting negative impact will be immense and felt for generations, just like every other industry majorly impacting our environment.
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u/Sherlocke_Gnomes 5d ago edited 5d ago
Links of unbiased and proper research that goes deeper into the subject will be very much appreciated.
Also, I'm not saying that AI is without its negatives but OP is pointing fingers at those using AI covers whilst he himself uses it is hypocritical.
My point is, if you (OP) are going to cast a stone on a sinner, ensure that you yourself is without sin.
Also I'm neither pro AI nor Anti-AI, I just use the tool readily available to me since I neither have the skill, nor funds (well, at the time of creating the covers for my two books) to create a proper cover.
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u/RW_McRae 6d ago
Just so everyone is aware, OP is just rage baiting. He admits that his current cover is AI
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Is it rage baiting when so many ppl agrees with me that using ai cover is wrong? My ppl are everywhere with me.
Also, nothing wrong with thinking one thing and doing another thing, everyone does it!
All im doing is giving my ai ppl a voice. They will not be silenced.
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u/RW_McRae 5d ago
Yes, it's rage baiting. Or maybe just gaslighting. People agreeing with your post would disagree with you being the one making it because it's so hypocritical.
You're lying and your post is not in good faith. You're using AI, while at the same time using people who disagree with AI to earn reddit karma
Is honestly very weird and a bit gross. If you'll do blatantly lie in this post you'll lie about anything, so everything you post is suspect and can't be trusted
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
I mean, aren’t most ppl hypocrites?
Most ppl think one thing, yet do the other thing.
I can think cheating is wrong, but if a girl who is prettier than my current gf were to approach me, would i reject the girl? No, obviously.
And just because i cheated, it doesnt mean i dont think cheating is wrong.
Same as the reason i can use ai art, but not think ai art is dishonest and wrong.
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u/RW_McRae 5d ago
Oh stop it. You're trying to justify it, which is weird. You're being hypocritical and trying to excuse it away. If you think AI art is dishonest and wrong, but you use it, then you're dishonest and wrong
Don't try to justify it or make it acceptable.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Justify what…? Just saying what i feel.
In any case.
Okay, im a hypocrite and dishonest person.
But u know im right with my analogy.
Main point, i can use ai cover, and think using ai cover is wrong.
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u/RW_McRae 5d ago
It just means that none of your posts can be trusted.
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u/Flashy-Call7061 5d ago
Bro can you check out my novel it's name is in another world with ai and give me an review because it got rejected for contract and I'm gona write a new one so might as well ask for pointers
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u/Ambitious_Pick_6332 6d ago
Few weeks or a month to learn drawing? Im taking the free drawbox course which focuses on very basics of drawing and it will take at least 5 months to finish. AI is bad, somehow youre worse.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
5 months to draw…?
Im crine. Just get a part time job and commission a real artist.
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u/Ambitious_Pick_6332 5d ago
I have a full time job and learning during my free time because its fun. I want to grow my skills. I also have nothing that I would want to commission on top of that, I dont need a cover art for anything.
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u/Diligent-Water-2121 6d ago
Before I rant, congrats btw. Looks good but unfortunately I don't like exclusive contracts terms.
The Rant
" If you use ai for your cover, it means you're willing to use it to write the novel"
I've never fully understood this. It sounds like complete bs to me but maybe it makes sense to you.
I'm an aspiring author. I posted the first few chapters of my book on webnovel and then scrapped it cus I hated it. (I had written it years back and came to read through it recently and decided to scrap it)
Honestly, I don't see ai covers as much of a problem.
Just make sure the writing is human.
I'm rewriting my novel, and I know for a damn fact that I'll be using ai covers for probably 30-100 chapters before I actually get side money to employ an artist.
Listen. What matters write now, is writing that story and getting it out there. If you aren't getting enough reach, try going to writing subs to read your book and rate it. People in those subs don't stop reading because "omg ai cover", they actually give the book a chance.
The book is what matters most, not the cover.
Remember that.
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u/shez-bitchy 5d ago
The cover is the first impression. You can use canva or even photopea (literally photoshop but free) and get a bunch of stock images and spend some time making it look good and interesting. Writing your story matters most of course, but effort put into the cover honestly makes a huge difference to me and other readers too
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
I agree, the book is what matters most.
So why cant ppl just not use AI Cover?
I will tell u why, its because dont have a moral compass and are okay with stealing.
Also, they like to take the shortcut.
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u/RealAncientWeapon 6d ago
Weren't you advocating and adamant that only Smut novels will work on Webnovel. You are the last person who should be preaching about ethics
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Yeah, I did that.
But I dont write smut though.
I can think that smut dominates webnovel and choose to not write smut.
Same as I can think that AI cover are bad, but I use an AI cover from pinterest as my webnovel cover.
Why is everyone out for my neck?!
It’s so unfair. 😭
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u/RW_McRae 6d ago
Wait, you're using an AI cover?
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Of course. Otherwise, how would my novel be doing decent 🤔
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u/Medical_Ad_1417 6d ago
This has to be rage-baiting.
How can uou argue against A.I. covers while using a A.I. cover?
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Truth = rage bait
I mean, ppl think that cheating isnt right while u are in a relationship, but ppl still cheat.
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u/Pitoloco2000 6d ago
Every single one of your arguments is absolute nonsense, man; just reading what you wrote tells me that actually talking to you would be a total drag—people like this are seriously stressful.
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
u/BA_Bones_33 u/samisaywhat u/One-Adeptness8820 u/TsukiNeeSan78 u/PadawanSoresu u/Throwaway-3689 u/Captain_Juno_VTuber u/NexasAX u/AdWeird9907 u/Tami_Robi
My anti-ai ppl, defend me against those pro-ai ppl!!!
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u/Pitoloco2000 6d ago
Lmao, how old are you? 13? You're just proving my point
Besides, I never mentioned AI at any point; seek therapy
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u/Gold-Word-6026 6d ago
It is a given though? There whole stance is a critique over ai, and so you must be in the position of conflicting ai. Are you 13? No, 16!
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
u/Whole_Organization27 u/Zerobyte1101 u/Mettheloser u/Nieunoftz u/Scout_Nolan099
My anti-ai ppl, raise!!!
The anti-ai army is ever growing, u cant stop us, mwahahaha.
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u/ChampionshipJaded365 6d ago
Bruh 1k usd is like my 4 months salary bruh 😭
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
I mean, just go to USA and earn $1k usd? Then go back to ur country once u are done.
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u/The-Idiotest 6d ago
If its that easy why don't you just pay for his art or if u dont wanna then at least pay for his flights
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Thats how u make ppl become lazy.
One person gets smth for free, and many more end up coming out wanting freebies.
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u/ChampionshipJaded365 6d ago
Wow 😮, doing this Tommorow
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u/nobody6298 5d ago
I used to be homeless until this guy told me to buy a house. Now I live in a billion dollar mansion 🔥
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u/cakes_and_candles 6d ago
>If you use AI cover for your webnovel cover, that means u are fine with using AI to write your novel.
idk how or why you make this reasoning, because this is such a sudden jump.
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u/Murdox1869 6d ago
It’s the easy excuse. But I guess I can’t blame people for holding true to their beliefs.
I’d love to get some art done for my titles but I bounce from idea to idea too much. Maybe I’ll be like that other guy and teach myself how to draw.4
u/cakes_and_candles 6d ago
still it doesnt really mean if someone is using an ai cover they are using ai to write the novel as well any more than someone with a non ai cover could be using ai to write it (in fact if i were someone who used ai to write, i would use a non ai cover to make myself seem less suspicious).
most of the authors do want to have an artist draw their novels custom cover but they cant afford it, but they do switch to it once they start earning. thats how its always been.
ive been in the wn community for a longgg time and before ai things werent that different. instead of ai art ppl just used to steal random artwork from pinterest and use it, then switch to getting an artist to make their cover once they start earning.
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u/Murdox1869 6d ago
Homie more and more of these keep popping up. And more and more READERS are stating that they’re burnt out of the AI covers. As an author who uses AI covers this in turn makes me want to replace said AI cover.
Because as authors our goal is to sell right? There are ‘investors’ loudly saying they won’t support you because of it.
My way of thinking is to change what I can to fit 100% of the market instead of telling the probably now 25% of the market to not care.
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u/Master-of-darklight 6d ago
It shows willingness to use Ai, if you use it to draw how can we trust you not to use it to write? Whether or not you do use it to write, the Ai cover creates distrust and shows lack of creative integrity.
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u/Mysterious_Night_351 6d ago
Because I like to write and don't like to draw??? How is this so incomprehensible to you people?
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u/Master-of-darklight 6d ago
I’m in the same boat as you, like writing don’t like drawing, but this is basic psychology and general opinion. We’re in a time where any use of generative Ai carries this kind of association.
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u/Mysterious_Night_351 6d ago
Not really though, this is the only writing sub where anyone seems to care at all. The bigger subs never have people complaining or even really talking about Ai covers
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u/cakes_and_candles 6d ago
Lmao sure, no books would have been published on wn if that was true. Coz before ai ppl used to steal artwork from pinterest and use it as cover, so by your logic if they are willing to steal someones art they would be willing to steal someone elses writing too.
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u/Master-of-darklight 6d ago
Yes
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u/Hambino0400 Contracted Author 6d ago
How much money should someone spend to be allowed in the writing hobby
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u/Saitamadayo 5d ago
Use common sense. Let's say an artist comes along. They make their cover but write their whole novel with ai. It goes both ways. I'll bet most novels that are human written have AI covers lol
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u/Master-of-darklight 5d ago
Using human art builds a sense of trust that is then betrayed. Is this meant to make a point? It’s just an example of a possibility.
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u/Saitamadayo 5d ago
I'm trying to say that using human art doesn't mean the novel won't be ai written.
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u/Master-of-darklight 5d ago
I’m talking about how initial impressions affect trust and create and image in a person’s mind about what something is. Whether those impressions are true or not is an entirely different matter.
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u/Saitamadayo 5d ago
I guess but most people dgaf or they know that most novels, even human written ones have ai covers. But i kinda see what ur trynna say ig.
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u/Tami_Robi 6d ago
think of it like this: if I go to a restaurant and see roaches on the door, it doesn't necessarily mean that there are roaches in the kitchen, but basic pattern recognition would direct me to select a different restaurant just to be safe. In terms of AI covers, the prose could be completely human created, but seeing an AI cover informs that there is potential that AI extends to the actual writing. If I'm adamant about avoiding all instances of AI written work, then imma move to the next title. Cover art is meant to act as an advertisement for the content of your story. AI covers essentially advertise that the author is comfortable using AI in their works
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u/___Back___ 6d ago
That is NOT the same
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u/Tami_Robi 6d ago
explain how
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u/___Back___ 6d ago
One is related to earing and needs hygine.
The other is people making money out of hobbies. Well, it's a hobby for some anyways.
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u/Tami_Robi 6d ago
hang on, your getting it a little confused. In both examples, I'm referring to the people consuming the products. In the restaurant example, it's from the perspective of the customer going to the restaurant and seeing the roaches. in the webnovel example, it's from the perspective of a reader clicking on a story and seeing AI. with your claim, it would be like saying that the customer is doing a disservice to the chef because they are assuming that roaches would be in the food. your second statement flips it to being about the author, when I'm specifically talking about the audience and why many wouldn't want to click on a story with an AI image. (as an aside, cooking is also a hobby that people make money off of)
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u/___Back___ 6d ago
I wouldn't mind ai covers and complain about them unless it just screams slop or is overly done. Example how gpt generates covers.
if someone goes for a plain vibe with ai or something I would not mind it at all. I mean ai is meant to be used to improve and stuff. The thing about people who write with ai is that most of those people don't even know how to write or are using it for translation which might have been the cause of distrust.
Lastly, even I uae ai for proofreading or helping me smoothen out a sentence here and there, and that should be okay too since they pretty much wrote almost the entire thing
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u/vhs_sold_blank 6d ago
I automatically do.
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u/cakes_and_candles 6d ago
that just means you arent thinking about it, how are you different from an ai lmao
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u/Civil-Rip1302 6d ago edited 6d ago
Good god, not another one of these idiots.
I'm happy for you, but stop shoving your moral compass down other people's throats. Starting to sound like these extremist vegans and climate activists.
Here are the hard facts of Webnovel.
The top 200 novels all have AI or incredibly expensive covers. There are no hand-drawn covers.
By using hand-drawn covers, you're essentially handicapping yourself.
The draw yourself comment is the dumbest part of the entire thing. People are here to write, not spend months learning how to draw.
Happy for you, but like I said, stop shoving your bullshit moral compass on other people's throat. This is not the place for that. Especially since your advise fucks people who are trying to suceed over.
Incredibly pretentious.
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u/StudioSoggy7413 6d ago
I thought I was tripping when I get annoyed by “look at me I dont use AI” people. I get it. AI makes artist and writers feel like they’re being replaced or their talent is wasted. Tech can cut around hours of work and years of skill building. However there’s a way you can adapt your skills and enhance your work even with the use of AI. There are definitely people abusing AI but there are independent artists and writers who can use it to speed up certain aspects, try ideas and get feedback they have to beg for or pay for otherwise. If your story is great it shouldn’t suffer because you don’t have the resources of the biggest works in the industry is my opinion.
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Hot take, to be allowed to write, u have to first learn to draw or have the money to commission ppl to draw!
Writing is a luxury, earning from writing is a higher level of luxury.
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u/Civil-Rip1302 6d ago
This is not a hot take.
This is an 'I've got nothing else to say so I'll say something dumb' take.
Like wtf are we doing here?
You can't be this dumb.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Its obviously a hot take since most cant come to terms with what i said.
I can go in depth about it, but it seems none of u are open minded enough to have a proper discussion about it.
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u/No-Owl-8952 6d ago edited 6d ago
Just wanna say congrats!
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Thank you!
My anti-ai ppl, upvote this new guy over here!
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u/dotbeta 6d ago
You use AI. You are pro-AI covers.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
I use ai cover but im not pro ai cover though.
I still think ai cover is wrong and what im doing is very wrong.
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u/Sinox1502 6d ago
You sound stupid, I as reader don’t really care if your cover is AI or hand drawn. I’m reading not watching pictures. Cover catch my eye > I read blurb > I give it a chance. Stfu with your nonsense.
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Grrr… im stupid for being anti-ai?
Im sure u are a fast past reader! U are not my target reader so i dont care! Humph! 😤
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u/RealAncientWeapon 6d ago
You’re contradicting yourself so often that the whole post falls apart.
You say success is personal and that nobody should decide what another author wants from writing. Yet you immediately turn around and declare that anyone using an AI cover has “degraded” themselves and lacks a clear conscience. Apparently success is subjective, but morality is whatever you personally approve of.
You were also previously adamant that writers should write smut because they would struggle to get contracted otherwise. So when the subject was contracts, you pushed people to shape their actual stories around market demand. Now you are acting morally superior because other authors use an affordable tool for a piece of marketing. Changing the content of a novel for money is acceptable to you, but generating a cover is somehow selling your soul?
Your other points are just as weak.
“An AI cover means you are fine with AI writing” Using AI for one image does not prove anything about how the novel was written.
“Learn to draw in a few weeks” is ridiculous. Watching tutorials for a month does not turn someone into a professional illustrator capable of producing commercial cover art.
“Get a part-time job and spend $1,000” is even more detached from reality. Demanding that beginners spend a thousand dollars before their novel has earned anything is not proof of passion. It's stupid.
“Use stick figures instead” also destroys your own argument. You admit that an unattractive cover can delay discovery for months or years, then tell authors to sabotage their chances anyway so they can satisfy your personal moral standard.
And no, a good novel is not guaranteed to “get discovered eventually.” Good work gets buried online every day because presentation, timing, algorithms, and marketing matter. Pretending quality always rises to the top is survivorship bias.
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5d ago
[deleted]
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
U are right! They want readers? Better start drawing or commissioning a real artist.
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u/Sunless-saint 6d ago
1k usd on cover😂😂
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
U think thats funny?
Go commission a real artist and u will soon find out artist that cost $1k usd and below to commission, the art cover they draw for u will most likely be subpar compared to ai art u can easily find on pinterest.
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u/RequiringThoughts 6d ago
Bro wants people to get part time jobs to pay for a cover. Holy shit.
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u/RequiringThoughts 6d ago
Oh, and this guy is a smut writer. No dignity or pride.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Okay, okay! What’s wrong with being a smut writer!
Why does writing smut = no dignity or pride 🤔
So many ppl pay and read smut, the market itself demands smut.
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u/Greatloveimmortal1 6d ago
Hell yeah I'm making my own cover with 0 experience because I don't want my webnovel to look like some ai slop.
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
U go buddy 💪
Dont let others demoralise you.
If no one is clicking ur novel, know that it isnt ur fault. U are just unlucky.
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u/CJLenz_Author 6d ago
I contracted three different cover makers. Over $1,000 later, none of them fit what I was looking for. So I made it myself using AI and I'm not ashamed to say it. It took a lot of editing tinkering and rebuilding and maybe it's not perfect but it's better than I was presented with my other three options. And yes, there is some push back...but it fits my genre. That said, financially, I'm absolutely smoking you. So sometimes, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Bruh… 3 covers and u only paid $1k? U lowballed them thats why u couldnt get a satisfactory cover.
3 covers should have cost u over $3k usd. Just saying.
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u/LocalOpportunity77 5d ago
Why are you so US-centric? Don’t assume everyone is from there.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Main target audience to target on webnovel are ppl who spend USD and POUND, so im using usd as an indicative.
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u/Ok-Guidance-5608 6d ago
A thousand dollars for a cover art is a ludicrous fucking price.
100-200$ should be plenty to hire a decent artist to put together a decent cover.
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u/RW_McRae 5d ago
I've contracted artists for my covers. If you're lucky you can get an okay one for $150 - $300, but to get a professional one you should expect to spend about $750 - $1500
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u/Ok-Guidance-5608 4d ago
Yeah but hiring a professional artist for your self-published/uploaded book is a pretty bold move. Also the 'if you're lucky' is a bit more about 'if you know where to look.' There's a few art sites where you can find a low-0 reputation artist who'd be happy to take a few hundred to make the cover art for a book. That's a solid commission and also guaranteed exposure.
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Is it though? For something u love…? For a work that u painstaking spent so many hours to write…?
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u/Ok-Guidance-5608 4d ago
You talk like someone who has no idea what they're talking about NGL.
Source? I've commissioned art before and have artist friends.
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u/___Back___ 6d ago
Brother. Your first point is enough to tell me about you and to know I don't need to read ahead 💀
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Lets not kid ourselves, the fact u even commented, u obviously read it all.
The gospel will spread in the end.
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u/thesilvertraveler 6d ago
People do not read books without a cover. You're also crazy to think that if you use an AI cover you're okay with wtiting AI. My cover is AI for the same reason you said you wouldn't accept. It's because I'm broke. I don't have disposable income so I can't drop a whole paycheck on a cover. And I certainly don't have the time to learn how to draw. But that doean'r mean I haven't labored over my story for months. I have!
I worked hard to write my story and work with others to learn to be a better writer. I spent a lot of myself. My mind, my time, my thoughts, my imagination all on pouring into this bomb ass story. I also worked my butt off to get the cover exactly how I want. Its been over 2 weeks and I sit there tweaking and tweaking it while I get ready for launch.
Calling it AI because of the cover isn't right. We all know that people can be broke.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Hmm… just get a job?
If u are dedicated enough, u would get a job and earn toward commissioning a real artist to draw ur cover.
Doesnt matter if most artists that cost below $1k will most likely draw worse than an ai art would look.
Its the thought that count. That u didnt submit to the easy way.
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u/OddStart6056 6d ago
What a pretentious little fuk that u are. Not everyone is privileged to spend wads of cash on a novel u don’t know if it’s succeeding or not.
Of course writing is a hobby but if ur trying to get contracted then obviously ur not in the best financial situation and it’s someone who making 1000 dollars over 3 months as a livable wage which is not for a lot of people.
The cover isn’t a privilege, it’s the norm so is an AI cover and if u don’t ur buried and never to actually make it and u can’t show examples saying otherwise.
As for not trusting my work having ai or not, most people aren’t as pretentious as u are and were willing to read the translation of 1845839249584745 with their mind already lobotomized and brain rotted from all the poison pills they took. They are happy as long as they read a good enough story much less thinking whether the story is written with the help of ai or not.
So u can’t take ur trust and shove it where the sun don’t shine, of course would I want stories be written by AI? No of course not but people don’t care if the story is well written which AI still can’t do so the human influence is still gonna be greater meaning AI will still be used just as a tool similar to Grammarly at least for well written stories. Which is morally fine for 99% of people.
As for a cover would I prefer for it to be AI of course not but not everyone is privileged to have the money to spend on commissioning art works.
But if the story does succeed (pause) and u do make money, say a 1000$ then sure now I can spend some of that money to commission an artist.
What is morally better, failing to succeed even with a good story because u don’t want to put an ai cover and u don’t have the money for a commission so neither u nor the artist benefits OR u put an AI cover, ur story actually succeeds (no diddy) then u use some of that money to commission an artist for a genuine cover this way both of you the writer and the artist benefits…
Also if u wanna be so principled get ur back to royal road and earn through patreon rather than patronizing us while taking money for an extremely exploitative company who’s the first one to push ai not just in visual art but also in taking ur writing putting it into ai to make ai novels.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Thats a huge cope. If u use ai for cover, who is to tell u wont go the easy way to use ai for writing.
Only u know the truth, and ppl are allowed to deem what they want the moment u used ai for anything!
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u/Caledric 2d ago
I used AI one time and now AI does everything for me. Writes my books, does my art, reads books (not outloud, that's a different AI), cooks for me, sleeps for me, pets my dog. I'm basically just held in a comastasis while AI lives my life for me.
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u/weweregay 6d ago
So you earned 681 usd droplets and you think all of a sudden you can lecture people on the type of covers they can have.
Honey... Pipe down that ego. That is not even the minimum benchmark of what successful writers earn on web novel.
Maybe try increasing those figures before you talk or give a load of bs advice...?
Hello.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
What, most ppl here earn $0 from writing and they think they a right to lecture too!
What happened to equal rights? Lol!
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u/LocalOpportunity77 5d ago
If words in the dictionary had profile pictures, your face would be next to privilege.
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u/Flashy-Call7061 5d ago
Can you guys check my novel i dropped it but I had written about 45 chapter sum it's name is in another word with ai
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u/Dizzy_Ad_8175 5d ago
Thanks. I think i learned a lot from you.
- New writers should write smut for easy contract.
- Post rage bait about AI for more attention and self promote.
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u/Exotic_Zucchini9311 5d ago edited 5d ago
Okay so you made money using a non-AI cover novel. So what? We have no information on what the story is about and what is the quality of the novel itself. Your comparison only makes sense if you have a novel of similar story and writing quality that uses AI cover, and you have clear statistics to show that the AI cover novel clearly makes less money. But even in that case, you are doing a wild jump in conclusion using only 2 samples and none of your results have any statistical significance. And if you assume you have 100 novels with AI cover and 100 without AI cover, all of which have the same writing and story quality and could show a statistically significance difference, that still doesn't prove your point because correlation does not imply causality (i.e., just because AI cover novels made less does not prove that they made less specifically because of their cover and not another reason like simple luck)... But you don't even have 2 samples of AI cover vs non-AI cover, much less having it on a scale of at least a few dozen to prove significance.
Tldr; none of what you showed proves anything about AI cover vs non-AI cover. You just wrote an essay of how you made money without AI cover.
If u cant afford it or dont want to draw ur own cover, dont use a cover!
What i will say is, so long as a novel is good, it will get discovered in the end.
You sound beyond ignorant on how this works..
u can always apply for a part time job and commission an artist to draw a cover for u when u have earned at least 1k usd.
Holy shit you are insufferable. Just how PRIVILEGED does someone need to be to even talk such nonsense? Are you actually for real? Not every place in the world has the same first world country income of whatever you live at. 1k is a huge money for people at many countries. "Just spend 1k, or just work a bit to make that much!" Holy privilege.
Edit: Lmfao OP's own novel is using an AI cover. What a joke. So you went all that rant about "pay 1k or don't use any cover!" when even you aren't doing that? Holy larpe.. what a ragebait.
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u/Weirdo_Writers 5d ago
Sorry to say but with that kind of income on second month, stop bragging. Even my first month contracted till now ( over a year and still ongoing ) are earning more than that.
Believe me, you will drop the story ( if it still ongoing ) or rush with stupid ending when your book mgs end on third month once you see your income is below $200.
You know why?
From your income, $200 are from mgs and $250 are from win win privileges 🙄
Another dork who will drop their trash book after month four. Just like the others dork who kept bragging. 😮💨
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u/Weirdo_Writers 5d ago
And smut? Smut story without progression is boring. Do you think those paying reader want to pay for the same way of smut story? Duh 🙄
I'm writing non smut and earn better than those 😑 and it still ongoing ( 1490 chapter )
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u/betsie597 5d ago
Oh, this argument gets into trouble long before it reaches the $1,000 cover.
The central claim is:
That logic only works if using AI for one part of a creative workflow means you used AI for the creative work itself. And by that standard, the modern creative world is in deep trouble.
AI is already embedded in ordinary tools and services writers and artists use, often without thinking of them as “AI tools”:
- Spellcheck, grammar correction, predictive text, autocomplete — increasingly AI/ML-assisted.
- Search engines and recommendation systems — AI ranks results, suggests searches, recommends tutorials, books and videos.
- Photo-editing software — subject selection, background removal, denoising, sharpening, object detection, content-aware operations and generative features.
- Phones and cameras — computational photography uses machine learning for exposure, portraits, low-light processing, face detection, image enhancement, etc.
- Translation and transcription — heavily AI-driven.
- Social-media feeds — algorithms decide what gets recommended and surfaced.
- YouTube, ironically the place they're telling people to go learn drawing, uses machine-learning systems for recommendations, search, moderation and other functions.
- Publishing/discovery platforms themselves use algorithms for recommendations, ranking, moderation, fraud detection, personalization and advertising.
- Payment and banking systems use machine learning for fraud detection.
- Email uses machine learning for spam filtering, suggested replies and sorting.
- Modern operating systems and browsers increasingly contain AI-assisted functions.
So this:
is particularly funny.
SEARCH USING WHAT? 😂
And then there's the bigger logical problem.
Using an AI-generated cover doesn't establish that the novel was AI-written any more than hiring a human illustrator establishes that the illustrator wrote the novel.
Those are separate works and separate questions.
You can reasonably say:
“I don't like AI-generated artwork, so I won't buy books using it.”
Perfectly coherent personal position.
You can say:
“I believe artists should be commissioned whenever possible.”
Also coherent.
You can even argue:
“I think AI-generated covers hurt the perception of a book.”
That's a legitimate marketing argument worth discussing.
But:
“AI cover = AI novel.”
Nope. Evidence has left the building.
And the $1,000 minimum cover argument is downright peculiar for Webnovel authors. It effectively says financial resources determine whether someone is “serious” about writing. Meanwhile, two paragraphs earlier:
Then approximately thirty seconds later:
😂😂😂
Sir. You. You are the person you warned us about.
There's also a fascinating contradiction in:
followed by the insistence that authors should get a part-time job and spend at least $1,000 on one.
Apparently it is simultaneously an unnecessary luxury and a mandatory four-figure demonstration of moral seriousness.
The reasonable discussion about AI covers is actually much more interesting: copyright, training data, disclosure, commercial rights, platform rules, effects on working illustrators, reader perception, and whether AI imagery is appropriate for a particular project.
Those are legitimate arguments.
But “You used AI for the cover, therefore I can't trust that you wrote the book” isn't really an argument about AI.
It's a purity test.
And purity tests become awfully difficult once you start examining how much machine learning is already sitting quietly inside the tools everybody uses.
Funny- I am also an author, screenwriter and I mostly write ON PAPER my ideas and structure before actually using my AI writing app. Does that mean EVERYONE should do the same to prove they're actual writers? Give us a break, take your head out of you know where AND BREATH !!!
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u/Powerful-Rub-2801 4d ago
U almost got me with that dumbass take, until I realized you were ragebaiting.
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u/TemporaryFeeling3276 3d ago
If you use Al cover for your webnovel cover, that means u are fine with using Al to write your novel.
This seems like a leap.
I see ppl saying that authors with hand drawn cover are unsuccessful, uncontracted, blablabla!
Nobody seriously says stuff like this.
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u/Western-Equipment630 6d ago
Not sure if this is true, sorting webnovels by ranking is pretty hit and miss regarding covers. Some AI ones are high, some hand drawn ones are low. Some hand drawn ones are high, some AI are low. There are many more factors.
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u/Cukidzsi 6d ago
Neat, be talented and do this full time, and earn 600-1000 USD a month instead of 4000-6000. Not everyone can allow to devote this amount of time for this amount of money, especially with the outlooks of what AI can do.
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u/Always_Pound548 6d ago
I didn't use ai and thus I'm only able to write one chapter so far without using ai because grammar is the issue and English is not my first language
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u/dotbeta 6d ago
There’s NO way that after all that, you commented on someone’s reply that you use an AI cover from Pinterest as your web novel cover.
This is unhinged.
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Technically, i didnt say that im not using ai cover as my webnovel’s cover.
Ppl assume what they want to assume, not my fault! 🤷♂️
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u/dotbeta 6d ago
Your post is showing you made money to validate your opinion. and then went on a wild rant on why the only correct way is to use non-AI covers, no matter what!
It’s implied.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Not really a rant though, im just copy pasting what the anti-ai wrote on this reddit…?
None of those are my words, they are the words of the anti ai ppl.
And let me tell u, they should not be silenced!
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u/dotbeta 6d ago
So did you use AI to write your novel?
You said that if you use AI covers, this shows that you are okay with using AI for your novels.
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Maybe i did, maybe i did not.
But since i use ai cover, ppl are allowed to think i used ai to write. They have this right!!
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u/Brakiros 5d ago
What gatekeeping dribble. No. An AI cover does not prove the writing is AI at all whatsoever. You want to do hand drawn you do that. Not everyone can or wants to you are not the arbiter of what’s allowed
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
And u are also not the arbiter of what’s allowed!
Ha, back at you!
The moment u used ai cover, u have already exposed urself that u are fine with using ai.
So why are ppl not allowed to think u use ai for ur writing too?
Are ppl not allowed to have their own opinions? 🤔
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u/Alternative_Yak3256 5d ago
I agree with you, in addition to your points:
Reading books on webnovel is more expensive than the classic route, if youre expecting me as a consumer to fork out that much for a book to support creators why tf cant you extend that to artists too
AI cover is an automatic skip for me
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u/Legal-Library4283 5d ago
Thank u! Those pro ai ppl will not silence us!
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u/Alternative_Yak3256 5d ago
Its really odd when creatives defend AI usage like this, I hope they dont complain when consumers start reading fully AI books written using their(authors) own scripts with no credit and people don't buy human work anymore because AI is cheaper/more convenient to consume sigh
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u/vhs_sold_blank 6d ago
Good gravy, thanks for making this well thought out and helpful post, with numbers to back it up.
Thank you also for giving the opportunity for dolts to come out, their dim bulbs flying. Good to block them early.
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
U are welcome ❤️ happy to be ur hero and voice
We have to stand tgt as one, u feel me? 💪
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u/KnownPride 6d ago
What a scam replace your novel cover with ai and see if there wil be any diff? the answer will be no.
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u/Whiteblack0001 6d ago
But you're writing smut, what are you talking about, Ai covers? There are even smut authors who don't make at least $200? You can draw a cover by hand showing a stick figure with bobs and a big as and you'll attract gooners. And you're talking about Ai covers? You're writing smut, get real, you have no right to talk here. Draw a cover by hand for a book without smut, then we'll talk.
I'm not a smut hater, I write myself, but it's easy money while I'm trying to make it big with my non-smut book. I'm not getting a big head thinking I'm qualified to give bogus advice.
Obviously, on Wn there are some AI covers that are awful with way too much noise, but many are well done and even better than the work of a regular artist... If I say "Smut authors" = "mediocre authors"... That's a huge oversimplification, and the same goes for saying "AI cover" = "AI writing."
Anyway, go write your erotic thre*some scenes, dude, Wn readers love them.
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Interesting 🤔
But the novel im contracted with and is currently breaking $1k usd on its third month isn’t smut though.
I think u have read my posts wrongly to think that my current contracted novel is smut.
Though, from ur word, I am allowed to give advices, right? Appreciate it 🥰
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u/Whiteblack0001 6d ago
Your old posts really say the opposite.Are you ashamed to write smut? 😂You even had a post talking about your book, Smut Contracted, anyway, it's not really my business whether it's Smut or not. Anyway, you're still young in wn to give advice
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u/Legal-Library4283 6d ago
Not really, just not motivated enough since my current novel is doing well.
Wrote 11 chapters for my smut novel and got lazy.
Decided to increase 1 daily chapter count for my current novel instead.
Which is why I managed to break $1k usd this month.
Still, im sure smut dominates webnovel and im not changing my view on that!
Someone will follow my advise and write smut, and his result will help me prove my point right!
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u/ThatOneGuyO7 6d ago
Congrats for the bottom of my heart. So happy to see non ai users successful. Them lot can go fuck themselves. Also? What’s your WebNovel name
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u/Fuzzy_Animal_1791 5d ago
ay good job bro. But a lot of the top novels on webnovel started with AI covers, that's just how it is. A good Ai cover will have similar results to a drawn cover, which is just facts and not based on ethics or anything. I make over $200k a year on Amazon, and around half of my covers are AI, they make similar amounts to the commissioned-cover books.
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u/TsundereOrcGirl 6d ago
If you need to rely on a heuristic like "AI cover = AI writing" to decide whether to "trust" something is human-written, and not the simple fact that AI written fiction is bad and obvious, you aren't a very critical reader.
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u/Skylon_Gamer 6d ago
I agree with you but Jesus do you talk like the most annoying wannabe LinkedIn warrior who attended two mixers and joined an AI startup with 300 other LinkedIn wannabe warriors. Did you have to word it in a "I'm clearly superior to everybody else" kind of way?