Independent publishers have a variety of options, whether publishing digital or print books.
There are individual designers who specialize in cover design; their prices vary.
There are companies that make off-the-rack digital covers that you can customize by choosing the fonts, colours, and placement of your titles and other cover text; these too vary in price depending both on the company and the complexity of the cover. Ready-made cover companies often offer custom covers designed to your specifications, as well―for a higher price. Further, they may offer print covers along with the digital variety.
There are also templates, both for print covers (as offered by IngramSpark and CreateSpace) and digital templates (such as those available at creativindie.com) which make it possible to generate one’s own cover by adding photos and text to the templates.
Last, for the truly intrepid, there are software programs like GIMP and Photoshop that, once learned, can be used to make book covers completely DIY.
Keep in mind, though, that any images of recognizable persons may need a model release, and recognizable properties such as homes may need a property release. Legal advice may be necessary when using free images. If buying photos to use in covers you design yourself, always ask for the model and/or property releases. And if you take your own, always get a signed release from persons and owners of buildings that you photograph.
Do you use GIMP or Photoshop or Adobe art software? Would you try it?
[Cover above designed by SelfPubBookCovers.com/RLSather]
I think if I was to choose for something I wrote, I would start with the first option and see if anything interested me. If I couldn’t find something that suited I would then go to option 2. Once I found something, I would probably try the last option out just to see if I could do it on my own before making a final decision.