Questions
The things authors ask me, answered honestly.
- Does my book actually need a map?
- Not always. If your story stays in one city and the geography never drives a decision, a map is decoration and your money is better spent elsewhere. If readers need to understand why the army had to go the long way round, or your series spans a continent, a map earns its place. I would rather tell you that than sell you one you don’t need.
- What does it cost?
- $300 for a map. One or two continents, full color or parchment, your choice. A whole world at full detail starts at $450, and we agree the exact number before I start. It’s all on the commissions page, so you don’t have to book a call to find out.
- Why is there only one price?
- Because a map is a map. A small island and a big continent take about the same amount of work once you account for the thinking, so charging less for one of them just means doing it worse. The only job that genuinely changes shape is a whole world at full detail, and that one we talk about first.
- How long does it take?
- Seven days from the point we agree the brief. That’s the normal timeline, not a rush option. I take one commission at a time, which is how the week holds.
- Do I get a black-and-white version too?
- Yes, with every commission, at no extra cost. Some people want it for the inside of a book, some for a print, some never use it. It’s there either way.
- What can I do with the map once I have it?
- Whatever you want. Put it in the book, on the cover, on your website, on a t-shirt, on your wall. No credit required, no royalties, no expiry, nothing to ask me about. If you want that written down it’s on the licensing page, and it’s short.
- What software do you use?
- Every map is composed by hand in Inkarnate, coastline by coastline, range by range. No generative AI, ever. No presets, no reused templates. The tool is the vocabulary. The craft is deciding where things go and why.
- Do I need to send a sketch?
- No, but it helps a lot. A photo of a napkin drawing tells me the shape of the land and saves us a round of questions. A list of place names and the scenes that matter works too.
- What if my manuscript changes after the map is done?
- It happens more often than anyone admits. You rename a river in edits and suddenly the map and the text disagree. Send me a list of the changes, we agree on it, and I make them for a flat $50. No renegotiating.
- How many revisions do I get?
- Three while I work, at layout, detail and names, plus one at the end. The staging matters. Moving a coastline at the layout stage costs nothing. Moving it after the detail pass costs a day.
- Do you draw city or battle maps?
- Not at the moment. I do regions, continents, kingdoms, islands and whole worlds. Battle maps and VTT work are a different craft, and I would rather point you at someone good than do them badly.
- Can you match a map I already have?
- Usually, yes. Extra maps in the same world are 25% off, partly because keeping them consistent is easier when the same person draws all of them.
- My publisher is paying. Can you invoice them?
- Yes, and I do it often. Small presses bill me for their authors all the time, so if your contract covers artwork just tell me in the brief and I’ll invoice the publisher instead of you. Nothing else about the process changes.
- How does payment work?
- Half up front to book your week, half on delivery. Once we’ve agreed what the map needs I send you an invoice, and you can pay it by PayPal, Zelle or Venmo, whichever is easiest. Zelle and Venmo are US only, so if you’re elsewhere it will be PayPal. The deposit isn’t refundable because it holds the slot. You get the full-resolution files once the final payment clears, and watermarked previews at each review stage.
Something I haven’t covered?
Message me on Discord at @mattpivots. I’ll answer, and I’ll probably add it to this page.
Start Your Map