Conventional wisdom tells us not to judge a book by its cover, but those in the publishing industry know better. An effective cover design doesn’t just look good on shelves — it should also clearly communicate the title, signal the genre, and capture an appropriate audience for that book. In other words, design is crucial to your book’s aesthetics and sales, and definitely not something to phone in as an author!
This is why almost every professional author should hire a book cover designer to do the job right.