Great article, thanks.

Covers are really important. I know this because I grab the books with covers that grab my attention on the tables at bookstores. I rarely go into the shelves these days unless I'm in a serious browsing mood.

And when I do, I pull out the book and look at the cover, lol.

My next step is I read the first paragraph, then, since I know authors are instructed to start off with a bang, I flip into the middle of the book randomly in a few spots to see if the writing still looks strong.

One problem is that how do authors really know if they have a good cover or not? I was a creative director in advertising in my younger days, and an art director before that, so I may have an advantage there.

The publisher for my first novel MagicLand gave me three cover options. The choice of the three was fairly easy for me but it's not like the book has flown off the shelves (although I do get emails from readers who've picked it up in libraries).

Maybe the answer to my question is, "Do you as the author like the cover?" I do, and I actually like it very much, so maybe I just answered my own question!