Okay, confession time. How many of you choose a book just because you like the cover? Well, apparently a vast majority! A book's cover is the author's sales pitch to the reader. It must grab the potential buyer's attention and outshine the millions of other covers out there. No pressure! I am also learning that there are many, subtle indicators, to readers of particular genres, about what they can expect to find inside a book. If your cover promises something that the reader does not actually find within its pages, you can lose a reader. The opposite is true too. If your cover does not suggest 'PG 13' rated content within, but the book contains it, you can offend your reader. Wow, it's a minefield! Research of other covers in your particular genre is a very important place to begin. I self-published my first book and created the cover myself. I was new to the industry and had no training. That was probabl...