Showcase your book. The cover of your book is all a prospective buyer in a bookstore sees before making a decision to purchase it. Even on the web, buyers look at the cover image while choosing a book. After purchase, the cover continues to identify the book and confirm the buying decision. You want to feel proud of your cover.
Make sure your cover is the best it can be. Your book packager should begin the cover design process for your book by asking you a lot of questions: Do you have an illustration or photo you'd like to include on the cover? Are there any colors that you especially like or dislike? What is the general tone or mood of your book?
At Griffith Publishing we like to hear your suggestions and are especially pleased when you have a photo or the nugget of an idea about how you think the cover should look. Sometimes authors will send us a book with a cover they especially like. Of course, we can't copy the design of another book, but we can derive ideas for color combinations, text treatment and other elements from a published work.
Help your cover designer. In your first consultation with your cover designer, suggest words or phrases that describe your book, such as such as "a racy Western novel set in Yellowstone Park," or "a mother's guide to sanity during the holidays." Adjectives such as "soft," "sentimental," "funny," "action-packed," "clear and concise," "authoritative," "scientific," or "business-like," will also help your artist set the tone for your book.
In a bookstore, study the covers of books written for approximately the same audience as your book. If you see a color combination or just a "look and feel" of a book you really like, buy it and share it with your book cover artist.
Don't try to copy another book's design. It just won't fit. However, a design for another book can give you ideas for your own book.
More about cover design here!