It may seem unfair to judge a book by its cover, but the unfortunate truth is that most potential readers will do just that. Many an author’s fortunes have hinged on whether their book cover managed to convince the right readers to take a chance on it. In this post, we’ll walk you through the essential elements of an effective cover design to help you create a cover that will have your book flying off of store shelves — and so that you can spend less time on marketing . Why your book cover matters Cast your mind back to the last time you visited a library or a bookstore, and consider how many books you browsed. In just a few minutes, you may have skimmed the spines and covers of  dozens, if not hundreds, of books. In such a competitive market, you need to do everything you can as an author to make your book stand out from the crowd — and that begins with the cover design .  Thinking about the books you picked up, what about the cover drew you to them? Whether it was intriguing...