Great post! Have you listened to the podcast Launch? I’m halfway through it right now and I’m a bit obsessed with it. It’s about screenwriter John August’s journey as he writes and publishes his first novel. Part of it deals with the cover art and his frustration that he really has no say in what the cover looks like. Granted, he’s with a major publisher and I imagine the author has more involvement when a book is self-published, but it was interesting to hear about the process. (And I agree that it’s a critical part of the book. I’ve passed on many books just based on the cover art.)