I did not know about this. Apparently there is a genuine Book Cover Archive that you can peruse for ideas or just to admire. A friend suggested I take a look at it to get an idea the difference between science fiction covers and genre fiction covers like steampunk or fantasy.
I also realized that a lot has changed design-wise from when I was tearing through Wells, Lovecraft, and Verne as a kid. Gone are the black spines with white titles all lined up on a library shelf. Covers now look a whole lot better as thumbnails than before. The colors, large images, and huge text speaks to a market with digital considerations.
In the past, I thought publishers just told you what your book cover would look like, but that is not the case. They are entire packets and meetings to get through with words like, vision and theme. These are questions you'll want to know how to answer.
For the savvy Indie Publisher, you'll have a whole lot more say and control over your cover. The great thing about the site is there are links to cover designer portfolios as well as to sites all about cover design if you want to do it yourself.
Pretty cool, huh?
Anyway, I thought I'd share it with you all in case you hadn't heart of it either. A big thank you to my writer buddy who pointed me in the right direction!
Until next time...Go Write!