I am one of those people who admit to judging a book by its cover - meaning I will at least pick it up and read the description if the cover gets my attention. I've seen news stories that say you have less than 10 seconds to attract a buyers attention via book cover, but mainly I am basing it on my own experience shopping for books.
When I go buy a book on Kindle by an indie author, I consider the cover a sign of how much effort the author put into the book. A bad cover might equal badly edited book. Do I have any proof of this? Hell no. But I figure a few other people out there might think the way I do when selecting ebooks. When I finish my romance novel, I think Hot Damn Designs will be the place to go. I want my baby to look cool for the first day of school in the Kindle marketplace.
I am a fan of St. Louis author Angie Fox's Accidental Demon Slayer series - story and cover design. (You can read the first chapter here.) Hot Damn does her book covers and they look spiffy. The designer, Kimberly Killion, is also located near St. Louis which appeals to me since I live in the metro area. Why? Hell if I know. I love that I can talk to people everywhere in the world online, but there is just something about knowing the person you are doing business with is close by - even if you only communicate through email. It makes no sense, but there you have it.
She will also do a website design to match your book/genre, and I think her prices are pretty reasonable. You can read an interview she did with Novelists, Inc here. I don't know her, so I have no vested interest. But I know what I like...
