The most important part of an unread book is the book cover. It’s what draws us in as readers and allows us to make a quick assessment—Does this look like something I’d be interested in?

While I’ve read plenty of times that authors shouldn’t design their own covers, I minored in design in college and wanted to at least attempt it, both to save money and also because it’s fun.

I won’t understate the amount of work the whole process took, so be warned if you are going this route—it took a good chun...