They tell you that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but, hey, the cover is its calling-card. It’s like the first impression you form of another person, and I suppose it’s just about reliable. Which is to say, it’s mostly a pretty good approximation, unless the person’s a consummate actor, or the publisher slapped a cheap stock cover on the book and thereby left a good part of its chances in the marketplace on the table. Sometimes I wonder if giving a new or mid-list author a mediocre cover may not be part of the strategy. After all, Read More …