There is a neurological phenomenon called “Synesthesia”, without entering into details it refers to the stimulation of one physical sense leading to a sensory experience with another one, meaning if you hear music you might see colors, if you touch something you could taste a flavour or if you see something you probably smell some scent. This human physiology phenomenon always brings to my attention what other sensations someone might feel when observing some of my illustrations.
This ability to perceive more with our senses means that within one type of stimuli targeted to one of our senses there could be more ways to enjoy and understand what is presented to us, this could be translated to the graphic arts industry as the capacity to say more than words with only one picture.
As Illustrators and Graphics Artists we carry a huge responsibility when working with creators of written content, we need to translate everything the writer wants to communicate into images, it´s a big weight on our shoulders, knowing that the artwork of any publication is the first impression anyone will have with a book, catalog, or magazine could get overwhelming.
We need to have always presented the fact that most of the readers decide whether to buy or not a book solely by its cover, there is too much noise in any bookstore pushing the artist to figure out a way how the book will stand above the rest requiring a high level of both, mental and practical knowledge to do it right.
Being able to express everything within the pages of any written content such as a book cover, either a bestseller or a driver's manual, have the same level of importance, this is how people will see and feel it before delve into the fantasy world, murder mystery or romance drama they will find inside, it´s the bait to lure curious eyes and catch them, stimulate their curiosity long enough to take the book home.
Most of the times when someone is an independent writer one of the main issues to deal is the budget, and is understandable, they don't have the support of a big company behind them for issues such as the editorial design or the book cover, they are independent and in the graphic community we get that, no matter if we are freelancers or part of a creative team, the understanding and respect for both sides should be bilateral, as illustrators and graphic designers we need to understand the importance of all the hard work invested in months or even years to finish any written content, and as such, the authors should know the importance of a cover as a graphic translation of all their content to be able to create a unified product.
A cover will always represent the work of a writer standing out from the rest, it's the first line of defense, it's what people will display at home on their bookshelves proudly for having read it, so yeah, having someone professional who knows and respects the work of an author will always be the best choice to give them the responsibility to create the image of a book.
Any writer, independent or not, should take their time to look for a graphic artists or illustrator that suits the genre and style of the publication, there will be many different costs depending on who the writer founds but it´s a justified cost, authors should trust in someone that knows the responsibility to create a graphic solution that will represent the hard work implied in any written content. I can't deny that there might be bad experiences along the way and most of them are by one case scenario, but I can assure you that if any author trust in the work of an illustrator, respects it, and most of all understands the responsibility we as illustrators have to represent in the best way we can the written content, the finished product will be worthwhile and the cost I can assure you also will be justified.