Cover design in the e-book era will become even more important than printed book covers. With a printed book, a person can go to the bookstore and read the inner cover excerpts as well as skim through the entire story to determine if they would enjoy the book. The cover is less important, although it is still what first draws a person to the book. With an e-book, a person cannot physically handle the book and, therefore, is subjected to only the information the online store allows. This makes the cover more important as it is the only thing telling the reader about the book.

A book’s cover shows publicly what the book will be about. The role of the book cover is to draw an interested reader to the book and showcase what the book is about without spoiling the storyline. In the future, as digital books become more commonplace, the cover will become even more important. It will be the only way for a reader to decide if they want to read a particular book.

If book design becomes less relevant to the reader, the e-books will lose sales and business. The online bookstores will lose customers and funds. Although, I believe this is unlikely, the book industry would revert to print or possibly revamp e-book marketing strategies. The book cover essentially sells the book in the case of an e-book.

Book covers are not primarily marketing devices. They can augment a book's literary value. If the cover is respectable, draws a reader in, showcases the story without spoiling it, and can increase the power of the words behind the cover, then the book is better because of that cover. I believe a book is only as good as its writer, and its writer is only as good as the cover. If the cover is bad, the writing may suffer and the book may not sell well. In this way, the book cover is both a marketing tool and a literary booster.

Jeff Goins says it best: "We know how important a first introduction is. It’s why we dress up before a first date, give a firm handshake at a job interview, and make a meal look good before we serve it. First impressions matter. We all make instant judgments that either give us hope or lower expectations. With your book, the cover is the all-important first introduction. It’s a visual representation of your writing. And a bad one gives people the impression that you don’t care about quality."Overall, a book will always be judged by the cover and it should be this way.