Freebooksy posted an interesting visual analysis of successful book covers by genre today:
http://www.freebooksy.com/create-best-selling-cover/
Unfortunately, fantasy is not one of the genres for which they provide examples of successful covers. And in the “paranormal” category, they throw in Steampunk, which wasn’t exactly paranormal last time I checked. *g*
Despite that, the article is definitely worth a look. Even if using their advice is no guarantee of success. Example: according to the article, successful SF book covers are orange, black and white. May I present you with the least successful of my SF titles?
Plenty of orange, black, and white there, I think. 🙂
Nonetheless, I think it is very solid advice to study covers of successful books in your genre before you either create your own or start consulting with a cover designer as to what you want.
Pretty spot on there. 🙂