Help with publication design

In desktop publishing and in publishing in general every publication has a ‘cover page,’ a page that shows the title of the publication, the name of the author, maybe briefly describes the content and maybe includes an illustration or photograph.

This ‘cover page design’ is a part of - a very important part of - what is variously described as publication design, book cover design or just book design.

Major publishers hire graphic designers to design cover pages, but desktop publishers often have to figure out how to design it themselves. The ‘often’ means that it’s possible to get some help with this.

Help with page publication from self publishing websites and desktop publishing forums

Some self publishing websites and some desktop publishing forums can often advise about it, for example.
Obviously, self publishing websites will charge a fee for their book cover design services. A desktop publishing forum probably won’t want to design your book cover for you, but if you were to design a cover and upload it to the forum or your website the other forum posters might be willing to comment on it for you.

Help with publication design by looking at other designs

It’s possible to get some idea of what constitutes good book cover design by visiting a few self publishing websites that provide a design service. They often display samples of their work, and you can pick up a few ideas from these samples.