I’m a writer who has been traditionally published, though never with one of the Big 4/5. I had a lot of cover input with my first book but little input with my second (and I feel my second book cover is super boring). It was different publishers. I have friends published by the Big4/5, and their experiences re covers have varied widely as well. In all cases, though, writers are never going to be able to dictate what their covers should look like-- it comes down to a marketing decision.

I’m convinced it’s going to be something paranormal/horror. HP started off as a middle grade series and morphed into YA as the characters (and original readers) aged… and there’s been an uptick in really excellent middle grade horror coming out lately.