Self publishing

It's time to get my first book published! I had to come up with a cover, which has been surprisingly the hardest part so far. What the hell do I know about covers anyway? How do self-published authors do it (without paying someone to do it)?

Luckily for me, the hubs has an Adobe programs bundle that includes Illustrator. I had zero experience with it, but it seemed like the thing for me, so I've started watching videos on YouTube. Hopefully I'll finish soon and get this thing published.

It's simple enough: a photo, some lines, and text. Why is it sooo hard?? The photo's not even complicated; it's something like this one here: rising above the clouds.