Both a great cover and memorable title will help your book standout in the crowd. Ultimately it is the story that matters, but the desire to read it is established visually first.
The hardest part is simply finding the time to actually sit and write. Between a full-time job, family and social obligations, there never seemed to be enough hours in the day to devote to my craft until I changed my mindset. I no longer feel guilty for making writing a priority. I treat my writing time as sacred.