Don't expect PG to create them for you.
Well, PG does create them for me -- it drops the "Big Blue PDA of Death" in there for me -- it would be better if it left off covers entirely, or auto-generated a simple cover with title and author on it.
I've done a number of custom covers over the past few months, e.g. 41020, 41021, 41022. I keep it simple--a solid color background, with title and author, and if necessary, volume information.
What tool, if any, do you use to generate these?
As to submitting info in 12 other places--rubbish. Info has to be entered only once, in the copyright clearance submission form. That info is carried over to when the finished book is uploaded for WWing, at which time the uploader can make corrections to the info.
9) A clean, fun, positive-feedback way to submit books to PG, such that
Take a look at what epubmaker does, for instance. people WANT to submit books to PG, rather than do so grudgingly. A brass band, maybe? There is something seriously wrong when it is easier to submit a book commercially to Amazon than donate one's work to PG.
10) A clean, fun, easy, robust way to preview and "smooth read" one's work and formatting and "conformance to standards" testing before submitting it to PG. How (and why) is PG supposed to provide smooth-read facilities to submitters?
Again, I have tools that I can use on my end that work pretty well for me in this regard, but then PG won't allow me to use these tools, and instead requires me to down-grade my efforts to their "standards." The "guess what will happen" aspect of epubmaker is a particular pain.
Independent producers are expected to proof/SR their submissions, and make sure they meet PG's standards, before uploading. (Those standards are well documented, but whether you like them or not, or are willing to meet them or not, is up to you.)
The "World of Al" is one where the high priests preach an unchanging world with an unchanging religion where nothing can change, and nothing can get better. It must always remain the same. Certainly "well documented" is total BS as many conversations here have discussed. One *might* be able to find a particular piece of documentation somewhere on some PG or DP server if one knows about it to begin with, but one will find that the documentation(s) contradict each other everywhere. And unless you know in great detail what you are looking for to begin with, you will never find the documentation.