Covers of POD books are notoriously awful. Like Pod-dy Mouth, I can usually tell if a book is POD with one glance at the lousy, unprofessional cover. But now there’s proof that not all POD covers have to look like total crap…and Pod-dy Mouth found it. The cover of this book, WRITERS FOR RELIEF, is every bit as good as anything coming out of the NY publishing houses. I never would have known it was POD just by looking at it.
It’s a benefit anthology. My guess is they were able to get a real graphic designer to donate. The type most PODers couldn’t afford.
I’ve read where some PODs allow their authors to submit their own artwork for covers. And it is usually better than what the POD suggests.
Many vanity POD houses offer the option for author-supplied covers, and I’m really surprised that more don’t use photographs.
It takes more than a good photograph to make a cover look professional — it’s also about font and composition, color and contrast, and the quality of the final print.
Not only are most POD covers ugly, but the body of the books also look unprofessional. POD books seldom resemble a trade paperback from a “real” publisher in look or feel…and even the average consumer can detect the difference.
They have a number not found on regular trades to match the copver to the correct POD text. And it still fails sometimes.
Yup – benefit anthology. This includes stories from A-list SF authors Gardner Dozois, Brian W. Aldiss Stephen Euin Cobb (Bones Burnt Black), Larry Niven, Nancy Kress, Joe Haldeman, and others. No surprise they managed to scrap up a good designer for the cover.
Here’s the lulu link if anyone cares to buy:
http://www.lulu.com/content/178059
And it takes a lot more than a professionally designed – though not necessarily good – cover to make a decent book.