Monday, September 25, 2017

Proof Copy--Before and After

Last Saturday, I received the proof copy of Summon the Seasons:


This is what it looked like about a week later: 



The good thing about being an indie writer is that you can make changes all the way up to the deadline. The bad thing about being an indie writer is that you can make changes all the way up to the deadline. While I did find a few typos, missing words, and other issues that really need to be fixed, the majority of the changes amount to a second line edit. (The Post-It notes on the side of the book aren't things to change, but possible pull quotes to use in promotion. The note color is irrelevant.) Unfortunately, there are some formatting issues with the front matter to fix as well.

I'm confident I can make the edits by October 5th, when Amazon needs the final version for the eBook. Those preorders should be fine. (Let's hope I'm not jinxing myself here.)  I'm debating if I want to order a second physical proof or review it online and try to get physical books for an event on October 14th. The risk there is that the books might not be formatted properly--after all, I went through multiple rounds of online reviews before I thought I had the front matter set up correctly. In the long run, however, it's probably better to do it right than do it fast.

What's your proofing process? Feel free to share it in the comments.

4 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Wow!
When I receive the review copy, yeah, it ends up looking like that. I usually have a couple months before I have to get it back to my publisher.

PT Dilloway said...

I don't usually read the physical copy; I just check the formatting.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

At least you have plenty of time to review it, Alex.

Pat, I find that when I switch formats, it helps me catch things I might not otherwise. One of the tricks of self-editing.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I can't imagine just editing through the digital copy. With a print book, you catch a lot more.

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