In my last post, I announced that I got the proof copy of my novel, Ivory Tower, in the mail from the publisher, which was great. Proof copies let you take one last look at your book–the physical book itself–before it goes out to the world. Whether you are publishing with a big house or self-publishing, you should always look at proofs in physical form.
When I started to look closely at mine, I noticed a problem: the pages didn’t seem to fit the book!
As you can see, the title and name header on each page is cut off:
When I told Nick, my publisher, about it, he told me that the printer had used the wrong size paper, which didn’t give the interior text enough space. Problem identified.
This is why you look at proof copies!
To make sure everything looks good.
Plus, I’ve been reading it and actually have found some typos and orphans (single words or phrases left on a single page). So, having one last chance to try to make things perfect is a good idea.
Anyone else have any proof-stage horror stories? Leave them in the comments section!
Grant Matthew Jenkins 