The Proof

At my request my publisher, CK Books Publishing, is using Create Space to create my second novel, Out of Darkness.  I self-published my first novel, Murphy’s Troubles, with Create Space in 2013 and was astonished at the quality of the book.  I also like how easy it is to order my own copies of the book and find the pricing from Create Space fair; I am able to retain 65%.

After the editing is completed and the cover meets Create Space specifications the next step is to order a proof copy of the book.  There are two choices, either order a hard copy or download a pdf file.  Create Space recommends ordering a hard copy proof for the first proofreading.  This week I ordered a hard copy proof of Out of Darkness.

Receiving a proof copy of my novel is exhilarating.  This is the stage where all the hard work comes to fruition.  The day I received my proof of Murphy’s Troubles I ripped open the box and there it was smothered in bubble wrap.  I took it out of the box with great care.  I fanned the pages and admired both the paper color and the font.  A book, I’ve written a book, I thought.  It took me three days before I could calm myself sufficiently to begin the hard work of proofing the copy.

The most important reason to proofread from a hard copy is that it is easier to actually “see” those little things that must be changed to have a high quality publication.  It’s just not the same as reading a pdf file on your laptop or tablet.

The process for Out of Darkness is different.  I’ve hired a professional proofreader and will relinquish the task.  I was embarrassed that even after three separate proofs with Murphy’s Troubles, re-reading last year to prepare for a book discussion group I found 46 errors.  It wasn’t perfect.  For a small fee I corrected those errors and re-published the book.  I gave away my remaining copies of the error latent version, explaining to readers that they would find errors.  It is worth every penny to have a professional proofreader correct Out of Darkness.