‘Cause you don’t wanna sell hundreds, thousands, or millions of copies with mistakes in it
I remember when I got the first proof of my book from Amazon KDP back when it was called CreateSpace. It was so cool, despite the huge watermark that Amazon puts over the cover.
I always recommend clients order proofs to catch mistakes that aren’t obvious with digital files. Although not everyone wants a hard copy, most people still prefer at least paperback to ebook or audiobook, which is why it’s important to look at a printed proof before you put it on sale. Here are the six things I suggest you look at when you get your proof copy:
1. The cover
You’ll choose either matte or glossy finish for your cover, so if you decide you want the other finish when you get your proof, you can change that. Other things to look at:
- Is the title centered?
- Do the colours look right compared to the digital cover you saw? (There shouldn’t be very obvious changes here—I find Amazon also turns up the brightness a notch)
My designer asked me to film a video of the cover in natural light (yes, outdoors) so she could see whether the colours appeared properly.
If you need to change your cover after getting your proof, you can.
2. Is the paper the right shade and thick enough?
Similar to the cover, you usually only have ivory white and cream to choose from for paper colour. So if you decide you want the other paper type, you can change that.
When Madeleine Shaw got the first proof for her workbook, she said the heavy colours looked like they were bleeding through the page. She asked me to change the paper thickness to the next one up. That’s something to think about for image- and colour-heavy books.
3. Is the information on the copyright page correct?
Along with the author’s name, the book publisher’s name (if different) should be correct. BISAC categories are optional but can be useful if you plan to have your book in libraries.
Some authors think the location of printing should be on this page (e.g. “Printed in the USA”), but I say leave it out, especially if you’re self-publishing. Different countries will usually print books for their locations.
4. Interior design
Authors who don’t read usually won’t pick up on this, but look at the location of page numbers and headers (or footers). Are they too close to the page? There should be a nice amount of white space around the text, which allows it to breathe.
If your text is too close to the edge of the page, it looks like you were cramming your text to fit a smaller amount of pages. Readers’ eyes might also get tired.
You can also look for obvious things that look off regarding interior design.
5. Check page numbers in the table of contents and index, if applicable
Because the book’s page numbers don’t align with the number of pages in the book overall (due to front and back matter), it’s worth a look at the table of contents to ensure the page numbers listed match up with the page number of new chapters and other important sections.
If you have an index, check a few random words to ensure the associated page numbers are correct for various terms in the index.
6. Other errors in text
Most authors don’t do a complete read of the proof at this point because books have already gone through thorough editing and proofreading, but if you’ve got the time and are a bit paranoid about errors (because there is no such thing as an error-free book), you can do another read-through to catch any other errors that you want to change.
Need a ghostwriter, editor, or formatter to help you publish your book so you can get it in the hands of readers? Read more about my services here and contact me if you’re ready to begin!
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