Tag Archive: proofreading


Proof Copies, Worth The Investment Or A Waste Of Time?

Filed under: About Writing, Uncategorized — 4 Comments
June 10, 2014

What is a Proof Copy?

On the surface it seems to simply be a regular printed copy of your book.  Nothing more, nothing less.  But when you look at the final page…

Okay?  So it has “PROOF” printed on the very last page, so what?

That one word let’s you know that you are holding an uncorrected, unedited version of a book. These are what come before even a 1st Edition of a book is created.  Before electronic books, Proof Copies (also known as Galley Copies) were what publishers would create and send out to the editing staff for corrections and proofreading.

These copies were also referred to as “Advanced Copies” and would be sent out to critics and advertisers in advance to get them fired up about the upcoming final version of a book.  The critics and company would build hype for the novel before it was released thus getting the readers anxious for the release date.

However, with Indie Publishers like Smashwords, Createspace and others, are Proof Copies even worthwhile anymore?  Do they serve any purpose?

In my opinion the answer is a resounding “YES!”

Sorry for the shout there, but this is a subject I feel is important.  First off, I will tell you right now that if you work with Kindle, Smashwords, or Createspace you will have a chance to look over your entire book right there on your computer so you can look for issues.  Basically you have an e-proof copy available.

So shouldn’t that be enough?  I cannot speak for everyone else, only myself.  But in my case I would much rather have both the E-Proof AND the printed Proof Copy to look over.  Why?  Simply because, even when reading one word at a time on the computer, errors still slip past me.  I only found them when I was actually reading the printed book.  My eyes tend to fill in or glance over problems when I’m looking at a computer screen.  These errors even got past half a dozen Beta-Readers who had the electronic version of the book.

So, for me, having a printed Proof Copy is simply another extra tool in my arsenal.  It only costs a few dollars to get one done on Createspace and to me it was totally worth it.

In the end it’s up to the individual author what they want to do.  I’ve simply shared my experience and why I find them useful.  What are some of your experiences?  I’m sure me and the other readers will find various points of view quite useful.  Leave your thoughts in the comments below and thanks for reading.

Until next time, take care everyone and keep writing.

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First Draft Completed, Next Up Proofreading and Starting the Second Draft…

Filed under: Uncategorized — 7 Comments
January 22, 2014

     Yesterday I finished the 1st draft of my second novel “The Ship”.  The word count came in at 139, 345.  A bit high I admit, but a damn sight better than what my first novel “The Bridge” came in at.  That sucker wound up in 195,000 words.  Man did that puppy need some serious editing and rewriting.  I finally got it down to 102,000 words before I finally released it.  Yeah, I practically took a chainsaw to that sucker.

      So what’s my next step?
      First up is PROOFREADING!  I’ve been lucky enough to have a trusted beta-reader who has been checking my spelling, punctuation, etc. the entire time that I’ve been writing “The Ship”.  I kept all the corrected pages she sent back and am going through them and making the corrections already.   So far, 166 of the 525 pages have been fixed on that front.  It’s been going pretty fast, but she told me a while back that she was finding a lot fewer mistakes in my writing this time around and that my style had matured.  I was very glad to hear this.  I have been trying very hard to do a better job this time around, so it’s good to hear my efforts are showing.
 After the proofreading, I intend to start a second draft.  How will this be different than the proofreading? Simple, once the grammatical errors are fixed I can re-read the story myself and start looking for unnecessary repetition of ideas/concepts, simplifying concepts, expanding on thoughts where it might help the reader, eliminating scenes or characters who do not really make a serious impact on the plot, etc.
      When I write a first draft, it’s simply to get the entire story told.  Only then can I go back and look at it from a reader’s perspective and see if it’s all making sense.  I’ll also study the pacing, the details, are the characters actions logical and  if not is there a reason, etc.  Automatically, a lot of the repairs and adjustments I make will start cutting down the word count.
      After I’ve completed the 2nd draft, I may unleash it on a few ‘trustworthy’ beta-readers to get their impressions.and feedback.  From there a 3rd draft will be made incorporating some, but not necessarily all, their ideas. Why won’t I use all of it, because I’m already plotting the next story in the series.  Some of what they talk about, might be things needed to help set the stage for the next book.  They will have no idea of this, but I do and I’m not sharing that info just yet.  I don’t want to spoil the next book in the series for them.
     As you can see, finishing a first draft is a huge accomplishment, but the work is just beginning.  There’s so much more to be done, before I release the book in its final form to the public.  There is a lot to think about in creating your novel.  NEVER publish your first draft and say “It’s perfect as it is!”  You will regret it.  Take the time to go over it and have others add their input.  But choose those editors, beta-readers, and proofreaders carefully.  You could wind up with a bunch of “Yes-Men” who offer only praise and no solid advice.
     Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have more proofreading to do.  Until next time… keep writing.

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