Sticky notes a-plenty!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Just a very quick post today – the proof copy has come back for No Quarter, the second book in my Ambeth series, and so I’m focusing on one last read-through before hopefully, publishing by the end of this week.

I would recommend to anyone using Createspace or any other print-on-demand service, to invest in a hard copy proof. Already my pages are full of sticky notes – corrections to words, sentences or even how the text sits on the page. While you can look at something onscreen and get an approximate idea of how it will look once printed, it does not compare to actually holding the book in your hand and reading the printed pages. I spend a lot of time going through my proof copy, not only to pick up any missed indents or minor typos that escaped my 80496th edit, but also seeing how the text sits on the page. I try and eliminate ‘widows and orphans’ wherever possible (not actual widows and orphans, because that would make me an evil person). Instead, I mean a single line of text at the top of a page, or the first line of a paragraph starting at the bottom of a page. I can’t completely avoid them but, by carefully manipulating the text, I can remove most of them.

I’ve also had a bit of trouble with the cover on this one, as my design has been cut off at the outer edges. When I measured the book, I realised that it’s been trimmed about an eighth of an inch too short, which seems to be where the problem lies. So I’ve emailed Createspace and am in the process of getting it all sorted out. Once again, another good reason to invest in a printed proof.

Righto, better get back to work!