Proof Positive

The proof for my new book arrived today!

For those who aren’t hip to the lingo, a proof is the physical copy of your book that you get, so that you can check for printing errors and give the book a good look before making it available in paperback form. It has the cover art and all of that, so it’s really the first chance that you have to hold your baby book in your arms and look at what you’ve created.

There are issues with my proof. Little things that I have to fix here and there, but for the most part, I’m pretty happy with it. I chose “cream” paper instead of “white” this time, which I think was a good call. It’s easier on the eyes and looks more like the rest of the books on my shelf. I liked white paper for my other books, because I thought it seemed cleaner and crisper, but the cream feels right for this one.

In terms of font, I went with Book Antiqua this time. I know that it seems like you’d just use whichever font you happened to land on when writing a book, but it took me a while to finally settle on this one. It has a nice classic look to it. It’s easy to read. It’s not too showy.

One of the other elements that I had to put some thought into was the chapter numbers. Did I want to spell out “Chapter One” or simply put in a “1”? For this book, I opted for the simple number headers, with a drop shadow. I was worried that the shadow would look cheesy, but it actually came out pretty nice.

There are small things here and there that I need to fix. Some programs automatically add hyperlinks when you type out a URL, so I have to go through and make sure that there are no hyperlinks in the file that I’m using for the paperbacks. I also have to fix some of the wording in the copyright information. And this is why we get a proof… If you go through the process (and you don’t have “people” for this sort of thing) make sure that you look at all of the little details once you have the book in your hand. What you missed on a computer screen could look a lot more obvious on paper.

 

You can look at the paperback copy of Freedom/Hate yourself, when it goes on sale on April 19, 2016. If you’d prefer to read the digital copy, you can pre-order the book now by clicking here.

Author Profile : Erin Lale

Every so often, I hope to spotlight some of the other authors out there, both with book reviews and with author profiles. Profiles are made up of basic information about the author, giving readers the information that they need to find and follow the writer in question.

(This is the first author profile on my blog. Don’t be surprised if the format changes a bit over time)

 

Author: Erin Lale

Erin is a writer of science fiction, nonfiction, among other genres. Her latest project is a Viking-themed anthology called No Horns On These Helmets, for which she not only serves as writer (along with several other authors), but also as the book’s editor.

Her short story, Woodencloak, appears in the book. It is the retelling of the classic Katie Woodencloak folktale.

Hear Erin talk about the her work on Freedomizer Radio’s Proof Negative on Thursday, March 17, at 8:00pm pacific time.

 

For more information on No Horns On These Helmets, CLICK HERE.

For more information on Erin Lale, visit her AUTHOR PAGE.