When you create your formatted digital book, do you also take the time to proof the final output? Many of you would say “Of course I do. I use the online preview apps and my book looks great.” Unfortunately, that may not be true. Here’s a story I ran across on the web today, and though she has more information regarding her self-publishing journey, what really caught my attention was the lack of proofreading when formatting e-books — even for top selling books.
Diane Duane wanted to have international editions of her Young Wizards novels. With her publishers owning the digital rights in the US and Canada, that meant she would have to learn to professionally format her books and distribute to everywhere except the US and Canada.
She decided to use a cross-platform distribution company. Although the formatting process was easy and straightforward, she discovered the company has one serious snag. Due to the territorial restrictions attached to the works, the company did not have a mechanism to control territory distribution — meaning, she could not prevent the ebooks from being sold in the US and Canada — which would put her in direct violation of her contract agreement.
After a thorough investigation of her online options, she finally realized her only option would be to take on the role of an e-book store. She spent a lot of time formatting and proofing her manuscript for digital distribution. She also purchased a Kindle for quality-control purposes. Just because the Kindle-for-X apps display the book in what appears to be correct formatting, she just wasn’t sure in her “gut of guts” — and she was right.
Using the Kindle Tool
Having a Kindle is a useful tool. It allows the author to find errors that are missed on the computer, especially when displayed on the Kindle in the larger text size.
A perfect example of the need for proofing is Mosse’s Labyrinth. Reoccurring formatting errors that would be easily be corrected for a printed book, are not for the e-book simply because no one took the time to view it on the Kindle e-reader device. For a book that spent several weeks on the NYT bestseller list this lack of professional formatting is inexcusable. But beyond that is loses readers.
Final Proof
When I create a project, whether it be a book cover or newspaper ad, I always proof the work several times prior to printing. This includes printing the piece from my in-house printer and reading each word carefully. For color printed projects, I request a color-key proof from the commercial printer. This is a laminated color proof that shows exactly how the job will look when printed. And 100% of the time, what is displayed on my computer screen does not match the final output. (This doesn’t make the project wrong – it simply shows the computer monitor displays colors differently that how they will actually print. An great example is viewing the same web site from different computer. The color will display slightly to dramatically different on different computers.
So when creating your book for e-reader devices, it would be wise to view your final proof on the device it is created for. While only previewing apps are good, they are NOT the e-reader device, and there cannot display exactly as it should; therefore, to protect your good name and the possibility of losing readership, make the investment into a Kindle and proof you work.
