I Found a Mistake in My Book!

I’ve been overwhelmed lately. The type that borders on unhealthy. It got bad enough that I skipped a family trip to the mountains. Just didn’t have the energy, and my nervous system was so out of whack, I needed to force myself to do nothing.

Since launching the Kickstarter, it feels like the world won't stop talking to me. Promote more. Prep for that podcast. Answer your clients. Finish that edit. Be everywhere. Be perfect.

This is usually when mistakes happen.

I found one just the other day.

For the layout of Self-Editing for Comic Book Writers, I taught myself Affinity Publisher, which mostly meant googling my way through every problem as it came up.

Last month I ordered a physical copy, proofread the book, fixed the usual typos, and changed the gray background on a few pages. I generated another PDF. Looked perfect.

But I’ve learned never to trust a PDF, so I ordered another printed proof. Two weeks and $10 I didn’t want to spend, but it’s an important step, so I did it.

I flipped open the second proof copy and immediately saw it: a hairline of white bordering every gray page. I went back to the PDF. Looked fine. Went back to the file and there it was, invisible until paper made it visible. The background didn’t reach the crop line.

Readers notice, even if it’s a small thing or when they can't say why something feels off. Doesn’t matter if it’s a typo, a misaligned graphic, or a color that doesn’t quite reach the edge of the page. Readers notice.

I get it. Reading on a screen saves time and cuts costs. But your brain fills in gaps automatically. It’s muscle memory from having read it so many times already.

Print catches what screens hide.

That’s why you always print your novel, comic, or short story.

Read it again on paper.

Look, this tip is barely a footnote next to what's in the rest of my book. But proofreading a printed copy has saved me many, many times. (There’s a typo in one of my earlier comics. It’s the only one I published without a printed proof copy.)

If a footnote's this useful, imagine what the rest of my book covers.

Self-Editing for Comic Book Writers. Only 7 days left on Kickstarter. (Hardcover tier just went up for those who want their reference books a little more durable.)