Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip: The Importance of the Review Copy
Welcome to Ron’s Tuesday’s Tip. Every Tuesday I will share a tip with
you. This week is about:The importance of the Review Copy.
Let’s use your imagination for a
moment. You’ve written your book whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. You’ve
taken advantage of built-in spelling and grammar checkers; you’ve spent hours
check your book and now have an error free book. You submit your book to KDP
and it passes all their tests and is published.
You get your copy of the published work and decide to read it. As you read your book errors start popping up.
“Oh no!” you cry.
Your published work has errors!
The good news is that on KDP you can
edit the content and republish. But it may cost you hours or days and meantime
you have an imperfect book on sale.
I’ve been there. I have learned the
hard way that errors can slip by you. This is one of the main arguments for
hiring a proofreader. But if you can’t afford a proofreader what can you do to
protect yourself?
Order a Review Copy of your book before
it is ever published. I used to favor simply reviewing the book online. But now
I believe that such an action is flawed. There is something unique about
holding a copy of your book in your hand. For one thing it relaxes you. Instead
of being a writer checking your work, you become a reader.
Now that you are relaxed, you read your
book the same way you’d be ready anyone else’s book. And your mind is not
pressured. As you read minor errors that you might not have detected online
popup. So you take a pen or pencil, mark the error and the page prior to moving
on.
Later you go back, find the errors and
edit them. The result will be more errors removed. If you have the time you
might want to start at the beginning and reread the book, this time using a
different mark to indicate errors. You might read the book three times!
The idea is to remove as many errors
as is possible. Hopefully by the third time you’ll find very few errors or none
at all. It might not be as good as a professional, but it will produce a book
with less errors and have a more professional look and feel.
Why must I go through all that
trouble?
It’s really quite simple. You are the
writer and your mind knows what you meant. So every time you read your story
your mind is involved. It is comparing what you actually wrote and what it
knows you meant. And, unfortunately, it often superimposes what you meant to
say over what you just read. That results in you missing the error.
To fight this tendency, you have to be
very careful. A professional proofreader hasn’t read your book before and has
no previous idea of what you meant. So, it is easier for them to pick up on the
errors.
Because of that, you need to be
proactive and devise ways that fight this tendency and enable you to read,
proof, and edit without that subconscious battle. As an editor with TR Writing
Service I use the proof copy. I don’t have the subconscious battle going on
because I didn’t write the story. However, I may have assisted in the writing,
in which case the problem could reassert itself.
But whether I’ve written it or not I
learned the hard way that the printed copy is far more effective than the
online preview. The reason is obvious to me. When reviewing the copy online I
am tempted to skim over portions. I am ready to publish, and I get impatient.
But if I use a printed copy, I must be patent for it to arrive and then to sit down
and read it.
In addition, it gives me a better look
and feel of the whole book. I can see the cover and how it looks plus I can view
all the content! In that way, I get to see an overall view of the book and spot
things I wouldn’t have spotted online. It makes a big difference.
Remember, when doing anything by
yourself you MUST do more!
It is the cost of being independent
and on a budget.
For information on TR Writing Services contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.
We have a Free booklet telling you about our services. And we are upfront on
our prices (all are low).
VISIT MY AUTHOR’S PAGE TODAY: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.
ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? I am
always looking for book reviews. Whether it is Perished The World That Was
(Book One), World of Noah and the Ark (Book Two), World of Shem
(Book Three), World of Abraham (Book Four) or Death Ship (Book One), Pauline A New Home (Book Two), Task
Force Hunter (Book Three), Black Death (Book Four), or Rise of
I.C.E.S. (Book Five), I value your reviews.
If you would like to review any of these books contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. An example of an
appropriate subject line would be: ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ In the email
make sure to indicate your email address, your name, and the choice of copy
(PDF or ePub).
– – – – – – –
R Frederick
Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing
Services providing help to struggling and/or new
authors to write and publish their books. In addition he is the author of
several books and is best known for Christian Historical and Speculative
Fiction. For more information on him or his books visit his Amazon Authors Page. He is also
co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books where his books are featured. To reply to any blog you have the
option of commenting on a blog and/or sending an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. You may also be interested in his Facebook page at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.
