Amicus Curiae -- Processing for Print

     My 20th book, "Amicus Curiae," has been sent up to be processed for print. What that means is, it will be slapped together and made into a book. I submitted both the manuscript and the cover. My work isn't done, however. When Ingram Spark receives it, they'll make it into a printable book format and let me know the proof is ready for approval. I'll download the file, review it, and then approve or deny it. I'm pretty sure I will approve, but there have been times when I had to say no because I had made a mistake (or twelve) in the design.

    This time, I went over the interior three or four times while I was writing it. I went over it again just now, and though I've done all that hard work, when it comes back to me in printed form, I know I'll find even more mistakes. The cover should be fine. The book is 312 pages. I said it was 316 to allow some wiggle room in the cover template. When they send it over, I'll review it to ensure everything is properly aligned, not upside down or backward. 

    The way it works is simple. I sent up the manuscript and cover, and they put it together. They ask me to approve it, and when I do, I request a single copy to be printed and sent to me. This allows me to review it and identify any corrections I might have missed while staring at the computer screen. Looking at it as a book is so much different than looking at it on the screen. The texture, the physical book itself, and the font appear significantly smaller in real life than they do on my computer. I definitely need my glasses!

    When I review it, I find grammar, spelling, and spacing issues that I missed. Sometimes I see entire blank pages! I did take care of that, actually - I discovered how to view the book in thumbprint format before sending it up - makes all the difference in the world. I wish I had known this a few books back! I seriously did not know I had that option in Word. I do! I do have that option. I imagine there are more options that I still don't know about. At least I have Grammarly on my side.

    So, it will be a day or so before I am able to approve it. I will order it, have it expedited to me, and I'll correct it. The book should be available for print and purchase on Amazon around October 1, and I'll follow up by paying for the eBook to be produced shortly after. That's the only thing I can't do for free, really -- the cover and manuscript (Canva and Adobe) have small fees associated with them, but I paid over $2700 for a book to be published once, and they only allowed me to make a certain number of corrections. When I paid for the editing, it didn't work out for me. I'm so so so happy to have Ingram Spark on my side now.

    I'll keep you posted. It feels really good to send one up, but it's sad too, because it means the story came to an end. This one, I can spoil a little bit and say, the good guys win. You knew that, right? 

Photo Credit: This is what Crit Waters looks like, the young man accused of murder. (I used Adobe Firefly to create the image)