I just completed a study of twenty newly released ebooks just to see how far the art of ebook publishing has advanced in the last year. I choose ebooks from well-known authors, from self-publishing authors, some novels, some technical books. I wanted a variety for my study. I would like to share my observations and suggestions for their improvement.

My contention is that REAL ebooks should be a different product than their paper counterparts. They should be formatted differently; sections arranged differently and in some cases they should have different covers. In short, to be a REAL ebook, they should not be just a copy of the traditional book version.

The following is a list of certain areas that I feel need improvement; areas that you must consider when you create your ebook.

REAL ebooks Links
Rendering your ebook with links is a major step in the right direction in creating a REAL book. What items MUST have links?

1. The Table of Contents must have links to the chapter headings. Most are doing this now.
2. Author’s References – the ebook must include links to the author’s website, email address, blogs, online profiles and social networking connections (Facebook/Twitter). You need this to get your reader/audience involved.
3. Author’s Other Books – there should be links to the buy pages for other books created by the author. Why miss this marketing opportunity.

For example, in my study two of the ebooks were written by top 10 authors and published by traditional publishers. Both had a list of their other titles, provided credits for the book creation and the usual publisher information. Neither used links to assist the reader in buying other titles or helping their co-developers secure new business. One did have a link to the publisher’s web site. There was no links to the author’s website, blog, email address or social network information.

4. In book Links – the REAL ebook should have links in the content to footnotes (held in appendix), to word and term definitions and to references. For example, one project I recently worked on was a pictorial about Omaha Beach with over 50 original pictures inserted in the content. With the picture, its title and the picture credits, the content became very difficult to read. The solution was to have a link from the picture title to the picture’s credits in the back of the ebook. If the reader wanted to check out the source they could follow the link and then hit the back key on the ebook device. If the reader didn’t, they could ignore the link and continue without interrupting the reading experience.

Another example in my survey was a technical book about the publishing industry. It was a well written book with lots of good information and references. But there were no links. None! It contained lots of hard coded website addresses and email contact information. All I had to do was re-enter the URL into my web browser and I could find the source.

Actually this is a missed opportunity. One of the problems that traditional books have that REAL ebooks can solve is the maintenance of links in the books. As we know we live in an ever changing world. Web and email addresses change on a daily basis, it seems. So there I am with a link to some interesting information and the link is no good. A broken link, if you will

If the REAL ebook is managed properly, you can avoid or limit this problem. You can create an online directory of links for your ebook. Then you setup a link monitoring process and a link maintenance routine and maintain a valid list of links in the directory. I call this the Goodlinks concept. Just include a link to the online directory in your ebook and you won’t lose your audience.

In fact you can draw the reader to your site and market other products and services. Of course, the beauty of the REAL ebook is you can republish it at any time with the updated links and information.

I believe the REAL ebook can help solve the read-back problems that all readers are faced with at one time or another. I watched a reader the other day try to deal with a novel that was riddled with acronyms and abbreviations. It was getting to be such a problem that half way through the ebook, she actually started writing them down on a separate piece of paper to reference later. Here is an example. “He called USAMRIID for advice.” I give up.

Other Considerations to Ponder
Covers
Sometimes the traditional book cover doesn’t work for the ebook. In this case, size does matter. That great book cover that you had designed is going to go small. On-line distributors try to catch the eye of would-be readers with thumbnail covers. The problem is that sometimes colors get in the way, the type size and face doesn’t look good small and the art gets distorted. A professional designer can solve this problem. You need one that can make the cover work in both environments. Check with our host for this site, Joel Friedlander.

One of the other cover issues is with the effort to get the prospective reader to view a sample of the ebook; some distributors will put a label over the right hand corner of the thumbnail which obscures that portion of the cover. A good designed cover will keep important information viewable like the author’s name or even the title of the book. I saw that in my study.

Copyright
REAL ebooks should include, with their copyright notice, the page number source document for the ebook, especially if the book has various editions. This is relatively a new process but it helps readers coordinate content between the paper version and ebook. This is increasingly important in the educational environment. Students using both hardbound and the ebook versions need a reference point sometimes.

Samples
One of the current ebook marketing strategies is to allow the prospective reader to read a sample of the ebook before buying. All distributors seem to go at this sample process differently but at the end of the day they want to provide the prospective buyer with something that can help with the buying decision. Most of them use a percentage basis.

The REAL ebook concept can help with this process but there has to be a rearranging of the book’s sections if the process is automated like most of them are.

Let me start with an example. I reviewed the buy page on Amazon for each book in my study. I choose one ebook in my study and downloaded the sample, comparing it to the full length version. Here’s what I found.

The ebook sample was in the same section sequence as the paper version. I know there is a traditional way to setup a book. This sample was no exception. It started with the cover followed by the title page, the table of contents, the dedication, the copyright page and a list of the writer’s other works.

So you ask what’s wrong with this. If this sample was going to help sell my ebook, it probably failed. The sample was 80 device pages long but the viewer had to page through 24 pages before they could start reading the book to make a decision.

I believe if you are going to use the sample as a sales tool, there are some slight changes you can make. I would include the cover and the title page with an abbreviated TOC up front along with the author’s other books with buy links. Also I would include upfront the author’s website and contact information. Move the copyright page, dedications and credits to the end of the ebook.

If you get to setup your own sample, keep this in mind. REAL ebooks and their samples should give the prospect what they need to make a decision and only that. A sample doesn’t need a complete table of content. This ebook had 80 chapters which took up four complete device pages and the kicker was; the links to the last 76 chapters were no good. Make the sample simple. Get the reader to your content as quickly as possible.

Bring on the REAL ebook
In most cases, ebooks are still just copies of the paper version but there is a huge opportunity to improve the ebook reading experience. Creative book design and digital links can help us move the ebook experience forward in acceptance.

Currently we have a problem. Let’s face it. Until traditional publishers start to treat ebooks as separate products with different properties and requirements, we have not taken advantage of the digital product. Their approach is simple but self-serving. Get it out the door. Get the copy into an ebook format, charge a higher price than needed and watch the money fall to their bottom line.

The advantage should go to the self-publisher because they control the process. They have the ability to correct the problems easily and make something really special.

Seek a professional to help you through the process if you’re really serious about marketing your ebook.

What do you think about the REAL ebook concept? Is adding links to an already completed product just too much work or would it move your book to the leading edge of ebook world and improve the readers enjoyment?

View my website: HBSystems Publications
Specializing in the ebook experience
Or EMAIL at: jrm@hbspub.com
Or go to my blog: The eBook Author’s Corner
LinkedIn Profile: James Moushon
Author: Call Off The Dogs, a rendered eBook

This blog was first published at the The Book Designer by Joel Friedlander.

Joel Friedlander is a self-published author and book designer who blogs about book design, self-publishing and the indie publishing life at TheBookDesigner.com. He’s also the proprietor of Marin Bookworks, where he helps publishers and authors who decide to publish get to market on time and on budget with books that are both properly constructed and beautiful to read.

It was posted again on the Passive Voice blog hosted by the Passive Guy.
Together the two have generated over 100 comments.

There has been an increase in errors and poor formatting introduced by the new digital books compared to their pbook counterparts to be sure. So what has gone wrong? And why are these mistakes happening?

Are the self-publishing newbie authors, with their lack of experience, to blame? Does the new digital creation process introduce a new level of errors? Should traditional publishers share in the ‘error’ stigma? What lessons can self-published ebook authors learn to help fix the errors?

With these questions in mind, I took on the task of trying to figure out what is going on here. To me there is more to this than meets the eye.

If done correctly there should not be a problem. If we can spell a word correctly and have the correct tense in a traditional book, we should be able to get it right in an ebook. Formatting should be just as easy. We have been structuring the content of books for a very long time. Let’s break this down and see what we have.

Categories
Generally speaking, ebooks fall into four categories.
1. Legacy: Traditionally published paper books that are converted from paper to a digital form using OCR technology or a retyping procedure to create the ebooks. In most cases there isn’t a digital version of the book available for the source of the ebook. So the book is scanned and the spelling and grammatical problems begin.

2. Modern: Traditionally published paper books that have a digital source that can be used to create the ebook. Basically these are the books that have been published since the increase in popularity of the ebook and ebook reader.

3. Self-Published: Individual authors take it on their own to produce a paper version of their book, followed up with an ebook version. There is a level of errors added here because of the lack of resources and expertise.

4. Ebook Only: Individual ebook authors are creating content and publishing directly to the ebook format, bypassing the paper version altogether. This process is a total digital process. No paper version required. This will become more of an issue when enhanced ebooks start to take off in popularity.

The Cliff
So where do we fall off the cliff with ebooks?
1. First of all the publishers of the Legacy and Modern versions have a ‘get it out the door’ mentality. They are working the system. If they can take advantage of the new ‘ebook’ phenomenon at a small cost, the results go right to their bottom line. Why not?

“Yes we have an ebook version available of that new release but it will cost you more than the paper version until the traditional book is available. We got it to you fast, didn’t we?”

You would think the traditionals would get it right.

2. Next, the self-published version has error problems because of the lack of experience and resources to produce a quality product. Most self-publishers do not seek help from outside sources to improve the quality. This is a fatal mistake.

3. The Ebook Only version has the same problems as the self-published version plus they can be published on Amazon in a heartbeat. I can sit down today, write a 100 page ebook, upload it without any editing, with a typed-faced cover, and it will be for sale in less than a week. No need for an ISBN or copyright filed here. And there is no gatekeeper to clean up the trash. Scary.

Errors and Poor Formatting
Many mistakes occur in the writing process. This is a manual process and you will have spelling errors, grammar errors, formatting problems, incorrect line breaks and page breaks and so on.

Many mistakes occur in the conversion process. The traditional’s lack of quality control and effort and the self-publisher’s lack of knowledge is responsible. Both seem to be getting better at this however.

Retailers like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks and Smashwords do enter into the error equation. Each has their own proprietary software which produces the formats readable by our current ebook devices.

However, there is one thing to keep in mind. The retailers do not change the spelling, grammar or tense. They do not create the cover. They do not create the content. So to pass the blame or responsibility to them is a mistake. The actual publisher should take the responsibility for the quality of the ebook.

Lessons
Publishers and self-publishers need to learn lessons as their experience increases in the world of ebooks. Here is a list of lessons you should consider.
1. You need a quality control process in place. Get help if it is needed.

2. Each format you publish should be handled like it is a new product for sale.

3. There is no perfection. You must anticipate problems. For example, inserted pictures should be reviewed on a reading device. If the picture is too large, they will create an unwanted blank page on the device.

4. Proof read your ebook on a reading device and the ‘For PC’ software for each format.

5. Use the same digital file used in your pbook for the source but create a separate file for each published format. They will be slightly different for each retailer.

6. When you send/upload a file to Amazon or BN, the file should be as close to the finished product as you can get it. For example, when I published my ebook, ‘Call Off the Dogs,’ I uploaded a file in the ‘mobi’ format to Amazon and an html format to BN. Both formats required only a slight adjustment by their software to be accepted.

7. When you add value to your ebook with links, audio and video, test the add-ons on each device you will be publishing on. Trust me. Some work and some don’t.

8. Don’t forget to modify the copyright page on each edition you publish. This is a major error made by almost everyone who publishes an ebook, including the traditionals.

Food for Thought
Here are some ideas you can take away from this blog.
1. Publishers of ebooks have the advantage of correcting their mistakes after their ebooks are published. The ebook is not cast in concrete. If you find a significant error or omission, create a new version and upload the corrected copy.

2. The first two chapters (sample) must be error free. One or two title authors can get by with poor quality if their message is of interest and the marketing is superb but repeat business will drop off dramatically if the ebook is riddled with errors.

I don’t care if you have to read and re-read the first two chapters a hundred times, the sample chapters must catch the reader’s attention and they must be error free. In many cases this is the only chance you have to close the sale. Get help on this one. The more eyes the better.

3. If your fiction or non-fiction ebook just doesn’t work out structurally, it may require a complete re-write rather than ruin your reader’s opinion of you.

4. Your ebook should not be just a copy of the paper version but should be viewed as a complete new product for each new format you publish.

5. If you can’t create a good cover, get someone that can. If you can’t spell, don’t rely on a spell checker to catch your mistakes. Seek someone with the right experience that can edit your ebook for you.

6. Create a quality ebook file. At the end of the process, the file being converted by the retailer must be properly formatted for the target ebook. There should be a different file for each retailer.

7. At the end of the day, sales will be decided by customer purchases and honest reviews. Take for example, J. A. Konrath. He must be doing something right. He has published 20+ ebooks and has been quite successful. If his editing and formatting was poor, his sales would diminish drastically on each title.

Money is made by building an audience. If your ebook’s quality is poor, you will only be a one-time Charlie.

As an ebook author, what can you do to clean up your act and create better quality ebooks? Do traditional publishers have to put more effort into their ebooks? Should you get help for someone with experience or just wing it?

I have referenced below several articles I found interesting on the ‘error’ topic along with their blog sites.

A. In the Face: eBook Errors by Rich Adin – 9/16/2010 from his blog: The Digital Reader

B. Error-Free E-books Will Come “When Cars Can Drive Themselves” by Olivia Snaije -
8/23/2011 from her blog: PUBLISHING PERSPECTIVES

C. Ebook Madness: Don’t Confuse Ebook Conversion With Ebook Formatting! by April L. Hamilton – 10/20/10 from her blog: Indie Author

View my website: HBSystems Publications
Or EMAIL at: jrm@hbspub.com
Or goto my blog: The eBook Author’s Corner
Author: Call Off The DogsCall Off The Dogs, a rendered ebook
LinkedIn Profile: James Moushon

People are impressed with anyone who has completed the task of writing a whole book. There are thousands, if not millions, of people who have sat down to a keyboard to start writing a book but never finished it.

The first hurdle that most encounter is what I call the Forty-Page Block. It’s not always page forty. Sometimes it’s page twenty-five or page one hundred and twenty-five. Whichever page number it is, at some point there’s a block that separates the authors from the wannabes.

At this hurdle, many writers will simply throw in the towel and walk away without looking back.

Others will try to get around the block in this book by starting a second book. Inspired by ideas from Book One, Book Two may even be a sequel to its unfinished predecessor. Then, the writer will be hit with another inspiration too good to ignore and abandon that project to start another and then another. I once met a writer who had over a dozen unfinished manuscripts.

The Forty-Page Block stems from lost of interest in the project. Maybe the writer has a short attention span. Maybe the project isn’t worth the paperless Word Doc it’s written on. Whatever the reason, when the book ceases to be new and fresh, the writer doesn’t want to work on it anymore.

In many ways, writing a book is like a romance.

New loves are exciting: the excitement of that first date; getting to know each other; those special pains to keep your stomach tucked in; and looking for little signs to tell you if this is the one that will last forever.

It is usually about the time that your stomach starts aching from keeping it tucked in that the relationship ceases to be fun anymore. Those little signs that you thought signaled this as being the one are now starting to annoy you.

The thrill is gone. At this point, the relationship is going to take some work if it’s to make it down the aisle.

Like lovers that walk after the first fight, many writers bail the day they sit at the keyboard and the words aren’t flowing as easily as they were at the first writing session. Suddenly, this book isn’t as exciting as that sexy plotline thought of while staring out the study window.

Commitment phobic writers that want to become published authors need to stop leaving unfinished manuscripts in every folder and vow to begin a monogamous relationship with one book and one book only.

Authors that have completed manuscripts under their belts will stick to a project through thick and thin. Even when he’d rather watch the game with the guys, he’ll go to that laptop and churn out five or six pages.

When he finds himself staring at the same Word Doc that he’s been looking at for the last seven weeks and sees that it’s not looking very pretty, the author doesn’t walk away. He’ll work even harder to rekindle that flame of passion. He’ll stick with it, no matter what it takes – even if it means a complete rewrite, which it often does.

Walking away or running off with another book is no option for the true author. Yes, sexy plotlines may be more fun, and easier to work on, but those flings will only be distractions in reaching the goal of seeing this relationship to the end — that being publication.

So, if you’re a writer seeking to become the author of that one finished manuscript, I call on you now to take the plunge and make that commitment by putting your right hand on your keyboard and repeating after me:

I, state your name or pen name , take thee book title to be my published book. To compose and obsess, for rewrite and edit, in polishing and proofreading, from this day forward, until publication do we part.

You two make a beautiful couple.

First I don’t sit down and say to myself, “Self, you must come up with an idea for a story.” Instead I go about my day and wait for something to spark, then I write that spark down. I have over a dozen pages of story ideas. I look over these ideas from time to time and explore them in my mind. I’ll write down additional ideas, images, actions, themes, characters, possible titles, etc. that I think of with these, devoting a page to each major idea.

Once a page is filled up with enough ideas, then I begin organizing the ideas into a story. I think of what the most interesting threads are, and I think of other ideas that would go well with them. Once a story begins to emerge, I start a loose plot so I have some notion of where the story may begin, where it may travel, and where it may end.

Once I feel I have enough raw material for a full story, then I’ll write a very tight plot and dialogue. It looks a lot like a movie script with the major actions spelled out, a lot of the dialogue written, and the major emotions or thoughts laid out. This plot usually ends up getting restarted, rewritten, and resorted several times before it is finished. I think of it as the skeleton of the story. It tells me basically how long the work will be (so I know if it is a short story, a novel, a comic book, etc.) I also know who the characters are, what they will do, what their motivation is, what changes they will go thru, what the major conflicts are, and have a very tight story.

After all this work I’ll begin the first draft, which is handwritten. This stage usually goes pretty quickly since the story is basically written, the conflicts figured out, the characters are defined. I still make a lot of changes at this stage, but knowing the overall story in pretty good detail helps me keep everything consistent with revelations and discoveries happening at the right moments.

Once the first draft is written, then I begin the second draft which is when I type the story into the computer. Again I make a lot of changes as I go being both writer and editor. I mainly refine the story itself expanding the scenes that aren’t developed fully and cutting scenes that are too long or unnecessary.

Then I begin the editing and refining. This is mostly to work on the wording and clarify any writing, but I have been known to add a couple of chapters as this stage if the message wasn’t complete. I’ll usually make three passes thru the story correcting mistakes and working on wording so the writing doesn’t get in the way of story. I have no interest in impressing readers with my extensive vocabulary or complex sentence structure. I try to make the writing as clear and efficient as possible without getting dry. I want the writing to be so smooth it just disappears leaving the reader with unfettered access to the story.

Finally I illustrate and publish. And wallah — a new story is born!

So many self-publishing houses; so many empty promises…

In the past year since my own self-published book, The Victor, was released, I have met many authors who have gone the self-publishing route and have learned many important things that they should have given thought to but didn’t even know to ask and are now kind of “stuck” after having spent A LOT of money. There are good companies to self-publish with and some horrible ones, so “buyer beware”! There are quite a few important things you need to ask and consider before deciding on which company to go with to publish your book. Of course, it goes without being said but should be stressed again: READ YOUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS WORD FOR WORD and with your spouse or trusted friend before signing anything. Here are some other questions to ask:

1)      Who owns the rights to the final edited AND unedited manuscript versions of your book? Who owns the cover art? Who owns the copyright? You or the company that published you? Does it cost extra? Does it expire? Who owns the copyright to your book’s characters? If you cancel your agreement and you don’t own the cover image of your book, you will have to remove it from every place it has been posted.

2)      Price control of your finished product. Who controls the pricing of your book? Are you unknowingly granting exclusivity on price? See if you can find out ahead of time what they would price your book at to sell before you sign anything. If a book is priced too high it isn’t going to sell and if your cost isn’t much lower than the retail price you don’t have much discount room even if you sell it yourself. Who controls the price – you or the publisher?

3) Can the company edit your book without your permission? Again, read your terms and conditions carefully. If you aren’t sure, then take it to an attorney and have him/her go over it; it will be worth every penny!

4)      Does the company charge for editing? If so, how much per hour? Get all the details ahead of time. Someone I know paid $900 to have her book edited. The going rate is anywhere between $25 an hour to $45 an hour, or you can negotiate a flat rate. Be sure to proofread the entire manuscript BEFORE it goes to the printer, too. It is your responsibility.

5)      Is the book discounted to bookstores? Many bookstores will refuse to carry a book they can’t get at a significant discount (40%).

6)      Is the book returnable? This one is VERY important. Bookstores will not carry books that are not returnable. Sometimes the publisher will make the books returnable if you pay them a small ransom (several hundred dollars). If the book is returned, can Amazon then turn around and make money off the resale without paying you the author? You best be sure.

7)      Is your book available through a major distribution channel? Like Ingram/Spring Arbor? Will it be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.? Does that service cost extra?

8)      Marketing Services: What does the publisher charge for its marketing services and what types of services are offered? Ad campaigns, mass mailings, etc., are a big waste of money, so don’t go there. Does the publisher offer book trailers? If so, how much does a trailer cost and who owns the rights to it … you or the company? Same thing for a building you a website. Get a few examples of trailers/websites the publisher has produced before signing on the dotted line.

9)      Kindle: Is there a charge to have the book made available on Kindle format? If so, how much $$$?

10)   Review Copies: Will your publisher send out free review copies or do you have to do it yourself or pay for them?

11) How will the books be sold and distributed?

Publishing your book is only 1/3 the battle. The next thing you have to think about is how you are going to market your book. How are you going to get the word out? Did you know that 5,000+ new books are released every month? How are you going to let the reading public know about yours?

Too many authors think that if they can only get their book into print that a miracle will occur and it will fly off the shelves. Not so. Even if you publish traditionally you still have to do a lot of the networking and marketing yourself or you will only end up selling perhaps 100-200 books to family and friends. Chances are you won’t come close to breaking even on the money you have spent.

You need to find a good book marketing company – one that doesn’t promise the world and make grandiose claims. Again: BUYER BEWARE. Word of mouth is still the best way to sell books but how do you create “word of mouth?” Answer: Social media! Facebook, MySpace, Shelfari, Goodreads, Blog reviews.  It takes A LOT of work. My book has been out for little over a year and I still have new opportunities coming my way because I am constantly working at it; networking on social media has become my second job.  It didn’t hurt either that I also found a great book promo company (www.bookcandystudios.com) that helped me to build a large audience base on the social media sites. The rest was up to me and I can honestly tell you that I have 700 more “friends” than I did a year ago;  at least 100 of which I am VERY good friends  with and who have been telling their friends about MY book, The Victor. Word of mouth at its best!

Then, out of nowhere, gridlock. You’ve stopped moving. It’s bumper-to-bumper traffic and you find yourself perfectly perpendicular to Writer’s Block Rd. as the “Do Not Block the Intersection” street sign intensely glares at you. You impatiently tap your finger on the steering wheel as you hope that the light doesn’t turn red, leaving you caught in the middle of the intersection. And if the light does turn red, maybe you’ll get away with this little blunder and there won’t be traffic on the road that you are currently blocking?

Since I may have gotten a little carried away with my allegory, let me sum up and translate my point before I truly lose you.

No matter what genre of writing you do, there are going to be parts of your first draft that are weaker than others. You don’t have a perfectly consistent brain that pumps out an even stream of brilliance. You work at different times, under different circumstances, and while some of your writing may be exactly what you envisioned, there are going to be muddled parts of your text where you struggle to accurately convey your ideas. And are others going to notice? Yes.

Rather than have this thought send you into a frenzy of panic, don’t fret. Writers are often their worst critics and nothing can discourage you more than your own disappointment in yourself. So, first thing’s first: If you notice a lull in your creativity, don’t put pressure on yourself to immediately get back on track. Everything isn’t always perfect on the first try.

It’s counterproductive to be down on yourself, or your writing, if you happen to hit a bump in the road. You’re not meant to drive on Your Vision Blvd. indefinitely.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his essay “Self-Reliance,” “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Become comfortable with less productive phases of your writing journey. They’ll lead you back to stronger and more relevant ideas. You can learn from the parts of your text that you struggle with.

While the writing process doesn’t need to be consistent, you don’t want inconsistencies or other flaws to remain in your text, either.

So, how do you proceed when you’re in a Writer’s Block Rd. gridlock? The band Journey sings the song “Don’t Stop Believin,’” I say, “Don’t stop writing.” Be patient. After you’ve accepted that you’ve slowed your writing pace and you may need to revisit certain areas of your writing at a later time, make specific notes about “blocked” sections. What were you doing/thinking before your ideas started dwindling? These notes can be about your writing topic or what life circumstances were also affecting you at the time, and they don’t have to make sense; they’re just for you. Simple notes are important not only to keep you physically writing and thinking, but can also be useful when you are inspired again.

I offer three levels of proofreading services because every different piece of writing potentially needs a different type of polishing. My Level III proofreading service caters to writing that needs to be transported from the intersection of Your Vision Blvd. and Writer’s Block Rd. back to the Your Vision Highway. In addition to correcting spelling and grammar errors, I underscore, make suggestions about how to improve, and/or correct incomplete or vague sections of your text.

I love working with writers because it’s my passion to expand on and manipulate others’ ideas—making them clear and brilliant, the way the writer intended. You may have trouble explicitly expressing a concept, but a fresh set of eyes can complete your thoughts. Other times, writers may not realize that their ideas weren’t expressed in the way that they intended. An impartial reader, not the original writer, helps identify these confusing sections of text.

It’s like I always say, writers and editors go together like peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes you just need to add some peanut butter to your strawberry traffic jam.

The main difficulty in proofreading your own text is simple: you have trouble recognizing your own typos, grammar mistakes, and inaccuracies. You know what you want to say; it’s just not always communicated in your writing.

When you act as your own proofreader, you may often overlook mistakes because your eye doesn’t recognize them as mistakes. You may even finish reading a sentence without actually reading the words on the page—the sentence already sounds correct in your mind since you know the meaning it is supposed to convey.

Here are three proofreading practices that will help train your eye to catch more of your own errors.

1. Find Your Proofreader Alter Ego. The Batman to your Bruce Wayne, the Superman to your Clark Kent. You need to look at your text as though you were not the person who wrote it, but someone with a superior eye for detail who does not know what you intended to write.

After you are done with your first draft, take a break from writing and reading. Spend time doing different activities before you edit your text. It’s important to plan a break and go back to your text at a later time, rather than writing and editing in one sitting.

2. Compare and Contrast. Inconsistencies occur in fiction and nonfiction. They make your text look sloppy and are often a matter of style, rather than grammar. What superpowers should your alter ego possess to combat inconsistencies, you may ask? To start: memory.

Make mental notes of specific terms as you review your text. For example, the term “copy editing” is also often spelled “copyediting,” or “copy-editing;” “proofreader” may be written “proof reader.” Is there a character named “Ann” in your novel? Make sure the proper name is not sometimes spelled “Ann,” and other times “Anne.” Are you writing about Walmart? Do you refer to the company as “Walmart,” “WalMart,” and “Wal-Mart?” Pick one style and make sure that you use it consistently.

A similar genre of errors includes typos that are properly spelled words (and therefore not caught when you use spell-check), but are not actually the words that you intend to use. You could type “over” instead of “oven,” “of” instead of “off,” “peer” instead of “pier,” etc. The possibilities are endless. A thorough proofreading will eliminate these flaws.

3. Say What? Read your text out loud, paying attention to each word. It’s equally important to pay attention to punctuation. Your proofreader alter ego also comes in handy here. Enunciate the words and pause for punctuation as someone who has never read the text before. Is it clear?

This technique may identify sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and other abridged or convoluted thoughts. When a sentence is weak, and does not express the proper message, it is usually either incomplete or contains too many ideas for one single sentence.

To dissect your writing, pay attention to the sounds of words joined together to make up a sentence. Do the words flow naturally, or have you read for five minutes without taking a breath? Once you break it down, you’ll spot the areas that need improvement.

If you still need professional proofreading services, I’ve got my proofreader alter ego down. I’m Revision Fairy.

I did pay to have my text professionally proofread and edited, however, even then things have squeezed through the cracks. After release, I noticed an inconsistency myself among the 81,000 words, and just recently an Amazon reader commented on a few minor problems in her review.

One of my goals as a self-published author is to gain R-E-S-P-E-C-T. (Boy, I’d break out in song right now if I could!) There is so much criticism regarding poor quality with self-published authors, and I dearly wanted to stay away from that criticism. No one is complaining about the quality of my writing. A few have agonized over the ending, but it was necessary to lay the stage for the sequel.

On the flip side, I’ve also talked to a few of my readers who found nothing wrong in the text.  I guess my story mesmerized them or perhaps they needed reading glasses.

Nevertheless, at this very moment I am extremely grateful for print on demand!  I am going back to my publisher and fix the errors and inconsistencies to find R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

On a side note, I read an article in a popular writer’s magazine recently that contained a wonderful confession from a traditionally published author who corrected his book 13 times after publication before he got it right! I’m doing pretty good, I guess.

What have I learned through this process?

1. Edit your professional edits.
2. Find more eyes before submitting your manuscript to print.
3. Read over your galley proofs with a magnifying glass! Even a perfect submitted manuscript can end up with inconsistencies when your publisher puts it into a galley. My mistake was trusting. I checked to make sure it was all there, but I didn’t expect character letters to be dropped here and there.

I’m straining for perfection and respect. Now wouldn’t it be a hoot if a traditional publishing house picked it up and published it with more errors! Why do I see typos in those?  Just recently I was reading a book published by a big name house and read the word “sate” and it should have been “sat.” I’m beginning to think perfection is a goal that might be hard to reach for everyone even though many readers expect perfect copy.

Well, just a reminder to use many eyes.  I sure hope there’s no typos in this post!

Vicki