Getting a proof
Now that your book has been proofread and the corrections made, it is almost time to print your book. But wait, there is one more thing you need to do: you need to get a proof. A proof is a printed version of what your book will look like. This is the first chance you will have to hold the physical product in your hand. Once you receive your proof, you will need check a few things against the PDF you sent to the printer to make sure that everything is correct.
The final checklist
The items on this checklist should be checked against the final PDF of your book.
Cover checks
- The artwork and colours are correct and look good.
- The barcode and ISBN – make sure that they are the same as on the copyright page.
Front cover
Title
Sub-title
Author name
Spine (this one often gets skipped)
Back cover
Blurb
Author bio
Photo credit
ISBN (check whole number, not just final digits)
Shouts
Logos
Interior checks:
The pages are correct and in the right order.
The artwork and colours are correct and look good.
Title and subtitle
Half title and title page match cover
Logos on the title page
Imprint information
ISBN (check the whole number, not just final digits)
Cover designer name
Correct date
Correct copyright
Correct imprint
Preliminary content
Dedication
Foreword
Contents page – page numbers
Compare contents page and chapter heading/authors
Main content
Paragraphing
Paragraph breaks
Indents
Running Heads
Chapter Headings
Spacing and layout of chapter headings
Acronyms
List of acronyms
Artwork
Captions
Photo credits
Tables and figures
Alignment top and bottom of page
Margins
Font size
Widows and orphans
Endmatter
Bibliography
Index
Author Biography
Appendices
Notes
Acknowledgments
Once you have worked through your checklist, you are ready to give the go-ahead for printing. Please note that at this stage you should not be making major content changes to your book. This should have been done at the proofing stage because major changes at this stage can be very costly.
At Staging Post, we do all of this for you, so you don’t have to worry about it. The experts in our production team know what to look out for so the proof is checked thoroughly ensuring a perfect print run.
