“Pursuit of the Golden Lily” is a new novel by R. Emery, inspired by her father's WWII POW diary. Initially documenting the author's journey to return the diary to Thailand where it was written, the Blog now follows her experiences as she self-publishes, launches the novel and reflects on topics woven into the narrative.

Monday 22 August 2016

The Last Error... or was it?

            
If you're a writer, then you probably know the angst of searching for every typo and grammatical error in your final manuscript. If you're self-published, you may also know the frustration of combing through your final proof with a fine-tooth comb, only to discover one more 'to' or 'of'' that mysteriously shows up where you are SURE it was not before. It's quite mind-blowing how a letter or a word can magically appear in the hard copy sent to you by Amazon!
Am I the only one suffering from this malaise of the unseen error? Surely not. 
But never fear, tenacity and fearlessness are here! I have meticulously scrutinized my proofs again and again and I think.... I have found all those errant words lurking in the shadows between letters on the page. I guess I could have hired a proof reader - right? I know. Next time, I think I will. It would probably cost me less than the fees Create Space has charged me for my errant ways. 
But today... I found an angel.
Her name was Amber. She answered my call at Create Space (self-publishing depot at Amazon) - it was the 3rd time I had called regarding the same error (not of my making as it happened). Amber came to the rescue... after apologizing profusely for their mistake, she offered... "Is there anything else I can do for you?" I gulped... there was ONE more extraneous word nestled innocuously where the eye did not expect it to be, rendering it invisible time and time again. A simple, two letter word that meant coughing up yet another $79. Aargh! But I so wanted my book to be perfect, to meet every publishing standard it possibly could.
"Actually," I ventured, "there is something.... "
Yes, sweet Amber snatched that word and threw it away. Hooray. I think we've got it!
Available now! Click the book button on the upper right!
Thanks for supporting indie writers.

No comments:

Post a Comment