Posted July 25, 2012 at 11:04 am
I'm a complete idiot.
So here's the story: I finally got the book done, and I sent in the digital files to the printing company I'm using for a proof. Because of the way this printing company works, they do not provide free proofs-- I have to pay for each one out of pocket. So I get the first proof and I realize I can't sell it because it's missing a page (the first half of this comic: http://www.sdamned.com/2007/03/03182007/), there are some typos, and there are some minor things I felt I could rearrange. No big deal; I fixed the problems and sent away for a second proof.
Too bad I'm an idiot!
I got a message yesterday saying that the second proof was shipped to me. As I was gleefully punching in the information to sell the book on IndyPlanet like I said I was going to do WEEKS ago, I realized that I had accidentally included a duplicate page in my files. This mistake actually showed up the first time, but the printing company caught it, told me about it, and fixed it. In my negligence, I put the mistake back in. The printing company didn't ask me about it this time, so I assume they were like me and didn't catch it a second time.
So now I have another dud copy of the Slightly Damned book heading my way, and I have to delay the release of the book on IndyPlanet for another few weeks. It doesn't take me weeks to fix the errors, but it does take the printing company a while to check the files, send an invoice, receive payment, print the book, and ship it to me (at which point the book is safe to sell).
What can I say? I'm an idiot, and I should have been more careful. But there's no use crying over spilled milk. I'm just going to have to try again. I should receive the second proof by the end of the week, at which point I will check it over carefully and take note of all the mistakes I find. Hopefully it will only be the duplicate page, which is a simple fix. Then I will re-submit the correct files and start the process all over again and wait until I can finally sell a decent version of this stupid book on IndyPlanet.
In the meantime, I'm looking into selling the dud proofs. Not to make a profit, but in order to offset some of the cost of ordering them. I've already begun talking to one of my good friends (Shardith, who also happens to be working on page transcriptions) about selling her one of the crappy versions. If you're interested in buying one of the flawed proofs, drop me a line. I'll sell the book at a reduced price and sign it for you with a personal thanks. EDIT: Two crappy books, two good Samaritans willing to buy them already! I’m rescinding my offer for now, but will put it back out there if this falls through.
tl;dr I screwed up the book twice and now its sale date is being pushed back further. Maybe it'll show up on IndyPlanet in mid-August, I dunno. I'll announce it on my journals, the news box, on Twitter, etc. when it's ready so don't bother checking and re-checking IndyPlanet for it.
So here's the story: I finally got the book done, and I sent in the digital files to the printing company I'm using for a proof. Because of the way this printing company works, they do not provide free proofs-- I have to pay for each one out of pocket. So I get the first proof and I realize I can't sell it because it's missing a page (the first half of this comic: http://www.sdamned.com/2007/03/03182007/), there are some typos, and there are some minor things I felt I could rearrange. No big deal; I fixed the problems and sent away for a second proof.
Too bad I'm an idiot!
I got a message yesterday saying that the second proof was shipped to me. As I was gleefully punching in the information to sell the book on IndyPlanet like I said I was going to do WEEKS ago, I realized that I had accidentally included a duplicate page in my files. This mistake actually showed up the first time, but the printing company caught it, told me about it, and fixed it. In my negligence, I put the mistake back in. The printing company didn't ask me about it this time, so I assume they were like me and didn't catch it a second time.
So now I have another dud copy of the Slightly Damned book heading my way, and I have to delay the release of the book on IndyPlanet for another few weeks. It doesn't take me weeks to fix the errors, but it does take the printing company a while to check the files, send an invoice, receive payment, print the book, and ship it to me (at which point the book is safe to sell).
What can I say? I'm an idiot, and I should have been more careful. But there's no use crying over spilled milk. I'm just going to have to try again. I should receive the second proof by the end of the week, at which point I will check it over carefully and take note of all the mistakes I find. Hopefully it will only be the duplicate page, which is a simple fix. Then I will re-submit the correct files and start the process all over again and wait until I can finally sell a decent version of this stupid book on IndyPlanet.
tl;dr I screwed up the book twice and now its sale date is being pushed back further. Maybe it'll show up on IndyPlanet in mid-August, I dunno. I'll announce it on my journals, the news box, on Twitter, etc. when it's ready so don't bother checking and re-checking IndyPlanet for it.
