Checking Your Proof
This is your last chance to catch errors and make sure your book is what you want it to be. This is not the time to rewrite, rethink, redo but it is the time to re-read and make sure everything is the way it should be. This is also the time to make sure the cover reproduces well and that the back of book text is error free.
Here is a list of things to check on your proof:
Cover
• Make sure the title is spelled correctly.
• Make sure the placement of the title is correct and that the cover image is centered.
• Make sure the ISBN is correct
• Make sure the price is correct.
• Proofread the back cover text one last time. This is one of your most important sales tools, don't let it be produced with an error.
Spine
• Double check that the title and your name are correct on the spine.
• Make sure the spine text is centered and won't be cut off.
Text
• Make sure the margins are correct and that text is not being lost in the gutter.
• Check to see that the fonts reproduced correctly and are easy to read.
• Check the headers and footers. If you miss a typo here, it's reproduced on every other page or every page throughout the book.
• Check to see that chapter headings and table of contents headings match and that TOC page numbers are correct.
• Make sure photos and illustrations reproduce correctly and appear in the correct positions.
• Double check captions and make sure they appear with the correct art element.
• Check tables, computations, etc. to make sure they are correct.
Before you approve the proof ...
• Read through the whole book one more time to see if you've missed anything whether you're sick of it or not because you'll feel a lot sicker if your book is printed with errors you could have prevented.