A Tip from Tony!
PROOF READ! EDIT! PROOF READ! EDIT!
Hey guys. It’s been a while since I did one of these but my hand has been forced. We run across this all the time and normally it’s just part of this business, but recently, there seems to be a huge increase in folks not proof reading or editing their comics before they submit them to us.
I don’t know if some super, secret, chemical company or some spiteful aliens from another world have been messing with our drinking water but, it’s gotten a bit crazy around here with page substitutions. There is a page substitution fee for all these changes we have to make but, we don’t want you putting the kids through college with them either!
I’ve said this elsewhere but it deserves repeating. Get as many people as you can to proof read your comic before you gift-wrap it. Get your mom, your best friend, your dog, your senile aunt…anybody! It really works and the more eyes you can get to look at your work; the less chance there is of running into us having to stop the flow of production on your book.
One trick that is very helpful and is something that is used by professional proof-readers is reading your book backwards. This way, your brain doesn’t get caught up in the flow of the story and it’s just reading words. As awkward as it may seem…it really works. Our brains tend to follow patterns and despite how much you think that you’re concentrating on spotting errors, your brain is marveling at your cool as all-hell storytelling. You need to mess with the brain and read that baby backwards!
We here at Ka-Blam completely understand the last minute decision to make it to a convention and the need to push the envelope to get your book printed in time but, you still need to get some eyeballs on those pages. We can do our best to be accommodating for last minute requests yet,we can’t break the laws of physics to get your book to you on time if we have to stop the flow of production.
We’re all comic creators here and we completely understand how the adrenalin and excitement takes over as you are ready to get your baby printed but, you really need to make editing and proof reading your book a very important part of the process.
Play Nice!
Tony
Great tip, Tony! You are right, the more eyes the better. I missed several basic misspellings in the last book, so I think I’ll take your advice and read it backwards. Good idea.
Thanks, Taylor. You’ll be amazed at what you can catch proof reading your book this way. I’m horrible at editing my work. I need quite a few eyes to peep at my pages but, proof reading it backwards has cut their task down quite a bit. :)
Tony
Tony is “RIGHT ON” with the reading backwards tip. I’m just about the worse speller in the world and this backwards reading thing has saved my butt many times. But on top of that, I get my wife, the best speller in the world, to proof it again. So I guess what I’m trying to say, if you can’t spell in the first place, reading it backwards might not help after-all :) Joking!!! So… Proof it! Proof it! Proof it. Forward! Backwards! Upside down!!! Whatever! AND like Tony said, after the initial setup, “There is a page substitution fee for all these changes we have to make”.
Thomas @ Ka-Blam
“With enough eyes, all bugs are shallow. ” -Linus’s Law
Seriously, get as many of your best men as possible on edit duty. This really can make a huge difference in quality. I’ve picked up comics so riddled with blatent typos that I felt like I wasted my money. One heavily implied that the creator was dyslexic; I have no issue at all with learning disorders, but they aren’t an excuse to let work go unedited.
Besides, don’t you want to give your readers the best you can for their money? You simply can’t do that without polishing your work off with some finishing touches.
By the way, Tony, I’ve noticed that your use of commas can get a bit… shall we say, creative. Keep an eye on that; your tips are far too solid to be tarnished with stray punctuation. I’m just trying to help. :)