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WHEN YOUR BOOK IS
NOT QUITE PERFECT by Dan Poynter
Normally, the arrival of a new book is a day
to celebrate just like the arrival of a new baby. Publishing a book is a lot
like giving birth and you want each to be perfect. Here is a book quality
control plan, a list of things to look for and some solutions in those rare
instances when things go wrong.
Check quantity. When the books arrive
from the printer, count the cartons. The packing slip will be in an envelope
pasted to the side of one carton. Compare the carton count with the amount on
the packing slip and Bill of Lading. Sometimes printers short-ship and
sometimes books disappear in transit. Separate the carton with the cover
over-runs and the short carton, it will be lighter. You do not want these on
the bottom of the inventory stack.
Weigh one full carton and multiply
the number of cartons. Then weigh a pallet. Compare your totals with the weight
on the bill of lading. We recently found a shipment that was off by several
thousand (expensive) pounds.
Check condition. Open random cartons and
check for damage. If the books were packed loose in the carton, the top ones
will be scuffed.
Check quality. If you find defective books, call your
printing service representative at once. Do not sell the books. They are either
salable or unsalable. Settle with the printer first. If the defect is major,
such as an up-side-down signature, the printer will offer to do the job over.
If it is minor, such as light inking on some pages, most printers will offer a
settlement; to rebate some of the purchase price. You must decide whether a
lower price will make the books salable.
If you find a significant
percentage of poorly manufactured books, do not agree to sort the good from the
bad; that could take several hours for 5,000 books. Send samples to the printer
and offer to destroy the books or return the entire batch. You have agreed to
pay for good work. You have not agreed to open each and every carton, sort the
good from the bad and repackage them.
Repairing production errors.
Every now and then it happens. Even with both the publisher and the printer
doing their best work—something goes wrong. There are so many tiny but
essential variables of paramount importance in book production that range from
the elementary (spelling the author's name correctly) to the technical (bubbles
in the cover).
Anyway, the mistake is made, the book is
wrong—what can we do now? Always, cover yourself. Make all specifications
and any changes in writing. If you make a change in a telephone call, follow it
up with a fax or letter. You may need written proof of your instructions later.
First, establish who is at fault (and who, therefore, will pay to
correct it). Here are some corrective alternatives.
Rip and tear is
the removal of a single page and the "tipping in" of a replacement. A very
narrow strip of glue is placed at the edge of the page. Done well, you have to
look closely to tell a page was tipped in. But the book must also be retrimmed.
Check your margins and cover art to see if the book will look strange if 1/16"
or even 3/32" are trimmed off all three sides.
Adhesive stickers will
correct a wrong ISBN or barcode. This is a fairly common remedy. It may be used
to correct a bar code but you wouldn't want to correct the name of the author
on the cover this way.
Rubber stamping. If your book was printed in
Hong Kong and you left this notation off the copyright page, you will have
problems with the US customs officials. Have the printer rubber stamp the
required wording for you.
Grind and rebind is used when you have major
errors (one up-sidedown signature) or have to replace the covers. The glued
binding (spine) is cut off, the covers are removed, the spine is reground and a
new cover is installed. But the book must also be retrimmed. Check your margins
and cover art to see if the book will look strange if 3/32" are trimmed off all
four sides. Grind and rebind is cheaper than reprinting the entire job but
often results in an odd-looking (unbalanced) book.
Most important, ask
your printer. They have seen it all and know what they can do to repair problem
jobs. When the damage is major, most printers turn to an outside expert.
Dunn and Company specializes in turning printing problems into good salable
books. They do everything from changing pages to changing hardcover to soft.
Contact Dunn & Co.
Dave Dunn
75 Green Street
Clinton,
MA 01510-3017
Tel: 978-368-7238
Fax: 978-368-7867
Disputes.
Occasionally something goes wrong because either the publisher or the printer
made a mistake. Here are a few things you may do:
Check with the
Publishers Marketing Association before awarding a bid. Find out if any other
members are involved in a dispute with your lowest bidder and if so, call those
members for details. If you have a dispute with a printer, call the PMA and
relay the details so you will be helping the next publisher. Being on PMA's
temporary blacklist will encourage the printer to settle with you.
You
may have the book tested by a commercial testing laboratory to determine
whether it meets industry standards. Test findings can be used to settle
disputes. One is:
SGS US Testing Company, Inc.
Jim Spry
291
Fairfield Avenue
Fairfield, NJ 07004-3833
Tel: 973-575-5252
Printing Industry Association arbitration boards exist in some areas. See
your telephone directory.
The publishing industry is fortunate to be
served by 42 ink and 12 digital book printers. These are businesses that
specialize in books; they do not print anything else. They consistently deliver
on price, service and quality. When a book turns out bad, 95% of the time it is
not from a book printer. It is because the publisher went to a local job
printer who tried to make a book.
Hopefully your books will always
arrive in perfect shape. Keep this article in your shipping area to guide you
when you receive your next shipment.
Dan Poynter does not want
you to die with a book still inside you. You have the ingredients and he has
your recipe. Dan has written more than 100 books since 1969 including Writing
Nonfiction and The Self- Publishing Manual. For more help on book writing, see
http://ParaPub.com. ©
2003
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