There has been with the publication of my novel. The paperback copy of the book arrived last week. I was thrilled to finally see my novel in a tangible form. The book looked great and had a nice feel to it but… I thought the version of the front cover I had approved was the one to the right. On it you can clearly read the words a novel etc. However on the front of the paperback the colour was rather darker and the word a was invisible. It seems I agreed to this some time ago before the final cover spread was prepared for printing.

I was sure the version I had accepted was this one but if you look back to my post called Cover Spread you can see, just, the difference. I just could not let it stay with such a bad mistake. Fortunately as I have opted for print on demand it can be corrected and the final version will have all the words visible if partly obscured.

The mistake shows two problems, one is trying to compare colours on the computer. Even if you print a copy, as I did, there can be differences in the depth of colour because of the different printer and ink levels. The other is the ability we all have to read a sentence or even a paragraph when part of the letters are concealed. I have learnt a lesson that one needs to be extra careful when agreeing to any part of the process that turns a manuscript into a book.