Perfectionism - what a curse

[Doreen Peri]

I've ordered 4 different copies of the book already. I keep finding mistakes inside of it and have to fix them and reupload the file. I've tried Cafe Press but I didn't like it as well as the Lulu product because the Lulu product has white pages. The Cafe Press cover print was nicer though. I'm driving myself crazy. lol... I have tried 2 of my own photos for the front cover but they don't look right on the Lulu cover (which is the choice for the book). For some reason their output device makes them look pixelated but they aren't pixelated. Sighhh....

I'm in process of searching for the perfect royalty free photo for the front cover which I will purchase. One more edit to the inside as I found 3 typographical errors last night when I reviewed the inside again. Then I'm done. If it ain't perfect, hell, then it ain't perfect. I gotta get this book to you guys. It's a great book. I've taken WAY too long. Many apologies.

I hate it when I am such a perfectionist. It truly is a curse. Ugh.

[judih]

perfectionism seems to be the most suitable trait for editing a first anthology. I think you're working at the perfect speed. Can't rush a good product.
If it were the net where we could leap back and edit or re-post or any number of blooper retractors, it would be fine to zoom along. When it's print, however, and there it'll be proudly read and lovingly held by greedy eyes, a well-surveyed pre-production is what we all hope for.

Thank you, Dor. You're the perfect one to get this out.
Too bad about the cover photos not working on Lulu. I guess this is the only way to learn what's what and what's available on the market for publishing.

And again, much appreciation to you for taking this on, especially with your new babysitting shifts with Myla.

[Doreen Peri]

Well, I found a couple of extra spaces in the bios which I had to remove for one thing and then as I'm re-reading them, I'm realizing that some of the info is out of date. Some mentioned the age of their children, for instance. By the time I get this thing published, they may be 10 years older. They're definitely older than they were when I got the bios. And some say where they live but I know they moved and don't live there any more. LOL! Oh well.

You're a dear for being so supportive, judih! Thank you so much!

One thing I've always known being in the business I'm in is that you can't proofread your own work. Not that this is my own work but the typesetting is and some people did make some errors which I had to correct like misspellings etc. So, frankly, I'm not surprised I've had to get several of these to review them several times prior to finding all the mistakes and I won't be surprised if I miss a few, either.

I'm just a little embarrassed that it's taking so long. But you're right, with my new responsibilities as cyber godmother for Myla along with floods and thieves and trips to right and left coasts and my regular work, well everybody will just have to accept it. I really hope they like it when it's finally finished and I have my fingers crossed that this is the last edit.

Thank you, judih!

[Doreen Peri]

oh one more thing... I used to get raised eyebrows from my printshop when I told them I wanted to fix this thing or that before signing off on the final proof. "Nobody will even notice! are you kidding?," they'd say. That's really what I mean by the curse of striving for perfection when it comes to this type of thing. I'm cursed with trying to make it perfect. It will NEVER be perfect. And nobody will probably notice the little tweaks I'm making.... except ME so I guess that's why I feel so cursed.

[mnaz]

No hurry, Doreen. Thanks for your sustained effort and care, that's all.... getting a book out is no small task.

Lulu has better pages and inferior photo capability.... hmmm... that's a bit of a quandary...

I think I'll stick with Lulu for my own work... and you have a good idea... order a trial run copy for final check(s)... Makes sense.

Now I just have to learn how to upload the file(s), etc...

[Doreen Peri]

mnaz... Here's my assessment after doing this for 2 copies from Cafe Press and 2 copies from Lulu.

Lulu's interior page quality is way better. They have white pages which is what I wanted. Cafe Press only has beige pages for perfect bound and they're not really beige.. they're almost yellow.. way too dark for my taste, at least for a book that includes artwork. Lulu's pages are also thicker with way less bleed through from the page before. I like the product a lot! The interior b & w photography and artwork printed very nicely!

I liked the Cafe Press front cover better than the Lulu front cover with the photos I had selected but the Lulu front cover is fine... it's a better quality cover stock, in my opinion. Their output device just didn't print my cover photo well so I changed the photo. I bought a photo today which (fingers crossed) is better and higher resolution so hopefully this will work.

The problem I've had with Lulu is it's very difficult to manage your files. I have uploaded several (I think.. 8.. haha) revisions of the interior text and you can't manage the files there. You can't delete the older versions you have corrected because "they are associated with a project" but that makes no sense because if you have changed the content they are no longer associated with the project.

Cafe Press has a much more user friendly file management system. You can delete your old files very easily. I might use them as a proofing method to purchase books as proofs, write on them, change the file, etc, until I get a final product and then upload the finals to Lulu.

Sounds sorta complicated but hey, that's 'cause it is... lol... this is all a learning process and none of the sites are absolutely perfect. But it's great we have this technology, so I'm not going to complain!

I'm uploading what I hope to be the final files right now as I type this. Then I will order another one and if it's CLOSE to being as perfect as I can get it, I'll announce it. It takes about 10 days to get the book once I order it so it'll be another couple of weeks probably. (I know i've said this before.. ugh... I'm trying!)

Thanks so much for your patience and I'm looking forward to owning a mnaz book one day soon! I hope you like this book. You have a few pieces in it! thank you thank you!