This week I am proofreading the galley proofs — the typeset text — of Thieftaker, book I in the Thieftaker Chronicles (due out from Tor Books in July of this year). This is the author’s final step in the production process for any book and, to be perfectly honest, it’s not exactly my favorite thing to do. I mean, I enjoy reading my books after I finish a first draft, even though I’ve read through every page again and again during the writing of the book. I even enjoy reading the book after I’ve revised it, and again after I’ve been through edits with my editor. By the time I’m reading it for copyedits, I’m a little tired of it. And reading it for proofs . . . well, let’s just say that the thrill is usually gone by then.
But this time around reading the galleys is a little special, and it’s not because this book is SO good that I can enjoy reading it for the fifth or sixth or tenth time. To be perfectly honest, the reading itself is feeling just a bit tedious. But Tor has done such a wonderful job with the production of this book that I am thrilled by what I’m seeing. The book feels as much like a 18th century volume as any book could. Little touches, like chapter numbering that looks like it was written with quill and ink, small touches around the page numbers, artistic touches on the title page and in the other front matter. The book is stunning to look at, and I am thrilled.
Every book is type set in its own way. Some books don’t really lend themselves to anything special. Because Thieftaker is a historical novel, there were a few things Tor could do, and the Tor production department went out of their way to do all of them. I’m more grateful to them than I can say.