The First Proofs are in

When I began this blog, I promised a peek into the process of CAD book creation. Well, I have been quite the last few weeks because I have been busy... ehem.... creating CAD books. :-)

Well, I started getting proofs back.In the old days, you would literally get a printed proof to review. These days we get a PDF. The PDF looks like the final page will look in the printed book. It is the first time I "see" what the final pages will look like. The publisher has changed a few things this year. There are some new header graphics and slightly different fonts. But the big change is that the books are going to 8 1/2" x 11" trim size. I am not sure how I feel about the new size yet, but everyone else seems to like it and think it is a good thing, so we'll see.

In the image I have posted here, you can see a bit of the process. Basically, I scroll through the PDF document and look for items that need to be fixed. This is my last chance, so if I miss somethign in the proof, then you guys email me about it. :-)
The newest Acrobat has some nice text editing and proofing tools, so the process is pretty easy, if I see something, I just add the edit directly in the page. I can also highlight items or add callouts to explain changes I need. Right now I am working pretty closely with the compositor to get the figures right. They are currently coming out too light and too large. They are working on it and will send an updated proof when they have the changes made. Once we get a final proof that we all like, I "sign" off and that's it. That chapter is ready for press.
Now we just have to repeat for every chapter before we can actually GO to press...

So, with that, I must get back to writing... Cheers.