We all mistakes. Some we can quickly rectify. Some, no one ever has to know about. When you make a mistake on something that others have paid for, the mistake must be owned and corrected. If I made a mistake on work I did for a client that cost her money, I would stand by my work and offer to make up for it in some way.
Recently I made the mistake of approving the proof of the cover of my new book without noticing an error. I didn't made the mistake; but since I signed-off on the proof, the ultimate responsibility lies with me.
Here is a test. Take a look at the two book covers below for The Mommy Orphanage. Spend a few seconds on the cover on the left, and then on the one to the right. Can you spot it?
I couldn't see it at first. It was one of those optical illusions; since your mind knows what the word is, you don't notice at first that the spelling is wrong. Your mind completes the word for you.
Yes, I'm speaking of the title!
Needless to say the artwork at the printer has been corrected and books now ordered are correct, but a handful did get shipped out with the error. I have been able to track down around half of these and send out replacements. Like I said, I stand by my work and would not want anyone who paid for a copy of my book to get anything but the best quality book possible. If you know anyone who received a "bad" copy of the book, please have them contact me.
Admitting that we make mistakes can be painful, but good customer service should never be avoided, even if it means admitting to an embarrassing thing like a typo in the title of your book.
Comments