First, let’s find last clichés:
Going Over With a Fine-Tooth Comb— To investigate or search for with great care. Combs have been around since ancient Egypt, and some had finer teeth than others, the term “fine tooth comb” dates from the first half of the 19th century. The transfer of combing out nits to other kinds of searches took place only in the late 19th century.
Worship ground one walks on—to hold in reverent regard. This hyperbole for deep romantic feeling or great admiration has an archaic sound. Christopher Hale used it in Murder in Two (1943).
Time of My Life—An occasion of outstanding enjoyment. A colloquial Americanism term from the late 19th century which gained currency throughout the English-speaking world in the 20th century. William Saroyan used it as the title of his 1939 play, The Time of Your Life.
There’s the Rub—That’s the impediment or there’s the drawback. This might come from the ancient game of bowls, in which rub refers to the unevenness in the ground that hindered or diverted the free movement of the bowl. In late 16th century it was transferred to other kinds of hindrance. However this expression gained widespread movement through Shakespeare’s use of it in Hamlet’s soliloquy in 3:1.
So, how many did you find?
I’m going to stand my ground and say that proofing your book before publishing is very important. I thought I was finished proofing and corrected a few words on the cover as well as items in the interior of the book. Then I did one more read through with CreateSpace review launcher. What did I find?
Well, I took a closer look at the headers and footers. All even page headers have my name; odd page headers have my title. Oops! Not a done deal. Then I looked at library books and realized that the first page of each chapter has no header. So back to my manuscript to correct. No sweat, I’ll just delete them. Unfortunately, sometimes I would do that, and all of the headers would disappear! Now what?
I looked into my Words for Dummies book and found out about sections in your manuscript – each chapter is a section. I was able to make sure that all first pages of a chapter were also a first page of a section. Then, all went well. Until I did that, it did not.
I’ve learned so much by formatting my own novel for CreateSpace, but it has been frustrating at times and has taken a long time. But, I believe well worth it in my accumulation of knowledge. Of course you can avoid all of this by having your designer do the interior of your book.
Until next time,
Keep Writing,
Julie
