Galley Vs. ARC

Galley-proofs were a set of untrimmed and unbound pages which we used to check for any last-minute corrections that needed to be made. This is where the term "proof-reading" comes from.

Very few publishers use paper galleys now: it's all done on-screen.

The purpose of a galley is to look for final corrections, to ensure that the book is as clean and tight as it can be once it's published.

ARCs are bound copies or e-books, but they're not usually the final version of the book: the text is often either unedited or edited but not yet copy-edited; the jacket design isn't usually the final one; the sales copy on the back of the book is often absent, or replaced by quotes from early readers.

ARCs are used to get reviews for the book, to get quotes from established writers or celebrities to help sell the book once it's published, and for various other sales purposes.

As production methods have changed and new technology has been introduced to the publishing process the two things--galleys and ARCs--have become closer in nature: galleys are used to produce ARCs, but I'd hope that publishers would do all they could to make the ARCs look as enticing as possible before sending them out, as they are meant to be an early sales tool, after all.

*curtsies*

Old Hack said:

ARCs are bound copies or e-books, but they're not usually the final version of the book: the text is often either unedited or edited but not yet copy-edited; the jacket design isn't usually the final one; the sales copy on the back of the book is often absent, or replaced by quotes from early readers.

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Offering a slightly different set of data points...

All my ARCs have come after the copyedit stage, but before the final version**. The ARC itself was printed the same size as the finished book, and contained the typeset pages, though sometimes certain items, such as maps or Acknowledgments, were marked with placeholder pages. As for cover art... My publisher told me that most of their ARCs have a plain cover without the cover art. However, if they want to emphasize their support for the book, or the series is being rebranded, they will spring for the full-color cover.

But. Different publishers use different approaches. (Mine are based only on my experience with Tor and Viking.)

** I have, however, received advanced bound reading copies, which is basically a hardcopy of my final Word document with the copyright pages inserted at the front.

There are often internal galleys in the form of .PDFs used largely by production.

My arcs are usually made from the galleys. They're always copy edited, but haven't had that final bit of polish I give a galley. I'd never, under any circumstances, allow an unedited manuscript to go out as an ARC. Some writers need so much cleaned up, or need to change so much during copy editing, that I don't see how this is possible.

The ARC isn't 100% like the published book, but it should be 99.9% the same. The ARC has to be reviewed, and darned if I'd want anyone reviewing an unedited manuscript.

We still proofread on paper. Print out the PDF, mark it up, back to the typesetter.

You work for a good publisher, Torgo.

I believe the picture book industry still uses paper galleys (F&Gs - folded and gathered pages) to proof the art with the text. This is because they have to be sure nothing important is lost in the fold/binding (The actual term is escaping me.) and that color stays true and the text is readable against the image. Again, I am not 100% certain on this. F&Gs may in fact be a third step in the process. Perhaps someone will correct or confirm.

Debbie V said:

I believe the picture book industry still uses paper galleys (F&Gs - folded and gathered pages) to proof the art with the text. This is because they have to be sure nothing important is lost in the fold/binding (The actual term is escaping me.) and that color stays true and the text is readable against the image. Again, I am not 100% certain on this. F&Gs may in fact be a third step in the process. Perhaps someone will correct or confirm.

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The gutter if it's the fold, and the bleed. Trimming the pages can be slightly off, so you leave a little margin for error around the bleed lines. There's also a crimp in the cover of a paperback near the spine which needs watching.

These days with picture books - and forgive me, because I haven't done a picture book in print now for a few years - the book is printed out S/S (same size) from the layout files. You use this to perform any corrections until you have a set of clean page layouts and a clean digital layout file - but this stuff doesn't convey the actual colour reproduction, because it's come from your Xerox rather than from the printing co.

At some point you will need to do colour correction. You might be using digital art, or you might have needed the repro house to scan original art, but you need to see proper proofs from repro of the whole thing to see how stuff has come out. Here you get the proofs flat and spread by spread, untrimmed so you can check the bleeds again. Your designer and production controller can tweak the CMYK levels. If you have to make a black text correction, it'll cost you, because they need to alter the black plate; if you need to make a colour art correction, it'll cost you three times as much, because you need to change the three other plates.

When you have futzed with the colour and hopefully not changed anything, you approve the proofs and off the book goes. You may get one last opportunity to check: the ozalids, as I learned to call them - there are other names. This is the whole book printed out on cheap paper in monochrome, often just shades of blue, by the actual printer. Here's where you get the big folded sheets. If stuff is wrong at this point, you're probably an idiot, and your production controller will be very annoyed, but you can still fix it.

When Tor asked me if I was okay with electronic copyedits and galleys, I leapt for joy. I still print out the file to read and mark up, but having an e-copy makes things so much easier. Like that time Viking copyedited the wrong version...

I had paper galleys from Orbit....

Actually I kinda liked this because it meant I was reading slightly differently -- not on the screen -- which helped me pick up those last couple of errors.

Mr Flibble said:

Actually I kinda liked this because it meant I was reading slightly differently -- not on the screen -- which helped me pick up those last couple of errors.

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Oh definitely--that's why I print my e-galleys.

I just love the convenience of being able to search the electronic document to check and double-check things like names and word usage. (Especially for things like my middle high German magic language.)

Just wanted to add that after working with 4 publishers myself and many more as an agent, the terms galley and ARC can be different at each publisher an even vary from one editor to another.

I've had PLENTY Of editors stand up from their chair and go, "I have a galley of that if you want it!" And then they pull a bound book from their shelf that has ADVANCE READER COPY (ARC) stamped on the front.

I've had my own ARCs be printed from my content-edited manuscript but not copyedited version, as well as the copyedited and proofed (via the first pass pages) version. So it runs the gamut.

It's all pretty much been said, but just adding my experiences: my ARCs have also been referred to as galleys by my publisher. Mine were printed after copyedits and first and second pass pages. After ARCs came another one or two passes.

My ARCs contained a placeholder cover and placeholder interior design, although AFAICT I was an exception and my publisher usually uses (near-)final covers/design for ARCs. (I really appreciate that they went through the trouble of still making it look nice when I hear that blank pages and standard design aren't unusual for ARCs.)

Mine also lacked the map, acknowledgments, and dedication.