This is not the galley of which I speak, nor is a ship's kitchen. I'm writing about the galley sent to a contracted writer just before publication.
A galley is the manuscript of your story formatted in book style. There is the acknowledgement page, disclaimer page, and credit pages at the front. The back usually has a bio of the author and blurbs of other books written and published by the author.
However, the meat of a galley is the current story. This is the final opportunity for the creator to tweak their work. It is NOT an opportunity to do a rewrite but gives the creator time to check for errors, misspelled words that have escaped three sets of eyes, and questionable punctuation. Whether you like it or not, the final product published is viewed by the reading public as having been completely put together by the writer. They don't see the seven or eight steps from computer screen to book in hand or on e-reader. The quality or lack thereof, reflects on the author.
If you feel this is an overstatement consider; this angel just received a newsletter from one of the most successful marketing groups online about 2019 book opportunities. An informal poll of readers showed they rate books based on quality as well as content. How many misspellings are there? Are there words missing, and so forth.
It doesn't matter if this is the 800th time you've read and reread this story. Grab a cup of your favorite brew, settle your butt in the chair, and do your final, most important job on your soon-to-be-published book. Your bank account will thank you.
Sable Angel
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