Respect in the details

04/23/2006

I’ve written before about how small details make a difference: little things like typography and layout can make or break the usability of a book.

But it doesn’t stop there. Even small details like how books get shipped makes a difference. One of our fans wrote in with the following (competitor’s real names have been expunged):

“Today I had two packages waiting for me, both books. One from you, the other a review copy from another major publisher. Your book arrived wrapped in cellophane and clad in protective bubble—-your book was in pristine shape. The other book arrived in, essentially, an inter-office mail style envelope and lacked any protection from the abuse of the postal system. As you might expect, the book arrived tattered with bent edges and a generally scruffy appearance.

A minor point? Maybe, and truthfully both books were gratis so I shouldn’t complain, but I think there’s a message there. If you don’t respect a book enough to treat it well in transit…

To me, the book is an extension of the author. Treating it poorly makes me wonder how you treat your authors. Along those lines I couldn’t help but notice the last two books I ordered from other publishers through major online services both had gashes on the back cover as if they were nicked with a boxcutter. A pure coincidence? I’m not sure.

I hope the next thing the industry copies from the Pragmatic Bookshelf is the care that clearly goes into the final product.”