A Big Oops!

The books have arrived! It's so exciting to hold my first nonfiction book in my hand (well, if you don't count all the work-for-hire I did years ago, writing computer software manuals and promotional books). This looks great, with lots of graphics and nifty headings and a really fun and easy-to-use layout. Yay! I'm thrilled beyond description.

The first thing I always do when a new book comes out is drop whatever I'm doing and read it cover to cover. I'm not sure why, because it's torment if I discover a typo or a sentence I wish I could go back and change (writers are never really finished, you know). Still, I'll skim through my book in a few hours--and that's fast for me, because I'm a slow reader--then I'll close it and sigh and enjoy the moment. Then I'll give the whole thing over to God and say a prayer for all of my readers.

This time is different, however. This time, I'm happily reading along, pleased with the look and feel of the book and how it flows…until I get to page 65. Hmmm. Huh? What? Page 65 makes no sense.

Heart pounding, I race to my "galley", which is the book in its final proofreading form just before it goes to the press. Sure enough, the galley confirms what I know to be true: Somewhere between my final proofread and the book's printing, a mistake was made: The paragraphs that were supposed to go on page 65 are nowhere to be found—and in their place is a chunk of text from further in the book!

Long story short, my dear publisher, whom I adore, has taken a look at the situation and decided they will not be able to correct the problem until the next printing. So very soon my brand new book will start showing up on the shelves with the error in place. Ooooooh, that's so tough for a writer to swallow.

They have issued the following statement on my behalf, which I really appreciate, and the error will definitely be corrected as soon as the book goes into a second printing. But for now, I can only hope that people who read the book either don't notice the error (not very likely!) or take a moment to visit this blog or my website or send me an email to find out what's wrong with page 65.

So, for what it's worth, here's the correction:

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In The House That Cleans Itself, an error was made during the publishing process. In Step 8, page 65, the first paragraph is incorrect. Please cross it out and insert the following paragraph instead:

Before you begin to put all of your steps into action, it's important to grasp certain essential truths about yourself, the way your brain works, and the problems those cause with regard to cleaning. Only when you understand the reasons behind your actions can you figure out ways to compensate for and work around those actions. If you happen to be married to a person who is more naturally neat than you are, he or she needs to read this chapter as well. After you’ve both read it, discuss the characteristics described here that apply to you. Sometimes simply understanding the cause of a behavior can ease much hurt, smoothing the way toward cooperation, teamwork, and lasting change. Consider the following statements about some common characteristics of the housekeeping impaired.

Harvest House Publishers regrets the error and will make the necessary corrections when the book is reprinted.

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I think I'll create a sticker with the correct text on it, one that can be placed directly over the problem. If you'd like one, send me an email with your mailing address at MindyStarnsClark@aol.com and I'll be sure to get it out to you as soon as it's ready.

In the meantime, enjoy the book.

Uh, except for page 65.

Mindy