"Galley Proof" definition?

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Matthew Warner

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I'd always thought that a "galley proof" is basically a camera-ready representation of how your story will appear in published format, provided to a writer to give him one last chance to proofread it.

But now I see that the traditional definition says a galley proof is, "A proof taken from composed type before page composition to allow for the detection and correction of errors." This would be more in line with the "galley proof" an editor sent me tonight, which was essentially my story still in manuscript format but reformatted to a different typeface and per other house styles.

Which is really the proper definition of a galley proof? Is what I was expecting more properly called a "page proof"?
 

jamiehall

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I've seen galley, bound galley, page proof, galley copy and ARC (advance reader copy) confused quite a bit. I'm given the general impression that the exact definitions vary a bit, even among professionals.

The glossary of "Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents" has this to say on the following topics:

An excerpt from bound galleys: "Copies of uncorrected typesetter's page proofs or printouts of electronically produced mechanicals that are bound together as advance copies of the book..."

An excerpt from galleys: "Printer's proofs (or copies of proofs) on sheets of paper, or printouts of the electronically produced setup of the book's interior - the author's last chance to check for typos..."

An excerpt from page proof: "The final typeset copy of the book, in page-layout form..."
 
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