Your mission book is finally ready to review. You have looked at the cover a dozen times and are very ready to order. Before you do, take one more pass through the actual pages.
A book proof is a preview of what you are preparing to print. Check it in separate passes for the overall collection, the text, and the photos. Trying to notice everything at once makes it easy to miss a name while you are concentrating on a picture.
Confirm Your Latest Edits Are Included
After changing your collection, rebuild the book and wait for generation to finish before reviewing it again.
Open the book preview inside Letters Home and look for a change you remember making recently, such as a corrected name or a replaced photo. If that change is missing, check that you saved it and completed the rebuild before continuing.
You can review the pages inside Letters Home without downloading the print files.
Read the Cover Slowly
Check the missionary's name, mission name, dates, and any subtitle. Read each word rather than glancing at the whole cover.
Ask someone else to read it too. Familiar names can be surprisingly easy to overlook because you already know what they are supposed to say.
Open the Cover tab and check the full spread: back cover, spine, and front cover. Use the Interior tab to review the pages inside.
Look Through the Whole Collection
Use the first and last letters as landmarks, then move through the book in order. Check for unexpected gaps, duplicate updates, and letters that appear under the wrong date.
If you included selected letters rather than the complete archive, explain that in the introduction. A future reader should not have to wonder whether the missing months were lost by accident.
Watch for long reply chains, forwarding headers, and repeated signatures. These can slip into an import even when the main letter looks fine.
Read the Text as a Reader
Choose a few long letters and read them carefully. Then scan every page for cut-off text, awkward breaks, or unexpectedly large blank areas.
Fix obvious mistakes that interfere with understanding, but keep the missionary's own expressions. You are preserving their letters, not trying to make every week sound like a school essay.
Look for references that only worked online, such as an instruction to watch an embedded video. Add enough explanation for someone reading on paper.
Check Every Photo and Caption
Confirm that pictures belong with the right letters and that faces or important details are not cropped out. Look for low-quality copies when an original may be available.
Read captions against the photos as they appear in this version. Check names, dates, and any description that depends on the order of the images.
A screen can help you spot problems, but it cannot guarantee exactly how color and detail will look on paper. Use the available print specifications and proof options when making that decision.
Use This Final Checklist
- The proof includes the latest edits.
- Names, mission details, and dates are correct.
- The intended letters are present and in order.
- Duplicate messages and unwanted email clutter are removed.
- Text is readable and nothing important is cut off.
- Photos and captions match.
- Personal material is appropriate for the intended recipients.
- The book options, quantity, price, and delivery details are correct.
If you make changes, check the new proof before approving it. A corrected paragraph can affect the pages that follow.
Letters Home lets you prepare and review a book from your collection before ordering print. See how it works, and check our current pricing if you are still working out the final budget.
Once you are happy with the actual pages, you can order with a much clearer idea of what you are getting.