Another full circle for me! 27 years ago when we first launched WinePress Publishing, the first credible custom publisher in the Christian market, we published a book for David Yaniv who had a tremendous testimony. I did a very brief review of the “blue lines” proof that I received from the printer and did not notice the huge error hiding within the pages. Right in the middle of the author’s powerful conversion experience, an entire paragraph had slid off the bottom of the page and did not continue onto the next page. It was my bad, and we reprinted 1,000 copies at our cost. It was, simply, the right thing to do.
Here I am, 27 years later, seeing a pallet of books that have a similar story. With the Women of Joy rush to get to print, “Live Bold: A 52 Week Devotional Journal to Strengthen Your Soul” by Cynthia Cavanaugh and her cousin, Andrea Tomassi, inadvertently went to print with errors buried in the text. There was very little time available to make final changes, and I failed to have a quality control check to make sure the revisions were made accurately. After we received the book from printing in Asia (this was not a simple paperback book that could be printed on demand, but a high quality devotional with rounded corners, ribbon marker, and elastic band … a quality product that took extra time and effort to produce). Imagine the shock on my face when the authors noticed there were typos where there should have been corrections and brought them to my attention.
I was, understandably, aghast.
One of our core values is excellence, and another integrity, so there was no way I could hold the authors responsible for these errors. The buck stops with me, and I owned the screw-up (much to the dismay of some of my employees who felt I should make the authors pay since they signed off on the proof). At a time of year where income is tighter than normal, I bit the bullet and reprinted the book at my expense. If I hadn’t done just that, I’d have simply given lip service to our core values and dishonored everything we stand for.
I did it because it was the right thing to do, and I wanted that book to be the best it could be. A representation of the redemption God has worked in my personal and business life as well.
I celebrate with the authors that the books arrived, enabling them the opportunity to launch this incredible devotional a second time!
Thank you for holding fast to integrity
The high road costs
Blessings to you Athena
Thanks, my friend! You are correct. The cost is high, but the reward is worth it.