On Writing and Storytelling: The Devil’s in the “D”: A Tiny Typo and the Art of Fixing It

The Devil’s in the “D”: A Tiny Typo and the Art of Fixing It

The Devil’s in the “D”: A Tiny Typo and the Art of Fixing It

As I mentioned in Thursday’s post, I recently stumbled upon—and, thankfully, corrected—a stubborn little typo in my short story Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen. Somewhere along the way, “door” had lost its d and become “oor.” It’s the sort of error every writer encounters sooner or later, whether you’re a household name like Stephen King, Nora Roberts, or James Patterson, or a humble indie author like yours truly.

I could’ve let it slide. The story’s been living peacefully on Amazon since late June, and not a single reviewer has dinged me for that missing letter. Honestly, I didn’t even spot the slip until Wednesday night, which goes to show how sneaky these things can be.

As someone who’s spent time both reading and wielding the red pen as a copy editor, I wrestled with whether to leave the typo as a quirky artifact or quietly update the Kindle Direct Publishing file. In the end, restoring the lost letter was a breeze: I opened the source file in Kindle Create, hunted down the offending “oor,” tapped in that all-important d, saved my progress, and exported the shiny, typo-free version to KDP. Easy as pie—if only all life’s mistakes were so quick to fix.

So why the hesitation? On paper, the steps sound simple: upload your manuscript in KDP’s preferred format, wait for it to process, check for compatibility hiccups, double-check your book cover, and give the content a final scan in the print preview before hitting SUBMIT. Easy, right? Well, that’s the promise.

In reality, the process only stays smooth if you take your time at each phase—especially when proofreading the print version. Skip even one minor detail on KDP’s “to-do” list, and their AI (plus a real person or two) will put the brakes on your update until everything’s squared away. It’s a gentle reminder that, as with so many things in writing, the devil’s in the details—and sometimes those details are what keep your story moving forward.

Comings and Goings is currently available in two flavors: Kindle e-book and paperback. Even though both editions spring from the same .kpf source file, I had to upload the fix to each version separately. The e-book update zipped through KDP’s system and went live about seven hours after submission—a speedy turnaround, thanks to the e-book’s more relaxed production requirements, especially when it comes to cover art.

The paperback update took a little longer. I missed the “Create Cover” step—a necessary part of the process, since KDP’s AI and human reviewers treat every update like a fresh submission. That little oversight meant a one-day delay, so the changes didn’t go live for the paperback edition until late Friday.

If you already own Comings and Goings on your Kindle or Fire tablet, you’ll now see the typo-free edition—either by selecting “remove download” (not “permanent delete”) in the Kindle app, or automatically if you’ve enabled the “automatic update” feature. For those eyeing a fresh paperback copy, I’d recommend waiting until at least Tuesday to ensure you receive the corrected version with that all-important d restored.

Moments like this remind me why quality assurance matters so much in self-publishing. Whether it’s a missing letter or a misplaced comma, these little details make a world of difference—not just to the author, but to every reader who steps into the world I’ve built.

So if you’re curious about the quirks and surprises that await in the Garratyverse, there’s never been a better time to dive in. Comings and Goings is back in top shape, and I hope you’ll join me for the journey.