I can't wait for the printing, Wil. I'm definitely getting a copy.

#2!! woohoo!! u should be getting the pulitzer. i'll see to it..lol

so... does this mean that we get a shiny new copy of DB for ***free***?!? Or... will the version we have now sell big on EBAY as it's an original DB prior to Wil's new edit?!?

Just wondering the best way to profit from all this.

Either way, I love reading from DB to my wife in bed each night -- it's gets her real hot as she must be thinking of young Wes in his ST tights...

Damn you Wil Wheaton and your devlish good looks!!! DAMN YOU!!!

;)

ps
Seriously, I'll look forward to the new printing...

-worf

I didn't want to point this out before because I thought it was too embarrasing, but you totally forgot the second "L" in your name on the cover. ooops!

sure

I've read through the whole thing top to bottom. Only question is, who is Wil Wheaton??

Sorry, lame joke, but I love getting asked that question.

Oh no! I'm a Wil Wheaton virgin...

having only been introduced to the site recently . So I missed out on the Dancing Barefoot printing by THAT MUCH! (sorry, couldn't work out how - or if - I could put that in italics).

Looking forward to the next printing. I'm sure there's only the one typo (how's that for sucking up. Not that I'm angling for a free copy or anything...! We don't get much reading material Down Under... ;)

PS. Yes, I know. Far too many points of ellipses... but I just love 'em...

The only error I saw was there was no dedication at the beginning to My Good Pal, Buntz!

Barefoot 1.1? I'll take a look at it tonight.

I think the only typos I found were on the postcard that came with the book. I don't remember any in the book itself and the postcard typos were pretty obvious, but not in a "I can't believe you missed that" sorta way. Anyway, I hope that helps.

You realize that by correcting DB, once JAG hits #1 on the NY Times bestseller list, , people are going to scramble to sell their "error" version for 9 times the price on eBay.

Sadly, I am one of the ones who missed out on the first printing, so all I can do is encourage you to get out the second printing (before Xmas, pwetty pwease :)).

Look in the back for that gigantic, extra capital B that's dangling in the middle of nowhere.

It's in that "thanks" section.

D'oh!

Do you mean the big "B" that's above the Colophon on page 115?

That's supposed to be a big "B" like "B"ookman, the typeface.

I guess it should be in a box, eh?

Well, it's just hanging there and looks like a carry over from the big B for BEN.

You could just change it to big R for "Russ", because that'd just be damn sexy.

Bookman?

You mean the guy from "Good Times"?

Sweet, dude. Sweet.

Do you think it will be released in australia at all so we get to have a read????

Watch www.wilwheaton.net and www.monolithpress.com for more information on the next release, as it happens.

:-) (there's no news yet, but I bet it'll be sometime in the future)

"Dear Reader"? I just had a flashback to Jane Eyre. Are you a Brontë fan? j/k. I, too, missed the 1st edition, but I am very much looking forward to buying a copy when the new one comes out. I love your blog.

Doh, but I haven't even got my first copy yet! It's been shipped, guess I was lucky and ordered one of the last ones. Meh, it happens when you live in Oz.

just remember:
y-o-u-r
y-o-u-apostrophe-r-e
they're as different as night and day
don't you think night and day are different
what's wrong with you

What's really missing is the sound of you reading it. I heard you do part of Sponge Bob Vegas Pants at the SGVLUG a month ago, and you brought such life to your words, it was amazing. That section will forever be better for me because I can hear you reading it, and when I read other parts of the book, I can still hear your voice. I'll be you're wishing now that I was some hot blonde saying those words ;-).

Seriously, I understand that there might be all kinds of issues with piracy if you did this, but I think you should record a CD of you reading DB. You really add another dimension to it.

Maybe Wil should retitle the book to 'Dancing Barefoot: Special Edition'. Ha ha ha, I'm so funny...

Hey,

I guess I must have the second printing, with the blue quotes on the top of the cover and the "Minor Corrections - June 2003" note inside. I didn't spot any noticeable types, though as someone said above, that "B" in the Acknoledgments section somewhat confused me!

KJ

That "types" should, of course, be "typos". Ah, the irony.

A book on CD is such a great idea, Scott!

Wil, you could probably do that with a pretty low budget and bypass CD pressing and distribution costs by taking it straight to the iTunes Music Store. I think I remember hearing Steve was a fan of TNG. That would get your foot in the door, then with the built in support you'd get from your WWdN readership, you've got a winner. All you'd need to do is rent a Nuemann TLM103 and an inexpensive digital board for a couple of days and record straight to your iBook. Clean, edit and EQ it there and your good to go. I'd buy it for sure. I can almost 'hear' your voice when I read your stuff - it's that characteristic. It really would be great to get it straight from the horses mouth, so to speak. Where the hell did that expression come from anyway?

As for typos in the current copy, I don't have mine yet. Should arrive this week, though. I'll proof it when I get it.

Since I am a rotten tomato and didn't get around to buying the first printing, I look forward to this one.

And that's all I have ta' say 'bout that...

Thankee-sai, sai Wheaton,

StarQuestarian

('boxer extraordinaire)

I agree with everyone, "Book on Tape" is the way to go. iTunes would be a great vehicle!!!1

hey wil, hope the changes are coming along well.....because over in england, we didn't get the book, so had to order it....aagghh...i unfortunately, i miss out this time...so i want a copy!! SSOOONNNN!!! (so, being totally selfish here.....hurry up and finish!!!! PPPLLLLEEEEEEEEEASE!!!)

love rach
xxx

Way to use your posse Wil!

Would have to read it again to spot any other typos, but the only one that stood out to me while reading it on holiday, was the mis-spelling of Jonathan Frakes as "Johnathan" at one point. I only noticed that as it's my own first name and it gets misspelt frequently!

I compare your writing with that of Garrison Keillor (I hope you think that's a compliment, it's supposed to be) - Lake Wobegon days for the Space Age. I have his books on tape, and having heard your audioblog I think your books would be great on tape too.

further vote for audio version of DB and JAG

I live in Canada and can't access iTunes so I would love to have your book on CD or better yet a DVD of you reading it interspersed with drawings/video clips - like a music video - it could be really cool.

Gee thanks Wil, right after I just purchased one of the quickly dwindling supplies from Powells you go and announce DB1.1. Just kidding, haven't gotten it yet but am looking forward to reading it.

::whispers::
Nothing about typos, but you might want to take a look at widow and orphan lines...

Lovin' the itunes concept. Too cool, too cool...

I've planned an audio version forever. I'm really excited to hear that so many people are interested in it.

I'll do everything I can to record my reading at LosCon this weekend. That will be a good start.

Thumper, what are widow and orphan lines?

You did not address this to me but I thought I could answer anyway. Widow and orphan lines are the last line or word in a paragraph that get put on the next page. I just looks nicer if you can keep the sentence/paragraph on the same page.

Wil,

So you are going to be at LosCon! I was gonna ask, but wasn't sure if it was "on topic" or not. Are you there all three days? I really want to come, but no way I'm driving up from San Diego on Thanksgiving weekend unless I know when you're going to be there. Their email box has been full the last few days, and your not listed as a booked guest on their site. What up with that?

BTW, widows are single words or lines of text that are seperated from the rest of their paragraph and fall at the top of a page. Orphans are the same, but at the bottom. Both are big nasties in the publishing world. Any professional layout software has settings that allow you to automatically eliminate them. You might mention this to your publisher.

Oops! Sorry, Mel. Your answer wasn't there when I started my post.

Wil,

Widow lines are single lines which appear at the top of a page and widow words are single words which are on a line by themselves at the end of a paragraph. These are avoided when books are being typeset.

http://www.bath.ac.uk/bucs/software/text/typesetting.shtml#Wids

Cheers,
Peter

Wil, do you want us to PM you about the typos, or cite them here in the comments? And, I have the pre-publication version, which probably had more typos than the final version. Do you want me to even check my copy?

I know I am asking for it here but... what is the book about? No, REALLY? I am interested...

Please limit Hate Mail to 1 email per person...

Hey Wil,
Someone else just put up an autographed copy of Dancing Barefoot on eBay...

Michael: you can read all about the book at www.monolithpress.com

Thanks for the clarifications on widow and orphan stuff. This is the first I've heard of it, and I'll go see how bad it is in the current draft.

It's best to put mistakes here, so I don't get e-mailed the same typo by a bunch of people, I think.

Uhh . . .was there one more thing? (reads back)

Oh! LosCon!

Yeah, I'm there Friday and Saturday. I'm doing a reading at 2:30 on Friday. It should totally not suck. You can get all the details on my conventions page.

"True art is never completed...merely abandoned."
- Michelangelo

I just went and checked the auction. Dude! You should have kept a *few* copies to sell on eBay. Anyway, that's wonderful. Enjoy! :)

Sigh. I, too, was not smart or cool enough to grab the book while I could.

One of my friends is a dealer at LosCon, I asked her to find me a copy of DB if there's one floating around.

Sneaky, ain't I?

Oh, and Wil: please do the audiobook! My hubby will read it that way, and he enjoys your stuff nearly as much as I do!

Hey! That's cool that there's another signed copy. Maybe that one will be more affordable for some other lucky person :)

This comment has absolutely nothing to do with today's entry. I was coming home to England from Canada recently and guess who...or what I met in the airport? Give up? Another Wheaton posse member. We both had these super cool home made badges of wil on our hand luggage and had a huge geek-a-rama in the middle of Toronto airport. It may sound wierd but it was REALLY cool. Ok, as you were people :)

Wil, you could be the first author to use Bugzilla for a book?

Welp, other people defined widows and orphans... so can I make your head explode and mention leading and kerning?

(no, there wasn't a leading and kerning problem in the book, but knowing how to control it can help eliminate those widows and orphans...)

Bugzilla, eh?

Dude, that is a seriously inspired idea. I like it, a LOT.

Alright so we're getting nitty griity on the layout -- widows and orphans for goshsakes, how about

GUTTERS!

When typesetting a book that opens up and is bound together so it can't open the whole way flat without breaking the spine *ahem,* you should make the page margins on the inside of the book a bit wider than the margins on the outside. This keeps the type on the inside from getting too tight into that dark crack formed in the crease of the binding and makes your page look nicer. Keep your type out of the gutter.

I know your mind is there often enough.

First of all,

I have been selling on Ebay for years. One of the great new features is the Second Offer. You can use it to send a chance to the second place bidder to buy the book for their best bid.

Second, When you issue the new version of DB, You should call it "Dancing Barefoot, the Next Generation" (I can't believe that we went over 50 comments with no one making that one).

Mark Hamil is such a whiner. That punk RUINED STAR WARS!!!!

If Will Wheaton and Mark Hamil got in a fight I would put my money on Wil! And Will Wheaton is a better writer too. And he probably plays with his lightsaber better.

Ok, so it looks like we're supposed to put typos in here. (I apologize, if I've misunderstood.) I just flipped through and randomly read one passage, and started another. Here's what I found in them.

Pg. 25 - Last paragraph, 1st sentence...
"I stepped carefully around several other actors my way to the sign-in sheet."
Should it be "...on my way"?

Pg. 39 - 5th paragraph, last sentence
"Youurreee wiiffeessss innnn bedddd..."
Missing an apostrophe... "wiffee'ssss" And that may have been just been an aesthetic decision, but I thought I would point it out anyway.

Pg. 39 - 7th paragraph
"...Stay-in bed..."
Stay-in-bed

I'll keep looking and see what I can find. I'm pretty good at this stuff...maybe too good.

Woo!

Thanks, Nayir!

I caught pg 25 . . . but I didn't know about the other ones.

Awesome! I'm really grateful.

You're very welcome. I'll have more later on, if there are more to be found. It's kinda one of my fortes, among other things that are not to be mentioned here. ;) Heh heh.

It's not really a typo but rather the clarity of the illustrations. I like Ben's work and think one little step might make them even better. My guess is that they were saved as grayscale photoshop files. If you convert them to bitmap (go to image, then mode). This will convert the artwork to lineart for nice crisp lines instead of the fuzzy edges around the lines. I hope this helps!

Now this is really being nit picky, and would be a hairy thing to do but it seems that you are using foot marks instead of smart quotes on your apostophes. I think it would be easier to just leave it as is than to find every place you used an apostrophe. But I thought it might be helpful to you to know this for JAG. ( On a mac, you hold down the option or option shift and then one of the two bracket keys depending if you are going for quotation marks or apostrophes.)

Wil, I really enjoy your website (it's my first bookmark and one of the first things I do each day) and I love Dancing Barefoot. I can hardly wait for you to do a signing in the Bay Area. I've delivered some press kits to a couple bookstores here in Napa.

A girl can hope!

Elizabeth

Wil,
I didn't really notice any errors first time around (too busy enjoying the book), so read it a second time.
I only found a couple of minor things.

P.19, paragraph 3 ". . . finding the strike zone,). . ." You probably don't need the comma before the end bracket.

P.39 end of first paragraph. ". . . if she said things like "fucker." . . ." Should the full-stop be outside of the ending quote mark here? I could be wrong.

P.102, second last paragraph. You mention in two days you'll never want to board an airplane again. This confuses me, did I miss a bit? Because I'm not sure what this refers to.

One other thing. In some places you italicise the names of TV shows, and in other places you don't. For consistency it probably should be one or the other.

Hope this helps.

I'm back with a few more I've found. Some of it is more editing stuff, I guess, then typos per se. I hope you don't hate me.

Pg. 13, 3rd full paragraph
"kids table"
Should it be kids' table? I'm not so sure on that, but since it's a possession of some sort, I'm fairly sure there should be an apostrophe.

Pg. 17, Last paragraph, 2nd sentence
"...thanks me for helping with him."
...helping him.

I also found the pg 19 one. I don't believe you need comma's within parentheses.

Pg. 62, Last paragraph, 1st sentence
"...spacesuit that is a little to tight..."
too tight...

Pg. 46 4th full paragraph, last sentence
"...began to move back toward..."
Ok, this is nitpicky, but it looks as if there are two spaces instead of one between "back" and "toward." My eye always catches stuff like that...

Pg. 49 1st paragraph
"...she said, "did you get..."
said, "Did you get..."

Pg. 49, 7th paragraph (I think)
"What an asshole!" She said, "Oh,..."
That made me stop when I was reading it, because it's normally read as "What an asshole!" she said. "Oh,..." It makes the reader pause because something doesn't seem right. You know? I mean, basically, the reader wants there to be a period there, and will read it as such. So, when there isn't, it makes someone stop. And you don't want that to happen.

Pg. 53 6th paragraph
"Hi Wil, how are you?"
Hi Wil. How are you?

Pg. 56, 7th paragraph, last sentence.
Starbuck's
No apostrophe.

Pg. 56 last paragraph
"...inner voices: Sarcastic asshole."
Sarcastic-asshole - you know, to be consistent with how you worded the others, like Self-Preservation.

Pg. 58, 2nd paragraph, towards the middle (I got sick of counting sentences. ;) )
"It's not just mindlessly scrawling my name; It's stopping..."
I think the second "It's" should be "it's" - after the semicolon.

Ok, that's as far as I got last night before Final Fantasy X-2 beckoned me once again. Maybe I should rethink my current career choice, and become an editor instead...

One last thing I noticed - you like commas an awful lot, and you may just want to check them out a bit. The only reason I say this is because I have the same problem in my writings. I'm a comma whore, and I know that I don't need nearly as many as I use. If you want me to find some examples of what I'm talking about, let me know.

WOW!

Good notes, Crystal! Thank you.

Nayir! You should be a copy editor.

I *am* a comma whore, but not as bad as I used to be.

I think I'm going to to a MAJOR rewrite for a future version of this book, and I'll wipe out all those amateurish commas.

I'm also going to attach some sticky notes to my AP book, and my Elements of Style, too. :)

Major rewrite?
You're not gonna change it too much are you?
The stories are so great the way they are, so full of feeling. I don't know how Nayir does it, I kept getting so absorbed, that I forgot to check for errors!