Are ARC's, reviewer copies, uncorrected proofs, etc. always indentified as such somewhere on/in the book? I have a book with an ISBN that is in the PBS system (correct binding, title, author). The book has none of the typical copyright/publisher info that is usually at the beginning. And the text has some errors that are obvious to me & seems any publisher half-asleep could have noticed ... but ......  But there is nothing anywhere inside or outside the book to indicate its an ARC or similar pre-published version. And since its not marked as such, I'm not sure what to make of it. I do not want to post it if it may be an ARC...

ARCs can look very much like a regular paperback, and they do sometimes have ISBNs on the back or on the first page, but they don't have ISBN numbers with a bar code. They usually have a line of text on the front cover (and sometimes the spine) that says Advance Readers Copy or Uncorrected Proof or something to that effect. Sometimes that lettering is very small and unobtrusive, sometimes it's impossible to miss.

If you've inspected it carefully for the words "Proof" and "Advance Readers Copy" and it has no publisher's info then my guess it that is a self-published book that wasn't very well edited.

Jacqueline, are you able to tell who the publisher is?

All ARCs are paperbacks and most are clearly stated that they are a proof copy/review/ Advance readers copy.. Somewhere on or in the book. Plus the ones I have do have publisher and copyright information.

In my experience, all uncorrected proofs have been clearly marked.  I've seen a few small imprints and/or independent publishers that are lacking some of the more traditional information tho.

Thanks everyone! There is a barcode, but no publisher listed . The first thing I thought was 'self-published', but as I started reading and saw all the mistakes I started to wonder. You'd think anyone shelling out the money to self-publish would give it a good once-over before hitting the presses! I still can not find anything to indicate its a ARC.

Jacqueline, I know a woman who has mmmm 4 books self published, she has two masters degrees and has full acess to people who'd edit her work for free.
BUT she sent in her works to be self published without doing more then a MS word spell check.  The spelling mistakes and grammer errors are painful.
I even asked her what the deal was and why she allowed her work to be published in such a poor manner, and that is when she told me she just HAD to see her name in print and did not care too much about the final product.

Though most self published things do have a page or something on the cover to say who printed it.. iunivers, lulu.com or alibris

There's nothing wrong with self-publishing, but I think you've got to have someone proofread for you -- it's really hard to spot your own mistakes!

I hear ya, I have come across several books this year that have a ton of spelling errors/typos and also misuse of homophones--ie, using the word "sight" when "site" would have been the right word, etc....and they are not ARCs. Those are usually clearly marked.

Cheryl

Jennifer- I am not down on those who self publish, just pointing out there are some who just want their name in print and dont care.. I've other friends who have self published and have done a great job, hired someone to proof read for them. I think I found one mistake(their/there) in the whole 600 page book.

No worries, Xengab. I wasn't saying that you were or weren't or anything at all. I've found mistakes in books from major publishers too. I'm not self-published or published. Just said that I didn't have a problem with self-publishing so I wouldn't offend anyone. But I do think copyediting a 600 page book is a very specific skill -- you have to know all the arcane rules of grammar plus be able to look at the words without getting caught up in the story. Not easy to do!

If you give us a link to the book, or its title, we might be able to tell you whether it's a known publisher.

Willa - the book itself lists no publisher. But the PBS listing says 'CreateSpace' - which now that I google it is a self-publishing business. Mystery solved! Maybe I have stumbled across xengab's acquaintance!   :)

Several years ago I started a series published by a small imprint.  Full of all kinds of errors; spelling, grammar, and factual...the author bio talked about her English Major (she was working towards a masters) and even bragged about her college.  Yikes!  I figured with all the errors the college must be cringing.