[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Vis-a-vis corrections/errata: I think you and I had a gab about this at some point in time, here on MR. I absolutely do NOT crack open books and fix them. I try really hard not to see the errors, as that yanks me out of my enjoyable experience. It's harder now (not to see them) than it was 'ere I started this business, but still...I give it the old college try. And mostly, I'm not that interested in the frontmatter (heresy, I know!). I know that authors are horrified to hear it, but I truly don't read the dedication, acknowledgements, etc. Epigraph? Sure. Prologue? Sure. Other stuff? Not so much. ;-) Again: speaking as a reader here, not a bookmaker.

As an author, I'm not at all surprised or horrified. I don't usually read them myself. Then again, you should at least skim enough to make sure the front matter really is worth skipping. For example, if you skip mine, you'll miss a lot of laughs, including a page of quotes like these:

Never before in the history of books has something like this been published. It truly shows what sort of a writer Mr. Gatwood is. In all our years, we have never had this sort of reaction to a book before.
—​The American Society for the Study of ​Subclinical Allergies

I can honestly say that nothing like it has ever been written and, God willing, nothing else ever will be.
—​My editor

We said we would publish this when Duke Nukem Forever®1 shipped. I guess that was a bad call.
—​My publisher

Some stories are elegant in their simplicity. Others are just simple.
—​Anonymous reviewer

It made us want to improve our products to better compete.
—​The vacuum cleaner company down the street

As much as it pains me to say it, some rules were meant to be broken.
—​Author of “Any Idiot Can Write”

This novel has single-handedly contributed more to global warming than any other book in the history of publishing.
—​Guy Montag

I’ve never been more bowled over by a book before.
—​Victim, great book avalanche of 2014

And so on.

Regarding the cover, I like to see the cover when I first open the book. Yes, I ostensibly see the cover before I open it, but only a tiny thumbnail of the cover. I'd like to actually see it at full size. That said, it's strictly a matter of personal preference—there's no right or wrong answer.