Battling a low grade fever, I answered the door. I could see the red roof of the Canada Post delivery truck. This could only mean one thing: the first batch of Brains vs. Coffee had arrived.

The front cover looks better than I imagined. It's clean and sharp with a hint of retro. Delicious.

The back cover is equally impressive, with the coffee stains and blood splatters popping from the page.

The words on the spine are indeed on the spine. Apparently my math skills are better than I thought, and I had calculated the proper size and spacing to allow for any minor shifting during the printing process.

But even in my slightly feverish state, I noted an unexpected addition. And this, my friends, is why you either a) order a test copy or b) order a limited print of a first edition (which I've done).

Nothing major, just a contradiction in terms. At the end of the book there is an additional page - one I did not submit or approve. It has a bar code (different from the official one on the back cover) and a statement that had me blinking: Made in the USA.

Now, this might not seem to be a big deal. And really, in the grand scheme of things, it isn't. But one of the reasons I had picked a Canadian publisher was so that my book would be printed in Canada. I was very proud of the fact that the book would be 100% Canadian. Especially when I wrote the copyright page which clearly states "Printed in Canada". Ha ha on me. So now I have a copyright page that says one thing, and a closing page that says another.

Besides that, a handful of the covers are...well...corked; cut on a slight angle. Again, not overtly noticeable, but glaring to the woman who slaved over every tiny detail. One of them is so slanted, I keep waiting for the words to slip off the cover.

My mother has, of course, offered to buy all the misfits. God bless mothers. I told her no.

So what did I learn? I need to ask a company where they do their printing, and that sometimes you need to anticipate a few duds in the batch (still, I'm taking this issue up with the people I hired to print them).

But I also know that I am capable of creating a pretty kick ass book (if I may say so myself), and that we often underestimate ourselves, and deny ourselves the satisfaction of attaining goals that aren't so insurmountable after all.