Before a book is published, publishers create something called a “Galley Copy” or “ARC”, which stands for Advanced Reading Copy. This is a paperback version of the book that is sent out to bloggers and reviewers in anticipation of the launch of the hardcover book.
This is all very exciting stuff.
Before any of that happens, authors are sent the raw pages of the book, for one last read through. This is a chance to catch any lingering issues or typos and see how the book is taking shape. I was very excited to get my copy in the mail and see the title pages, font selection, etc. Below is a little video I made the night I received mine in the mail: