Drinking in pubic
Ah – typos!
Like literary no-see-ums they lull you into a false sense of security – no matter how many rounds of eagle-eyed editing – and then, just when you think you’re safe… ow! – they were lurking all along.
A career in copywriting has proved to me their invisibility. When you read though a piece of text, you can’t help being carried along by its meaning. Your brain gets the message and isn’t too fussy about the messenger. (Did you spot the missing ‘r’ back there?)
Some professional proof-checkers read backwards just to avoid this pitfall.
But it can’t be much fun – and it only really helps with spelling mistakes. When I omitted ‘r’ from ‘through’ above, I doubt a backwards-checker, not following the gist, would spot the error. Though, after all, is a perfectly good word.
Which makes Amazon’s system for finding these flaws all the more impressive.
Just this morning I received an email to ask, did I intend to write, “drinking in the public bar” rather than the published version, “drinking in the pubic bar”?
Given that this particular phrase referred to a group of underage schoolboys enjoying an illicit visit to a hostelry, I did waver for a moment. But only a moment!
Like literary no-see-ums they lull you into a false sense of security – no matter how many rounds of eagle-eyed editing – and then, just when you think you’re safe… ow! – they were lurking all along.
A career in copywriting has proved to me their invisibility. When you read though a piece of text, you can’t help being carried along by its meaning. Your brain gets the message and isn’t too fussy about the messenger. (Did you spot the missing ‘r’ back there?)
Some professional proof-checkers read backwards just to avoid this pitfall.
But it can’t be much fun – and it only really helps with spelling mistakes. When I omitted ‘r’ from ‘through’ above, I doubt a backwards-checker, not following the gist, would spot the error. Though, after all, is a perfectly good word.
Which makes Amazon’s system for finding these flaws all the more impressive.
Just this morning I received an email to ask, did I intend to write, “drinking in the public bar” rather than the published version, “drinking in the pubic bar”?
Given that this particular phrase referred to a group of underage schoolboys enjoying an illicit visit to a hostelry, I did waver for a moment. But only a moment!
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Betsy
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Jul 28, 2015 09:20AM
Because of the great abundance of self-published books out there, proofreading has become a hot topic. I love my Kindle, but it is notorious for errors. I just finished a book on the Nuremberg Trial which contained a plethora of them. The book was good, but the errors were disconcerting. I'm not sure what the answer is except for constant editing which is something not all authors are willing to do.
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You make a good point.I noticed a general decline in standards that began 15-20 years ago when digital technology began to replace traditional typesetting in the commercial advertising sector. Apart from the loss of many talented craftspeople (and their skilled output), it meant that marketers were empowered to produce some awful ads, both in terms of appearance and quality of content.
Unfortunately this tide of change has now flooded into more general writing. I guess few new authors have little if any experience of copy-checking or proof-reading, never mind editing - it does seem a good business opportunity for someone with the 'write' inclination!
I re-read one of my own most recent reviews, only to find an error. It was with punctuation. Without a comma, the sentence was quite hilarious so I left it out this time on purpose. I agree with the frustration of the lack of editing, or poor editing of kindle and other digital books. If it is too bad,I comment on the problem and move to another book. I do the same with improper formatting. Would you say that a book destined for bound print means an author takes more care or hires a professional editor?
Hiya - I think when a book is going for it 'big time' it needs a professional editor.Interestingly - and I can comment from direct experience - publishers don't especially expect authors to be great craftsmen/women. This probably applies more often in non-fiction, where the author may be some kind of expert, but not in the field of writing.
If you are interested in discovering just how 'invasive' the impact of an editor's input can be, this book gives a good insight: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself Into Print.
