World, Writing, Wealth discussion
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Striving for perfection and other obsessions
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I think readers will be sympathetic to those errors. I know I am. However, it does feel aweful!
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Laughing it off."Yeah. Pretty much.
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "As some will know, I've recently published my second book.Pre-publish activities include a great deal of review, and trying to eradicate every last issue.
Well it doesn't work - at least not per..."
-:)
If that " ' " what bothers you, your situ is good.
Except for editors among readers, no one's gonna notice.
When your series gets tremendous popularity, all those microscopic things will be weeded out prior to printing the 2-nd edition
I always have to remind myself (mostly about my first book) that 'it is what it is.'And move on :-)
Nik wrote: "Except for editors among readers, no one's gonna notice."I had to laugh at that Nik. You nailed it, because I would notice. And I'd probably think, why didn't they get an editor?
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Cost."Yes. I'd think that too. But, a few hundred quid?
Hi Rough,PM me with your rate per word/page and turn-around time.
Thanks G
Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "Hi Rough,PM me with your rate per word/page and turn-around time.
Thanks G"
Lol. It wasn't a pitch! But I will pm you, if only to give advice.
Roughseasinthemed wrote: "Nik wrote: "Except for editors among readers, no one's gonna notice."I had to laugh at that Nik. You nailed it, because I would notice. And I'd probably think, why didn't they get an editor?"
Lol. Editors make mistakes too. I have corrected my editors mistakes. Plus they overlook errors. Can't say I'm too happy with them.
Mehreen wrote: "Roughseasinthemed wrote: "Nik wrote: "Except for editors among readers, no one's gonna notice."I had to laugh at that Nik. You nailed it, because I would notice. And I'd probably think, why didn'..."
As I advised Graeme by pm, you should always get a sample edit and choose your editors carefully.
I've re-edited books that have been through one editor or more. I've seen classic errors in trad published books. I can usually guarantee to find errors in most books.
And yeah, sometimes I miss things. But I don't charge thousands for a once read through. I'll send you a pm.
Before everyone gets excited about editing and the cost of a few hundred quid, how many here have sold enough books to earn, say, eight hundred quid in royalties? Most people only sell a few books, as far as I can make out. I also note nobody commented on the capitalisation of blah. Me, I am with Leonie - do the best you can, then accept it is what it is and move on. If you get to a second edition, then you can fix things.
That's why it takes me about a year to shovel a book onto the shelf! I read it, re-read it, listen to it, then read it again. Listening really, really helps eliminate the vast majority of the none-quote related stuff. Listen while trailing with your eyes...I see errors all over the place in other prints/articles/books. Every time I spot one (which is almost daily anyways), I feel less bad if one or two minuscule boo-boos slips through the net.
BTW, I use TextAloud to listen to the text. Works marvelously!
Good one. You can edit your own book now.
Pre-publish activities include a great deal of review, and trying to eradicate every last issue.
Well it doesn't work - at least not perfectly.
I get my first physical copy of the published book, and leafing through it, my eye settles on a classic mistake.
"blah blah!" He said.
Capitalisation of a personal pronoun directly after an exclamation mark, as if, the exclamation mark was the end of the sentence???
I spit chips ... spill my coffee and throw my mug at the nearest wall where it shatters into a thousand pieces... steaming ... crushed ... I drop to my knees, throw my shaking fists into the air and scream, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
I check the source file, and do a search for '!" H' and the possible variations involving a '?' and an 'S'.
I find another instance....
Spewing!
I then discover an internal dialog quote, you know the sort where someone says, "And then Bill said, 'blighty,' and I just couldn't believe my ears."
Where the trailing ' was some other sort of 'other' notation, something like `, or some other font???
My right eye started to twitch uncontrollably....
[INSERT Cluster F-Bomb]...
Then I'm looking at one of my combat scenes, something I'm actually quite good at, and I'm just not happy, it's looking clunky - I'm sure it could be better. I want to change it...
(This is me drawing a line...) _____________________________________________
Right - I'm just going to let this go. Allow a couple of very small errors that 99% of people will just gloss straight over because they wont see it - because they're absorbed in the story....
Because I know where this road leads, and that is to a personal hell of endless revision and rework, and zero productivity.
I just thought I would share this experience of 'being a novelist,' with all of you. I'm sure some of you will relate to my little tale of woe and the necessity of drawing a line under a finished piece of work.