Random Chat

[Victoria]

ok, well here's what happened in my instance. I worked very hard for nearly two years on my book. I edited and re-read it myself and with alphas and betas more times than I care to count. I could have sworn I caught all typos and issues, but I didn't. I thought I did, and after publication, people started letting me know I had typos. There is no way my book will ever be perfect, because I have read numerous professionally published works with typos that I have caught. But as someone said above, there is a slight disconnect and as the author, for some reason we can't find every mistake. For myself, this first book of mine has been a learning experience and I have learned that I want to now pay someone to do this proofreading that I can't do. Even though I don't have the funds, I am putting money away in a proverbial jar to pay someone to do this. Because I have realised that I can't do it good enough. Does that make sense? I do think that everyone's journey is different and I have read many authors who have done marvelously catching mistakes all in their own. It just depends on who it is and their strengths. Which is something to love about self publishing. It isn't a one size fits all.

[Arielle]

As Victoria said, YES, for those who are serious, lack of funds is a serious barrier.

But to answer your question, and as someone who has closely observed the indie publishing world for a few years, there are a lot of authors I see who just throw something together and/or who think they're good enough to edit for themselves, when they really aren't. [Personal observation drawn from experience, guys, not pointing fingers or standing on a soapbox.]

So in my personal opinion, choosing to save up for an editor and hire one /often/ DOES separate 'the writers from the authors' as I like to say. :)

Always, always ask questions that make people think. :D

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

I would agree with JD (if I'm understanding what he said correctly), that there are some authors that I would classify as AUTHORS that take the time to write a story with heart, and publish it professionally (indie or not). And then there are (more popular in the indie world) authors who just write a book and throw it up on Createspace or wherever for kicks, grins and giggles. I think that is a downside to indie publishing: it makes it a lot easier for people who don't care to be "authors", those people who just do it because it would be cool, or whatever other shallow reason.

If that makes any sense. :)

[J.D.]

Victoria wrote: "ok, well here's what happened in my instance. I worked very hard for nearly two years on my book. I edited and re-read it myself and with alphas and betas more times than I care to count. I could h..."

Makes total sense, Victoria. As the author, you live with the story (and therefore, these pages and pages of words) for so long that I'd imagine after a while it does begin to blur somewhat; perhaps not literally, but mentally. You're focused on the story as a whole and don't necessarily have the capacity or "bandwidth" so to speak, to see the minutiae. Is that an accurate characterization?

[Victoria]

Agreed. Not everyone chooses to take it seriously, but there are some of us who are serious about what we do and are doing it for a bigger purpose than just for fun.

[Victoria]

@JD, yes, I would say that is accurate. But also to answer your other question above, I am choosing to do alpha reading, beta reading, and then hiring a proofreader in addition to that. They each have their uses and they almost work like a funnel, each level getting more and more nitpicky and getting smaller and smaller details. If that makes sense.

[Arielle]

Sarah Grace wrote: "I would agree with JD (if I'm understanding what he said correctly), that there are some authors that I would classify as AUTHORS that take the time to write a story with heart, and publish it prof..."

Exactly. It's encouraging to know I'm not the only one who classifies this way. :D

[Arielle]

Victoria wrote: "@JD, yes, I would say that is accurate. But also to answer your other question above, I am choosing to do alpha reading, beta reading, and then hiring a proofreader in addition to that. They each h..."

YES. Stars, yes, exactly, what you said, and I do the very same thing.

[J.D.]

Well thank you all for chiming in and responding to my inquisitiveness. I enjoy discussions like this. Especially since I see some very stark parallels to what I face in the podcasting community. I find this very interesting.

Hopefully I didn't derail this thread too much. Although since it is a "random" thread, can one really derail it? :)

@Arielle: Can you point me to your blog posts? I'd love to read more about it. I see you have three sites linked on your profile so I'm not sure where to go.

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Nope, can't derail the random thread. ;)

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

On another note: somebody HELP! 4 or 5 indie authors are all publishing their books within the next two weeks, and I WANT TO BUY THEM ALL! I'm pretty sure they all conspired together to make me go bankrupt. No fair! They should have spread out the dates so I could justify buying them all!

[Arielle]

@JD, sure. They're on the Intuitive Writing Guide site, but I'll grab the specific links.

https://intuitivewritingguide.wordpre...
https://intuitivewritingguide.wordpre...
https://intuitivewritingguide.wordpre...

[@Mods, if one isn't supposed to post their own links here, I APOLOGIZE and I'll delete the comment.]

[Arielle]

Sarah Grace wrote: "On another note: somebody HELP! 4 or 5 indie authors are all publishing their books within the next two weeks, and I WANT TO BUY THEM ALL! I'm pretty sure they all conspired together to make me go ..."

Oooh, who all is publishing?

[Victoria]

You are fine @Arielle. I look forward to reading them! Thanks for sharing!

[J.D.]

Arielle wrote: "@JD, sure. They're on the Intuitive Writing Guide site, but I'll grab the specific links."

Thank you!

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Arielle wrote: "@JD, sure. They're on the Intuitive Writing Guide site, but I'll grab the specific links.

https://intuitivewritingguide.wordpre...
https://intuitivewri..."

Link away! Just don't go crazy. ;) I trust you. :)

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Arielle wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "On another note: somebody HELP! 4 or 5 indie authors are all publishing their books within the next two weeks, and I WANT TO BUY THEM ALL! I'm pretty sure they all conspired tog..."

Let's see, Kate Willis, Paul Willis, Malachi Cyr, Maggie Joy, Faith Potts, anddddd . . . I feel like there's one more person, but I can't remember right now. :) I'm especially excited to buy Maggie's and Paul's books. I've read Paul's, and it was great (and the cover is so gorgeous, I have to own a paperback), and Maggie's is a WW2 fiction, which I love, so I must own that. And that one also has a gorgeous cover. ;)

[Arielle]

Sarah Grace wrote: "Arielle wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "On another note: somebody HELP! 4 or 5 indie authors are all publishing their books within the next two weeks, and I WANT TO BUY THEM ALL! I'm pretty sure they a..."

I think I have one from Kate Willis on my Kindle waiting to be read but I haven't read any of the others. I'll have to look them up! Thanks! (Alllll the cover love, right? :D)

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Arielle wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "Arielle wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "On another note: somebody HELP! 4 or 5 indie authors are all publishing their books within the next two weeks, and I WANT TO BUY THEM ALL! I'..."

Which one? Yup yup! I'm a sucker for pretty book covers. ;)

[Emily]

JD wrote: "Well thank you all for chiming in and responding to my inquisitiveness. I enjoy discussions like this. Especially since I see some very stark parallels to what I face in the podcasting community. I..."

I'm so glad you brought this whole thing up--I have often wondered the very same thing, myself. I've often stepped into the role of editor for friends in college, as well as for a few that were writing creative projects. Those in school, though, I demand (sounds harsh, but it's not) be present during editing, as I like to teach the whys and wherefores for each correction, so that they won't have to depend on me forever. I am the current reigning "Comma Queen" amongst my crowd, and am a delightful user of the Oxford comma.

[Hannah]

Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's books.

[J.D.]

Emily wrote: "JD wrote: "Well thank you all for chiming in and responding to my inquisitiveness. I enjoy discussions like this. Especially since I see some very stark parallels to what I face in the podcasting c..."

Ah! I'm glad I'm not the only one to benefit from the discussion, Emily. :)

[Arielle]

Sarah Grace wrote: "Arielle wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "Arielle wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "On another note: somebody HELP! 4 or 5 indie authors are all publishing their books within the next two weeks, and I WANT TO ..."

The Treasure Hunt. I assume you've read it- did you like it?

[Arielle]

Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's books."

I don't think I've ever read any of hers but I'll steer clear of them for sure now.

[Erudessa]

Sarah Grace wrote: "On another note: somebody HELP! 4 or 5 indie authors are all publishing their books within the next two weeks, and I WANT TO BUY THEM ALL! I'm pretty sure they all conspired together to make me go ..."

I'm sorry!! I totally know what that is like!!

On a side note, I'm grinning like an idiot over here reading this latest conversation because Arielle and I have the exact same one at LEAST once a month!!

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Arielle wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "Arielle wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "Arielle wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "On another note: somebody HELP! 4 or 5 indie authors are all publishing their books within the next two w..."

Ah, yes. It was good! Definitely geared toward a younger age range (probably 8-12), but it was good! :)

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Erudessa wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "On another note: somebody HELP! 4 or 5 indie authors are all publishing their books within the next two weeks, and I WANT TO BUY THEM ALL! I'm pretty sure they all conspired tog..."

LOL!

[Hannah]

Arielle wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's books."

I don't ..."

Her earlier ones were great, but the more recent ones are full of wrong word choices (there/their, mantel/mantle, etc) that I just can't take any more. And after I'd made that decision, a previous review request I'd made got approved, and that one was just as messy, besides being theologically unsound.

[Erudessa]

Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's books."

You don't want to get me started on Gilbert Morris' Bonnets and Bugles series. You really don't.

[Arielle]

Hannah wrote: "Arielle wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's b..."

Oh OUCH. What a headache.

[Hannah]

Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's books."

You don'..."

Oh, thanks for the heads-up on those!!

[Erudessa]

Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's ..."

Within the first 2 chapters in the first book, each family's loyalties change (and this is a continuity error) at LEAST twice and one girls hair and eye color are one thing, change to another and then change back to the first. It drives me crazy. Not to mention the modern attitudes and modern sayings the characters use.

[J.D.]

Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading ..."

That sounds dreadful!

[Erudessa]

JD wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I..."

It is. It's also one of the reasons I haven't purchased the books. I first read them when a sister bought them, but she no longer lives here so I don't have access to them.

[Hannah]

Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading ..."

Modern attitudes and speech is why I've given up on reading Lynn Austin.

[Erudessa]

Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I..."

I've heard friends rave about her, so when Arielle brought one of hers home from the library, I was interested to see what it was like. I began to read it, wound up skipping to the end and decided that I didn't want to read anymore!! I won't read anymore of Jody Hedlund's for the same reason.

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's books."

You don'..."

Oh, really? Have you read any of Gilbert Morris's other books? I have his House of Winslow series, but haven't read it yet.

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

My favorite author, Lauraine Snelling, has similar continuity issues, such as physical features changing, and things like that. But, it doesn't bother me, because she has a serious of 10 books, two trilogies set in the same town, focusing on different characters, then 2 more four books series, all in the same town\setting. So, after 24ish books, I can't really blame her for missing SOMETHING. ;) And there was only maybe 4 instances of issues throughout all 24 books.

[Hannah]

Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one o..."

I've also noticed that in Elizabeth Camden's newest books. So irritating!

[Erudessa]

Sarah Grace wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's ..."

Yes, I read one other book, it was a Alamo story and then I've read a co-written series of his (co-written with Aaron McCarver) and even they had modern attitudes that annoyed me.

[Erudessa]

Sarah Grace wrote: "My favorite author, Lauraine Snelling, has similar continuity issues, such as physical features changing, and things like that. But, it doesn't bother me, because she has a serious of 10 books, two..."

I don't think I've read any of hers.

[Erudessa]

Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in t..."

I haven't read any of hers, either!

Grace Livingston Hill has quite a few age continuities in her novels and those are rather irritating.

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Erudessa wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped rea..."

I started reading a series he co-authored with his daughter, but stopped after the first book. The romance was just wayyyy to drawn out (they should have gotten married in the first book, but lo and behold, 7 books later, at the end of the series, they STILL aren't married!), and there were some things like you were talking about. Overly modern stuff in his-fic drives me nuts. I decided to give the House of Winslow series a shot, as my sister-in-law-to-be loves them.

[Erudessa]

Sarah Grace wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reas..."

I've heard good and bad things about them. But if you want really good historical fiction, try Ann Rinaldi.

[Emily]

@Sarah Grace--a friend of mine actually recommended that series after I told her about the time periods in this challenge! I picked out a couple, but I haven't decided whether I shall read them or not.

[Hanna]

Sarah Grace wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped reading Rachel Hauck's ..."

I'm in the middle of the House of Winslow series, too. I am totally not bugged by typos or many inconsistencies (if they're important to the story, maybe I will, but things like hair or eye color, or someone's nickname I probably won't even notice) so that's why I won't shy away from books like that. To warn you, though, apparently Gilbert Morris' Seven Sleepers series has inconsistencies- though I haven't noticed them. (My siblings, did, though)

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Emily wrote: "@Sarah Grace--a friend of mine actually recommended that series after I told her about the time periods in this challenge! I picked out a couple, but I haven't decided whether I shall read them or ..."

READ THEM!!! Which ones did you pick??

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Erudessa wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. Th..."

I'll check her out!

[Sarah Grace, Moderator]

Hanna wrote: "Sarah Grace wrote: "Erudessa wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Arielle...I too will be highly offended with professionally published books with repeated errors in them. That's one of the reasons I stopped rea..."

Do you like it so far?

[Emily]

The Captive Bride (1659) and The Indentured Heart (1740). Haha, I think I WILL read them also due to their being shorter than the others I had from those periods, PLUS my 1500s read is quite lengthy.