Editio Self-Publishing discussion
General
>
Rant- readers just don't get how hard writing is!
date
newest »
newest »
Nicely said. It's hard work and we put all our extra time and energy into these books. I read all the time and even the books that have publishing conpanies still have errors.
I too write and know how difficult it is to catch all the mistakes, even with online grammar and spelling checkers. I once had an opening chapter critiqued in an online forum and was berated for having 'several spelling and grammatical errors in the opening paragraph. I was unable to find any grammatical errors, nor could anyone else for that matter. The 'spelling mistakes' turned out to be one spelling difference between UK and American english (sorry guys but UK english is english as it comes from England the clue is in the name. American english is a mutation).Very few actually commented on the story but several wished to be the Grammar Politzei it seems.
If the story is good then mistakes can and should be overlooked, they are inevitable, we are human.
Tend to the story and then tend to the grammar.
Glen- I am completely with you on that. I read many kindle books and unless the mistakes are so awful that i can't figure out what the author is saying, I usually try to ignore them.I hate when people focus on minor details instead of the important stuff!!!
I recently read a Sci-Fi series on Kindle. Four books in all. It was clear that they had not been edited professionally and maybe not at all, but they did improve. I stuck with them because despite the many errors he had a 'ripping good yarn'. I read fiction for the story and textbooks for knowledge. Now if writers,can forgive errors then readers should too.
Agreed. Also, writing is a process and we have to learn and grow. I sometimes think storytelling is the part of writing we are "born with" and the actual writing is the part we have to learn. That is certainly the hardest part of all.
I don't know. When I watch Olympic gymnastics, I can only evaluate an athlete's performance based upon the criteria I can comprehend. I may not know the level of difficulty in a particular routine or how well the gymnast performed each trick, but I know one thing. I know how to tell how well they stuck the landing. It's the only part of the sport I can easily evaluate. That uneven parallel bar routine may have been executed with superhuman perfection, but if she takes a step on the landing, I'm shaking my head and saying, "Uh oh. That's going to be a big deduction."
I'm not saying that it's quite the same thing for readers, but I think that some people find it difficult to keep score when writing a review. When looking for quantifiable objective data to use in their evaluation, tracking the number of misspelled words, or grammatical errors seems like a valid method of evaluation. I'm sure that for many people, this type of analysis is important, because these are factors that make or break the book in their view. I think that different people value different things in the books they read. Personally, I'm far more interested in the ideas, characters, and stories within the book than I am in the spelling and grammar. In the end, each review comes down to individual opinions rather than an absolute and arbitrary standard. Even if a reader/reviewer does not understand the difficulty, effort, and personal cost required to write a book, that's okay. I don't understand the labor and commitment required to win a Gold medal, either.
One of the most repeated pet peeves was misspellings/grammer errors/incorrect word usage. One person said that even one error is too much and they only consider a book good with under 3 errors (that is 3 errors per 50k plus words, think about that).
I pointed out politely that most writers do try their best but when we sell books for 99 cents we can't afford a professional editor (I have actually paid freelance editors and still ended up with more than 3 errors in a book for sure).
This started them off ranting about how authors shouldn't write if they can't spell/don't know diff btwn bear and bare/etc.
Storytelling and grammer are not even the same processes!
I just know at least one of the people on the discussion must have worked fast food before. 4 people min (when I worked mcd that was about how many people min it took to get an order taken, made, and out the window) can't get a dollar menu burger correct and it is just the way things are but indie authors who are going it alone and make WAY less than fast food employees can't make small errors on books that cost less than a mcchicken sand!
Well, writing is our profession, these poor misguided readers cry out. Well, my doctor went to medical school and is licensed and still has been wrong before. I have a degree in health information management and write as a hobby. I put out books (99 cents for smaller than novel and $2.99 for novel length work) that I spend months/years working on, yet I am not allowed to make the amount of mistakes other "professionals" make.
It is one thing if a writer publishes something completely unedited and first draft but quite another when the writer has edited the damn manuscript til they want to puke, had beta readers read it over, ran spell check/grammer check, and yet still has a few missuses of bear and bare/their and there/ accept and except/ affect and effect).
And then to suggest that we indie writers just should be reading mroe/doing crossword puzzles/looking over word a day calenders makes me mad.
I work full time at a professional job, mother two children, and still manage to write. I read when I use the toilet and listen to audiobooks on my way to work. I live for books. But, I still make small spelling/grammer issues.
Well, stupid readers who want error free books for 99 cents can smooch my posterior!