When I read blogs and forums about self publishing I find numerous suggestions that authors either hire a proofreader or go over their manuscripts thoroughly again and again.
I agree. But even with numerous readings, a manuscript can still have errors.
One of the (supposed) advantages of having a manuscript published by one of the major houses is the availability of professional editors and proofreaders.
But even that doesn't ensure a perfectly clean product. And if you think a little mistake will go unnoticed, think again. Case in point is a copy of Cold Case by Stephen White, which I picked up and read recently. It was a used copy, a hardbound published by Dutton.
Whomever owned the book before me didn't just notice errors he or she highlighted them and wrote above the highlighting. On page 181, for example, the sentence read in part, "...the local corner is an M.D." The reader corrected it with the word coroner.
On the very next page, a sentence read, "A second perimeter of yellow crime-scene tape blocked any closer access to the body."
At this point, I assumed there was a body but there wasn't. And, later, the body was discovered far away from the scene.
On page 189, the sentence read, "You're the psychologist--people wanting vengeance tend be your angry people, right?"
Except for the error referring to a non-existent body, it's easy to see how errors can slip by. And overall, the mistakes don't interfere with the plot or the writer's skill ... Little errors, yes, but wouldn't it have been shocking if the invisible body showed up later -- alive and well?
Little errors, yes, but not unnoticed.
No comments:
Post a Comment