I put my book through three edits before publishing but there is a vocal minority of my readers who are complaining that the book has numerous typos. I am not really sure what to do from here. Should I submit it to a fourth edit? So confused right now. Thanks.
Readers finding multiple errors.
- Thread starter D.C. Lewis
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I have seen this before. If you can't find the errors yourself (and it can be harder for the writer), then you need to hire someone who can.
Readers will forgive a typo or two, but when it become truly noticeable that is one of the first things they'll mention.
I clicked on someone's link here the other day to their book on Amazon (with the Look Inside feature). The first thing I saw was the use of "your" for "you're". I didn't read much further.
Readers will forgive a typo or two, but when it become truly noticeable that is one of the first things they'll mention.
I clicked on someone's link here the other day to their book on Amazon (with the Look Inside feature). The first thing I saw was the use of "your" for "you're". I didn't read much further.
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Who is doing the editing?
If you are, it is not unusual for a writer to miss typos, spelling errors and punctuation problems, no matter how good they are. If this is the case you more than likely need a proofreader...
If you are, it is not unusual for a writer to miss typos, spelling errors and punctuation problems, no matter how good they are. If this is the case you more than likely need a proofreader...
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If your name here is the name on the book, and the book is available on Amazon, the readers who are complaining are correct. It's more than typos; there're a lot of errors of multiple types even just on the first page.
If you're the one who has been editing it, take heed of the cat's advice, and seek a professional editor. If you mean you've had it edited by someone else, that's a problem with that person or people, and you need a different editor.
I am that way, too. For me, such mistakes are an automatic turn-off. Unfortunately, not a day goes by that I don't encounter something like "They brought there reports with them" or "The dog has it's own house" or "She always dressed very discretely." Yesterday, reading a self-pub mystery, I found several references to a place called "Silicone Valley." Unless the writer was attempting a joke--I don't think she was--this kind of sloppiness is inexcusable.
Like alleycat (above), when I bump into such errors, I stop reading. If the author is new to me, whatever temporary goodwill I had toward her or him sinks like a led balloon.
Sorry, I should have made my initial post more clear. Yes I did hire someone to edit my book for me. Seems as if I may have gotten taken for a ride. I will admit that editing/proofreading is not my strongest skill and have difficulty seeing my own errors but I am going to not only go through it again personally but have another editor go through it as well.
A painful but valuable lesson.
Thanks for the responses.
I hired someone local who had great endorsements from other authors. Not sure what happened. At one point, I was concerned that I might have submitted the unedited copy but that wasn't the case.
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If you paid someone who billed themselves as an editor and that's the product you got, yeah, that's bad. People posing as editors are infuriating. I'm sorry you got taken, especially as you did the right thing and sought an editor, knowing you needed one.
There are some threads around here that discuss editors and, I believe, review their services.
Just FYI, The first paragraph alone has several errors, including a fragment posing as a sentence and an improperly-punctuated sentence that doesn't really make sense.
Yes, very infuriating but unfortunately the cards I have been dealt at this point. I am considering taking the book down until I can get it revised. Hate to do it but I think that is best.
I will also see if I can proofread that first paragraph and see if I can detect the errors as well. Thanks for taking the time to look at it, much appreciated.
College Professor who had edited for a friend of mine that owns a publishing company and came highly recommended. I really enjoyed working with him, he was readily available and we met weekly to discuss issues with the book. Over time we developed a loose friendship and I came to trust him and failed to go back and read the book in its entirety once completed. A foolish mistake I know and one that I won't make again.
Like I stated before, editing/proofreading is not my strong suit but after getting the feedback from cornflake (thanks again), I went back and reread my first paragraph and there were the errors, staring me right in the face.
I just hope this hasn't destroyed my credibility.
I might be way off base here, but if you discussed the book's issues, is it possible this person simply did a structural edit and didn't know proofreading was their job, too? Did they suggest a lot of grammatical changes in Word that you could see and implement?
Oh yes, he printed a copy of the book and went through it with red ink and showed me the errors before changes were made.
Edit: I feel as if my posts are coming off as too negative concerning this editor. For the most part, he did a fantastic job and put a lot of work into helping me with my first book. I know that none of us are perfect and that even editors make mistakes so if my posts have come off as seeming overly critical, I do apologize, I am just really being blindsided by this today.
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If there are still excessive errors, is it possible that he did a hard copy edit expecting you to make the final changes yourself?
Generally editing is not the final stage before publishing. After an edit there should be a proofread to ensure all the errors and changes identified at editing stage have been incorporated into the final copy. An editor and a proofreader have different skill sets so this wouldn't necessarily be something done by one person.
My suggestion would be to meet with him again and show him some of the reviews and identified errors and see if you can work together to find out where the problem has occurred. If it ends up being at his end, ask for your money back.
I do not say this to be mean, but being a college professor does not make one a good editor. Also, if he had editing experience, was it fiction, or non fiction. There is a world of difference between the two...
Yes, I went back and made the corrections myself and while I am nearly 100% positive that I followed his edit exactly, I need to rule myself out as being the cause. With that in mind, I am going to dig the red-inked edit out of storage and compare it to the published work.
Thanks for the suggestions, I must admit that I am out of my depth here.
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Fiction vs. nonfic has no bearing here, imo. There are situations I can see the argument being made in, but we're talking about (in addition to other things) very basic issues like fragments posing as sentences. That's got nothing to do with fic vs. nonfic.
If he was strictly a developmental editor maybe, but in that case, even if he didn't show the corrections for everything, he should've made clear another editor was needed.
I don't think it's being harsh - there's no excuse for this kind of crap. Everyone makes mistakes; a trade published book that's had three editors and a proofer through it can still sport an error or two. That's just not what seems to have happened here.
If he was strictly a developmental editor maybe, but in that case, even if he didn't show the corrections for everything, he should've made clear another editor was needed.
I don't think it's being harsh - there's no excuse for this kind of crap. Everyone makes mistakes; a trade published book that's had three editors and a proofer through it can still sport an error or two. That's just not what seems to have happened here.
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It's my understanding that if you take a book down, you lose all your reviews. In this case, that might be a good thing. You could take it down, get it edited properly, and repost it.
(I know editing is expensive, sorry, I don't mean to be casual about that. I'm just addressing the taking the book down idea.)
(I know editing is expensive, sorry, I don't mean to be casual about that. I'm just addressing the taking the book down idea.)
No need to apologize since I believe this is exactly what I need to do until I can afford to have it edited again. Feels like I am starting from square one but I want my readers to have a polished product, not something that appears to be half completed. I put over 2 years into getting this book written and want the published edition to reflect that.
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Yep, yep. Or when I see it on the writer's blog, I think the same.
Or when a word missing. Or is is repeated. Or entire pages thinking-wondering-worrying about something inane like the color of one's hair. Awkward dialogue. Strange transitions from scene to scene. Shifting POV. Changing verb tenses, sometimes in the same sentence.
A good editor should not be missing any of these.
Not to pour on the negativity, but your manuscript wasn't edited. Well, maybe you and the college professor had some discussions about overall structure, plot, and characterization, but there's no way the text was edited with the eye of a copy editor and/or proofreader, which is what you need.
Having "some discussions about overall structure, plot, and characterization" is much of what editing involves.
Copy editing and proof reading pick up smaller errors, but they're not the main focus of editing.
Yes, I get that you are talking about the different types of editing--content vs. line vs. proofreading. And all the superb content editing in the world isn't going to save a book filled with grammatical errors. But from what I see when I click on "Look Inside" for self-pub books, many writers forgo hiring a professional to line edit. It actually makes me sad for them. Yes, quality copy editing is expensive, but considering that the copy editor will likely spend at least forty to fifty hours on your manuscript (depending on length and the shape it's in) making sure your book doesn't read like ass, it's worth it.
This.
I'm more concerned that this "editor" is charging for his services and delivering bad copy.
While I know you may not want to cause waves I might suggest you ask for a refund and possibly put him up in the Bewares forum.
If he were just a friend it'd be one thing - but for a supposed "editor" to charge money and miss "your" for "you're" on the first page... that's inexcusable, imo.
Again, JMO. But if he's taking advantage of others to charge for substandard editing others need to be warned away from him.