Goodie! Line by line time!
Infocenter
Administrator
4/13/2005
17:57:29
RE: Option 1 or Option 2???
So good to see you again. Do you have a name? Any experience in publishing?
Message:
Oh, and as for the myth about us using spellchecks, and other nonsense,
PA's reliance on spellchecks is obvious to anyone who reads their books. Take, for example,
A Handsome Guy by Phil Dolan, one of their Best Sellers from last year. In that book we see Ernie
Pyle, the war correspondent, turned into Ernie
Pile. That looks like a mistake with a spellcheck. Are you saying the author made that error and the editor didn't catch it? Well, okay, maybe. In that same book, the town of Itoman (a place on Okinawa important to the action -- the book is a nonfiction account of the WWII Battle of Okinawa) was consistently spelled AUTOIMMUNE (yes, all caps). How did that happen if it wasn't through editing by spellchecker?
In another PA book (which I refrain from naming, since the author sent me the .pdf in confidence), the editor didn't spot the difference between peak, peek, and pique. That's the sort of error that a spellcheck would miss, since all three words are spelled correctly, but a human editor wouldn't miss. At least, not a competent human editor.
here is what some of your peers have had to say recently:
Dr. Gerald Roe, author of "Terror in the Steel Mountains": "As to the editing process, I found PublishAmerica to be careful, detail oriented, and, on occasion, rather tough. It was obvious to me in the several "back and forths" with my own manuscript that a fine tooth comb was applied to my every word. As a college professor, I deal with editing, grading numerous student papers. The work is tough and exacting. There are times when even the closest scrutiny fails to spot every editorial need. Perhaps those who complain the loudest should spend more time developing their own editorial skills. We do, after all, claim to be writers."
179 pages, $19.95, November 2004, ISBN 1413741363
John Shiffert, Director of University Relations, Clayton College & State University: "Please accept this note of highest commendation for "my" editor, Jennifer Hendershot. As a first time author, but also an editor (of books, and in the newspaper, magazine and business fields) of many years experience, I must tell you how impressed and appreciative I am of Ms. Hendershot’s work on my book, 'Baseball: 1862 to 2003'."
312 pages, $24.95, January 2005, ISBN 1413742769
Eileen Bennett, author of "Incidental Tears": "YOU are my hero! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it... It was a joy having you as my editor!"
208 pages, $19.95, March 2005, ISBN 1413754120
Gloria Lewis, author of "Rain on Red Clay": "Dear Sandee, You are a jewel of a lady. Your guidance in the editing process has made me feel so much better about my book. I hope PA pays you well because you more than earn your salary, having to deal with insecure writer such as this soul. I sincerely appreciate all your work and help. PS: I'll miss working with you."
216 pages, $19.95, December 2004, ISBN 1413741568
We have over the years received literally thousands of such thank-you notes. That's the real story about our editing. So can we now go back to reality, please?
Back to reality would be a good thing. Do your editors still have a quota of twelve books per month? Are you honestly claiming that your people can properly edit on three books per week, especially considering that none of them have ever worked as editors before? Why are you only quoting recently published authors? Have the older guys figured out what happened?
Earlier, same thread, Infocenter said:
We are increasing our editing team, hiring more editors than the roughly forty that we already had, so it makes normal business sense to also increase our efficiency.
Someone stop me if I'm wrong, but didn't they claim to have
already hired those extra editors?