Note the face of innocence
I’m snitching
on myself this week. I noticed one specific mistake each in two books I’ve
written. Both times I called one character by another character’s name. Not
being perfect, I’m sure there are other mistakes, too. Stuff happens, no matter
how careful I am.
Because I
write, proofread, fix and proofread again, it’s become a habit. When I read
books by other writers, I tend to zero in on typos or mistakes. It’s very
annoying to me. I just want to read and not
notice things. I simply want to enjoy the story.
I’m reading a
series right now that has many errors, but I won’t mention the author’s name
because that wouldn’t be fair. Here’s the thing. The writer’s stories are so engaging
and enjoyable that I don’t care about the mistakes. Just give me the story.
I’ve read
books by Big Name authors and discovered errors, and they have editors who do
great jobs, but sometimes things just seem to slip past us – or them.
I think
writers, editors and readers often miss typos because they read the work as
it’s supposed to read, not the way it
actually does. Our brains have a way of doing that to us when we’re expecting a
certain word or phrase.
Sometimes our
brains work faster than our fingers while we type. It can be difficult to keep
up.
Is it the end
of the world if we make a mistake? No. Will a reader call us on it? Possibly.
Can it be fixed? Certainly. However, if you’re as lazy as I am, you just hope
no one notices. The thought of rereleasing a book makes me want to hide under
the bed. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot; now my readers will start
looking for errors. I can only say, enjoy the story, forgive the mistakes.
Any distraction can cause problems – the phone ringing
during a crucial scene, the dogs barking, the mailman bringing a package to the
door, even a sudden revelation or inspiration regarding a whole different
scene.
So to all
writers who know they’ve made a mistake, my heart goes out to you and I hope
readers will be forgiving. We do the best we can, which isn’t always… Oh, the
heck with it. Enjoy the stories you read as much as I’m enjoying the series I’m
reading. I don’t care about the
author’s mistakes. Just give me a good story.
Until next
time, I hope you have a great week filled with good weather and sunny beaches.
CLICK HERE to
visit Marja McGraw’s website
CLICK HERE
for a quick trip to Amazon.com
Gin Mill Grill – A Sandi Webster Mystery
is the latest in this series, and will be followed by a book as yet untitled.
Sometimes the title is just out of my grasp, but it’ll come to me.
I agree that a good story is the most important element of a book and I know that no book I read (or write) will be perfect. We writers are human beings and humans make mistakes. But I have to say that you're a more tolerant reader than I am. If I start to read a book and I'm bombarded with typos and other errors, I stop reading. Because what that says to me is that the author didn't bother to proofread their book and/or to have others read it before publishing. If they can't take the time to do that, I can't take the time to read it.
ReplyDeleteIn this case the author is from a different country and with a traditional publisher. I don't know what went wrong, but the stories are addicting. In most cases I would react the way you do, but this was an exception. The funny thing is that the series is in a genre I never read. Thank you so much for stopping in!
DeleteThis reminds me of a series in which each book was very long. I read them all and read them in order. I loved the subject matter. By the time I got to the last one, I noticed some typos but my sympathy went to the editor. She or he had a tremendous job editing all those books and finally getting to the last one must have been exhausting. In this case the editor was most definitely forgiven.
ReplyDeleteThe first book in the series I'm reading was fairly error free, but after that there were plenty of mistakes. It's a good thing the author is keeping me entertained. : ) Thanks you so much for stopping in!
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ReplyDeleteI can overlook a small mistake in a novel, like switching a name or two, but a book with a lot of easily fixable typos is something I’ll definitely put down. Now a big mistake is another thing, entirely. If you have one in your novel, and you know it's there, it's like a ticking time bomb... you never know when someone will call you on it. Just a matter of time. It's out there with your name on it ready to blow up and embarrass the heck out of you, probably at the worst possible time and when you least expect it. (Sigh!)
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Evelyn, and I shouldn't be lazy about those names. However, like I said, I'm enjoying this series so much that I can over look almost anything. I never thought I'd hear myself saying that. Thank you so much for stopping in!
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