Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Em's avatar

Re: the parenthetical "it isn't always [correct]" and the reader comment about Kindle offering a "send feedback" option:

I quietly fired one of my clients over this. Her new boyfriend decided to start "helping" her manage her very successful self-publishing career. One of his self-appointed duties was to gather and present to her all the errors readers had reported.

He encouraged her to get a new editor after presenting her with a list of 70+ "errors" from her most recent bestseller. She sent me a scathing letter pointing out that she paid me well (and on time) and expected better from me, and wanted to know how I intended to address the problem.

I sent back an email breaking down every single entry on the list, with citations (including from Dreyer's English!) where applicable, and pointed out that only one of the 70+ items was a legitimate error (a missing "to," IIRC). The rest were either correct or appropriate (e.g., a character speaking in slang), except for nearly a dozen which SHE (or the bf) had introduced in the review process.

Her reply scolded me for "taking up so much of [her] time" by analyzing each item, and reiterated that I should just be more careful in the future because more than 2-3 errors per book was unacceptable. I was "unfortunately booked solid for two months" when she wanted to send her next MS, and the next after that.

I think her new editor is the boyfriend's cousin. I still take great if petty joy in reading her reviews and seeing how many complaints she now gets about the abundant (actual) errors.

Expand full comment
Joanne's avatar

A Word About... is always in my top 5 favorite parts of any day in which it appears. Also in the top 5 are my adorable and precocious great-niece and great-nephew, so please trust that you are in good company. Rounding out the list are a walk around the lake and baseball.

Expand full comment
68 more comments...

No posts