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| Typo Cat found a split infinitive in his latest novel. He is noticeably upset. |
I LOVE TYPOS! Okay, no, I don't love them at all, but I'm certainly guilty of them. Now that THE WHITE ASSASSIN will soon be making its merry way to the printer, I get very nervous about typos in the printed book.
I had one really obvious typo in the NIGHTSHADE CITY hardcover, wherein "food" was printed in the book when it should have been "foot." Yes, that one made me cringe, (especially when it was not in the galley) and was of course corrected in the paperback.
In all my years of reading books, I'd say over a third of the books I've read have had some sort of typo(s) in them, and it doesn't matter how big or small the publisher is, or if the author is a bestseller or a debut--they're there. I don't mind them at all and I actually like finding them. After all, we're only human and when a book goes from writer to editor, back to writer, back to editor, off to copy editor, back to editor and writer, off to printer, back to copy editor, back to editor, then off to readers, and back to editor, and then, FINALLY, off to printer...mistakes happen! Wow, I'm exhausted!
How do you feel about typos? Do you give a little smile and move on or do they make you annoyed?
Come to think of it, there is probably a typo in this post, but just ignore it--if you can! ;)
Hah! I love that you purposely put a few typos in this. I can only spot two, but there could be more! They're nasty little buggers, and hard to catch.
ReplyDeleteIf you have the inclination Hilary, check out some of the 'Classics' sometime. I've found dozens over the years by books considered essential reading for students, published by some of the top publishers. :)
ReplyDeleteWhoops did I just type 'by' after the word years - TYPO lol :)
ReplyDeleteLOL Hilary! Yes, I have read many a book, and seen typo's here and there. It doesn't bother me at all; unless the typo is so bad, it ditracts the flow. That is my biggest fear right now though. Waiting for my book to be editing right now, releasing in October...and will it be "suitable". Or will I have an occurance where instead of food, I get foot! LOL. Carry on.... :)
ReplyDeleteTypos in printed books never annoy me--instead, they really do make me smile :) (When I even notice them at all.) We're all humans! Everyone makes mistakes.
ReplyDeleteErrr...Matt, those were not done on purpose! Bwah! Yes, I am a typo queen! Too funny! ;)
ReplyDeleteJack, you are among typo friends here, so no worries! I can't imagine what it was like in the early days of publishing. Things were not exactly high-tech. I wonder how long the copy editing process took back then to get it right?
Lyn! Yeah, that one made me want to stick my head in the sand. They are unavoidable. Once the book is printed. It's printed. Not much you can do!
Sara, they make me smile too. I'm sure they don't make the author who wrote the book smile! I found a big one in Wicked when I read it years back. Things like that make you feel better about your own typos! They happen...to EVERYONE! :)
Something like foot and food can easily be missed after so many rounds of edits. Small typos in printed books don't bother me either. I just smile, happy to see even my favorite authors are human.
ReplyDeleteGreat post~ I don't mind finding them, but I definitely feel a little bad for the author. These things happen :)
ReplyDeleteLove the cat! Yeah, typos bug the crap out of me, especially when it's a published work. I know, I should be more forgiving, but I can't help it. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteCherie, yes, it's good to know it happens to everyone! We are not alone! :)
ReplyDeleteJess, certainly an "I want to fall through the floor moment," for the author. At least it was for me when I first went through the hardcover, but I learned quickly, get over it and move on! :)
Eric, we are who we are, no worries! Typos don't bother me, but over descriptive writing does. I hate having to skim through sections of a book because the author drags out the description of a meadow into three pages! Ha, ha! It's a meadow, there is grass, it is green. DONE! ;)
Typos make me smile, like I found some kind of secret in the novel. But yeah, if it was MY book, I'd be freaking about about the typos.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with The White Assassin, Hilary!
I gloss over typos. If I have a pen in hand, sometimes I circle them. Probably because I'm a teacher. They don't make me mad. In fact they please me, because when an author I admire makes mistakes I feel less self-conscious of my own.
ReplyDeleteTere, as long as they get my name right, from now on, I'll be happy! ;)
ReplyDeleteMedeia, I agree! I freaked out before, but now I'm over it. I have much more too worry my neurotic head about. Ha! ;)
Definitely avoid them if I can. I mean. They're typos. Sure on the internet you can get away with text-talk and whatnot, but a printed book? I like to avoid the grammer police if I can.
ReplyDeleteErr, I mean grammar.
David, I too try and try to avoid said police, but man, even when I think it's perfect, my agent or my husband (who is the official grammar police) always find something! :)
ReplyDeleteTypos happen. Sometimes I mark them, but more often than not I don't pay them no never mind. I don't recall running up against food instead of foot in Nightshade City, so it isn't that obvious and I know this as I'm a slow reader, reading one...word...at...a...time. :)
ReplyDeleteBish, I'm a slow reader too! Billycan is supposed to crush one of Hob's toys with his foot, but in the book it says food! Ha, ha! Must be some pretty heavy food, like a Whopper with extra cheese! :)
ReplyDeleteTypos don't make me mad or think less of anybody. But I do fix them in with a pencil when I find them, even in a library book.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, that's so cute that you do that! :) I've never seen that before. Can you imagine a neurotic author finding a typo in their latest book and raiding all the local bookstores with a pen?? And no, I did not do that! Scouts' Honor! ;)
ReplyDeleteTypos don't bug me, bad writing bugs me! Haven't read a bad book in a while though, happy to say!
ReplyDeleteLOL
ReplyDeleteOr maybe they would just do that at book signings. The author signs it, then flips to the page with the typo. "Just a second. Gotta fix something." LOL
Ha! Why didn't I think of that? That's a good one! ;)
ReplyDeleteTypos in books don't bother me, unless there are so many that they start to get distracting. I have read a couple of books that I wondered if they had been looked over at all before being sent off for printing.
ReplyDeleteI feel there shouldn't be any typos in a printed book. It should have had enough read-throughs to eliminate any mistakes. That said, I don't throw a book away or stop reading if I see one, or two, or three, or one hundred, wait, okay, well maybe if there are one hundred I'd chuck the book in the trash, but you get what I'm saying. And, yes, makes me cringe when I see typos in my work and I've sent it out to editors. My agent says "don't worry, give the editor something to do" but I still cringe. Makes it worse that I'm a teacher and I have very fine-tuned radar for typos. Now go ahead and read my comment for typos, why don't you.
ReplyDeleteSusanne, I've never read a book with scores of typos, but that would get on my nerves big time!
ReplyDeleteMichael, you are one tough customer! ;) Sadly, a lot of typos make it into books from glitches at the printers. An editor and I talked once about the process at the printers, and it seems like a typo or two could easily slip through. In fact, that's what happened with the "food"/"foot" typo in my book.
:)