Weird formatting

khalleron · 10-17-2011, 05:55 PM

I just bought the new Terry Pratchett, 'Snuff', and it has the weirdest quirk.

The word 'people' never has a space in front of it - it's always mashed into the word or punctuation before it.

There are a few other missing spaces, but nothing else this consistent. It's driving me buggy!

TFeldt · 10-17-2011, 05:59 PM

You're not alone, actually holding off buying it for a bit until I get some confirmation that it's fixed. There was a post on teleread about it http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/te...nproofed-book/

khalleron · 10-17-2011, 06:17 PM

I see a lot of people on that thread trying to blame Amazon, but I bought mine in epub from the Sony Store, last night.

pidgeon92 · 10-17-2011, 06:47 PM

Amazon doesn't format ebooks, the publishers do.

And I come across a lot of ebooks with poor formatting, both from Amazon and from books that I borrow from the library.

khalleron · 10-17-2011, 06:55 PM

I sent an email to Sony and they sent this reply:

Quote:

Thank you for contacting Sony Support.

We are sorry for all the inconvenience you've encountered with the typos on the title Snuff by Terry Pratchett. Sony's Reader Store content development team has forwarded your recent concern to engineering for confirmation. If they determine that the file contained on our site requires correction, they will resolve the issue quickly. As soon as the issue has been addressed, you will be contacted again with further information.

Thank you for being a valued Sony Customer.

I don't mind it so much when I get Google Books or even library books with oodles of typos, but a book I paid $13 for should be nearly pristine.

Humph.

poohbear_nc · 10-17-2011, 07:03 PM

Amazon will probably send out a corrected version when it becomes available.

JSWolf · 10-17-2011, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Amazon will probably send out a corrected version when it becomes available.

If the errors are as simple as they sound, I can edit the ePub to fix them myself. No need to wait. +1 for ePub.

poohbear_nc · 10-18-2011, 10:41 AM

Actually it's even weirder than first reported - if a word ends in *ple, the preceding space is deleted - I noticed this with people, couple, purple, etc. Way weird!

JSWolf · 10-18-2011, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Actually it's even weirder than first reported - if a word ends in *ple, the preceding space is deleted - I noticed this with people, couple, purple, etc. Way weird!

That's a bit harder to fix. But I won't be deterred from fixing it eventually. But maybe by the time I'm ready to read it, there will be a fixed version available from the library.

khalleron · 10-18-2011, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Actually it's even weirder than first reported - if a word ends in *ple, the preceding space is deleted - I noticed this with people, couple, purple, etc. Way weird!

Yes, I've noticed it with 'couple' now - but Pratchett apparently uses the word 'people' much more.

Of course, by the time they get it fixed, I'll have finished the book.

Sigh.

teh603 · 10-18-2011, 01:08 PM

Maybe the epub generator thinks that the string "ple" isn't actually found in words, and only means "delete the space before this word" ?

Quexos · 10-18-2011, 04:45 PM

The fact that they don't proofread their e-books before releasing them is beyond me. We are talking about professional publishers aren't we ?

khalleron · 10-18-2011, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quexos

The fact that they don't proofread their e-books before releasing them is beyond me. We are talking about professional publishers aren't we ?

Harper Collins.

JSWolf · 10-18-2011, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quexos

The fact that they don't proofread their e-books before releasing them is beyond me. We are talking about professional publishers aren't we ?

No. We are talking agency publishers. Not professional at all.

TFeldt · 10-18-2011, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

No. We are talking agency publishers. Not professional at all.

Succinctly phrased. Let me insert the sound of a whip snapping for you, sir.

10-17-2011, 05:55 PM	#1
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,442 Karma: 1756285 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: Nexus 7, Sony PRS-T1 Red	Weird formatting I just bought the new Terry Pratchett, 'Snuff', and it has the weirdest quirk. The word 'people' never has a space in front of it - it's always mashed into the word or punctuation before it. There are a few other missing spaces, but nothing else this consistent. It's driving me buggy! __________________ Kate My Webpage Portrait of the Past They Say Love is Blind Now available from Girlebooks.com

10-17-2011, 06:17 PM	#3
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,442 Karma: 1756285 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: Nexus 7, Sony PRS-T1 Red	I see a lot of people on that thread trying to blame Amazon, but I bought mine in epub from the Sony Store, last night. __________________ Kate My Webpage Portrait of the Past They Say Love is Blind Now available from Girlebooks.com

10-17-2011, 07:03 PM	#6
poohbear_nc Spring Chicken! Posts: 22,686 Karma: 37020252 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made + KoboGlo + Kobo Aura!	Amazon will probably send out a corrected version when it becomes available. __________________ "If possible please provide picture of Mr. Chickens new home or field. Proof that you will not eat him would help too." (Craigslist)

10-18-2011, 10:41 AM	#8
poohbear_nc Spring Chicken! Posts: 22,686 Karma: 37020252 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made + KoboGlo + Kobo Aura!	Actually it's even weirder than first reported - if a word ends in *ple, the preceding space is deleted - I noticed this with people, couple, purple, etc. Way weird! __________________ "If possible please provide picture of Mr. Chickens new home or field. Proof that you will not eat him would help too." (Craigslist)

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10-17-2011, 05:59 PM	#2
TFeldt Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 166880 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Sweden Device: Asus Transformer, Galaxy S	You're not alone, actually holding off buying it for a bit until I get some confirmation that it's fixed. There was a post on teleread about it http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/te...nproofed-book/

10-17-2011, 06:47 PM	#4
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 1,890 Karma: 3627630 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle 2, Kindle PW, Kindle DXG, Sony 950, Boox M90, Kobo Aura	Amazon doesn't format ebooks, the publishers do. And I come across a lot of ebooks with poor formatting, both from Amazon and from books that I borrow from the library.

10-18-2011, 01:08 PM	#11
teh603 Snarky Snark Posts: 1,042 Karma: 5484885 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Coastal Texas Device: Asus TF300	Maybe the epub generator thinks that the string "ple" isn't actually found in words, and only means "delete the space before this word" ?

10-18-2011, 04:45 PM	#12
Quexos Freethinker Posts: 1,456 Karma: 7053978 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: European Union Device: Glo, Aura HD 2.5.1	The fact that they don't proofread their e-books before releasing them is beyond me. We are talking about professional publishers aren't we ?

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