LOTR ebook erratum and ebook quality

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by snarkophilus

If you have the info handy, can you point out the first (or any) error and I'll check my Amazon edition?



Interesting idea ... I'm relatively OCD enough with many of the books that I read that I'd contribute to such a scheme.

Cheers,
Simon.

If you read back in this thread, there is one of the errors originally pointed out that is still an error in the corrected version. It's a dash that should not be there.

As to the thread, I'l happy start one even though I have nothing yet to post (error wise).

[snarkophilus]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you read back in this thread, there is one of the errors originally pointed out that is still an error in the corrected version. It's a dash that should not be there.

The dash error was for LOTR - I was talking about Hyperion (or Fall of Hyperion).

Cheers,
Simon.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by snarkophilus

The dash error was for LOTR - I was talking about Hyperion (or Fall of Hyperion).

Cheers,
Simon.

As far as Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion go, I no longer have a list of the errors I found. When I find an error, I highlight it and when I am done reading, I fix them and the highlights go away once the book is deleted from the reader.

[AprilHare]

Originally Posted by Valentino

Thanks for finding so many of the errors, I think all books with a high re-read value should have a similar thread somewhere. I don't want to read all the same ocr errors the next time I read them.
(SNIP)
I wish the publishers would do their job though, this is ridiculous.

You are very welcome!

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What is needed is to take the maybe finished eBook and actually proof it. A/B it with a known good copy. I know that can take a while, but when done, it should be quite error free.

Anyway, welcome back. What have you been up to these days?

Wandering the fields. Studying. Working. Breaking my PRS-600, replacing with a PRS-T2. That sort of thing.

[Quexos]

Out of curiosity I checked a preview of LOTR at the Kobo website and am appalled to still find errors that we long ago corrected on this thread. It's been a long time and they are still there.
What gives

[YukiOnna]

Originally Posted by Quexos

Out of curiosity I checked a preview of LOTR at the Kobo website and am appalled to still find errors that we long ago corrected on this thread. It's been a long time and they are still there.
What gives

Laziness.

[CallOfCth'reader]

Originally Posted by YukiOnna

Laziness.

Disregard for paying customers, more like.

[raac]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

What need is there to test the waters? I think it is widely accepted that ebooks are often littered with errors,

Obviously they shouldn't be. If you're seeing unacceptable numbers of errors not present in the paper editions then contact your distributor and return the book. Additionally, write to the publisher and say why you did so. You didn't get what you paid for so don't wait around hoping they will fix it. They're under no obligation to do so. The community should send a message that ebooks riddled with errors aren't acceptable.

[Polyphemus]

I received an e-mail from Amazon a year or so ago saying that they would like to replace the Kindle copy I purchased, with the 50th anniversary edition of LOTR (single volume edition) that has several errors corrected. After replying to the e-mail, they sent the new file to my Kindle.

I checked my copy with the listing in the OP and the listed errors have been corrected.

The edition I have is from Harper Collins eBooks.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by raac

Obviously they shouldn't be. If you're seeing unacceptable numbers of errors not present in the paper editions then contact your distributor and return the book. Additionally, write to the publisher and say why you did so. You didn't get what you paid for so don't wait around hoping they will fix it. They're under no obligation to do so. The :community should send a message that ebooks riddled with errors aren't acceptable.

You're right. Problem is most publishers don't listen. The epub i recently bought of Seth Lerer's Inventing English was missing all scans of historical documents and entire portions of text (which what remained kept referencing to the missing material). The publisher didn't even bother responding to me when i attempted to contact them.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

You're right. Problem is most publishers don't listen. The epub i recently bought of Seth Lerer's Inventing English was missing all scans of historical documents and entire portions of text (which what remained kept referencing to the missing material). The publisher didn't even bother responding to me when i attempted to contact them.

Did try to contact the author? So many have blogs and their own websites now so you might be able to find an email address listed somewhere. (Yes, I've done it, and yes the author responded quickly each time, so it can work.)

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Did try to contact the author? So many have blogs and their own websites now so you might be able to find an email address listed somewhere. (Yes, I've done it, and yes the author responded quickly each time, so it can work.)

I did try, after giving the publisher a shot. Nothing yet but hopefully I hear something soon. I had to track him down through the school he teaches at.

UPDATE:
I just got a response from Lerer. He got a hold of his publisher... Well, I'll let the man talk.

I have contacted the publisher and they will be contacting you. They are surprised that there are portions of the book missing and they are looking into it.
Seth Lerer

UPDATE Part Deux:
The publisher contacted me. Things are progressing super quick.

Dear Keith Brown,

I was recently forwarded an e-mail that you sent to Seth Lerer about the EPUB version of his Inventing English. It is quite disturbing to us that incomplete versions are being sold. I assure you that we distributed a full and complete e-book and have not heard of anyone removing images for rights issues.

I wonder if you could tell me where you purchased or found this e-book? That could help us clear this up. Also, on the copyright page of the e-book, do you see the lines, "A Columbia University Press E-book. CUP would be pleased to hear about your reading experience with this e-book at cup-ebook@columbia.edu"? We add this to every converted title, and since you did not send your concern to this address, I wonder if you might have a version of the e-book produced by someone else.

Thanks very much for your time on this matter. CUP cares very much about the quality of its e-books, as much as we do our print books. It is extremely disturbing to us that an incomplete version is available.

All the best,

Michael