Quote:
Originally Posted by M. R. Mathias
If I charge you 4 or 5 bucks or more for something rest assured I had it pro-editted.
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Then you had The Sword and the Dragon professionally edited? Did that include proofing, which as has been said elsewhere, is a totally different process? The reason I ask is that as I read the free sample, I find many homonym errors and one case that sticks in my mind of two words run together that created another legitimate word (an ally/anally). However, the editing does seem OK. Since this book costs well over your stated $4-$5 pro-editing level, I was just wondering. Don't get defensive; I know you are getting beaten bloody here about your proofing or the lack thereof. The story is good, and it's too bad you feel the need to charge so much for it when you can't afford to have it professionally gone over with more than spell check (which of course doesn't catch homonym errors or run-together typos that create legitimate words). While I am no author (unless you count numerous master's-level research papers), as a mere reader I find these small errors to be disturbing "speed bumps" that interfere with my enjoyment of the story. And no, I do not claim to be perfect in terms of my own writing/posting. But then, I'm not promoting myself as an author, either.
You might consider including in the blurb on Smashwords and maybe even on Amazon something to the effect that readers are purchasing the story, not editing or proofing, and that anyone who doesn't want to pay this much for a "rough" book is free to move along. That way, any of us who are disturbed by such inconsequentials as missing/too many commas, homonym errors, run-together words, etc. will know that you do not see them as problems and we are purchasing your work at our own risk. You can even call it full disclosure and use it here to silence your critics!
Again, the story is very good as far as I've gotten in the sample; it's just the dratted "speed bumps" that I don't like.