Quote:
Originally Posted by mr ploppy
I read somewhere that the publishing corporations farm out proof reading to India these days because it's cheaper. That would explain why books are so riddled with mistakes. I can speak French reasonably welll but I doubt I would be able to proof read a French book.
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Alas, the farming out is true. I'll give you a true story that happened to me just this past week.
As many MR members know, I am a professional editor who specializes in medical books -- written by doctors for doctors -- and have been editing for more than 28 years.
A couple of weeks ago, I was hired by a major publisher to edit a text that was estimated to be 2,500 manuscript pages. They wanted it done in 4 weeks. As I always do, I counted the pages applying a standard-in-the-profession formula that ignores such tricks as single spacing and 7-point font. A true page count brought the project to 5300 manuscript pages.
I pointed this out to the client and advised that a technical book like the one under consideration and of its size could not be edited competently in 4 weeks; it requires at least 10 weeks. I was told to start editing and I did. The project was better written than anticipated so the likelihood was that it could be edited in 8 or 9 weeks.
Anyway, 2 weeks into the project and after 1400 edited pages, the client instructed me to halt editing. They were concerned about the budget (although they knew the price before any editing was started) and even moreso about the schedule. They wanted the project done in 4 weeks. So they took the project from me and sent it to India for editing and proofreading (I did get paid for my work, so that is not an issue), where they were told that the job would not only be done in 4 weeks but for less than half the price.
There is no way for a qualified medical editor to competently edit that amount of pages in 4 weeks. Pricing, of course, is a different matter and much depends on the location of the editor. Fortunately, my name will not be associated with the book. More important, from the client's perspective, is this: Usually when I edit a book there are few author corrections. I happen to know from inside contacts that when these books are edited offshore, there are numerous author complaints and many expensive corrections to be made. But the expense of these corrections comes from another line in the production budget, so it isn't considered a factor when deciding whether to offshore or not.
I see no reason why other books wouldn't be sent to Asia for editing and proofreading, just like the medical texts. For some publishers -- but not all, which are now international conglomerates, cost is more important than quality.