Ebooks, Quality Assurance, and refunds

AlexBell · 12-28-2008, 05:55 AM

I recently downloaded a book from Fictionwise called 'A Dragon Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic' editor Margaret Weis. It is a collection of short stories and novellas about - what else - dragons.

The first story in the book has typos on almost every page, sometimes 5 or 6 on a page, and the second also has some typos. I haven't read any further yet.

I think this is totally unacceptable. I would not tolerate this many typos in a print book; why should I accept it in an ebook? I accept that some ebooks are generated by scanning print books, and that OCR is not an exact science. But print books have proof-readers; why not for ebooks?

If this was a print book I'd return it to the vendor and demand a refund. ButFictionwise put a 100% rebate on this book, and it would be hard to return it anyway.

So what can we do to let vendors know that typos in ebooks are not acceptable?

Regards, Alex

alehel · 12-28-2008, 07:12 AM

This seems to be a common problem with ebooks. Publishers seem to treat ebooks as nothing more than a novelty despite the rather large increase in sales lately. I doubt they'll start paying more attention to details such as quality untill sales go up even more, but it is of course possible that this was a mistake, so it's always worth trying to contact the publisher.

Personally I have rather bad experience with some publishers and very good experience with others. So far I've bought ebooks from Faber and Faber and Canongate which have been of very good quality. Penguin, Corgi Books and Orion on the other hand have not impressed me and I certainly wont be buying any more ebooks from them. Penguin was the worst.

Basicly the only thing we can do is let the publishers know what we think by sending them emails and so forth.

Jellby · 12-28-2008, 07:16 AM

That's one of the reasons I haven't bought a single e-book yet (I have enough with the free stuff for the moment).

I'd write an angry but polite letter/email to both Fictionwise and the publisher, and ask for a refund or, better, for a new corrected version of the book.

Seabound · 12-28-2008, 07:16 AM

Alex, tell Fictionwise about the problem book, complain in a polite but firm way to them and they would probably reimburse you and withdraw the book. It is a valid complaint. Also, drop the publisher an email saying in no uncertain terms that you're a very dissatisfied customer.

tompe · 12-28-2008, 08:02 AM

If you can comment on the book at the lace you bought it then do this and point out the faults so that people can avoid buying the book. I also think that a web page collecting this kind of information would be a good idea.

Dr. Drib · 12-28-2008, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jellby

That's one of the reasons I haven't bought a single e-book yet (I have enough with the free stuff for the moment).

I'd write an angry but polite letter/email to both Fictionwise and the publisher, and ask for a refund or, better, for a new corrected version of the book.

I disagree about the "angry" part. Firm, yes; angry, no - in my opinon.

I would simply write a polite letter to Fictionwise and tell them about the problem. Mention that you are dissatisfied with the quality-control. At this point, I would imagine either you or Fictionwise will suggest a solution.

Fictionwise is a very understanding and human company.

Don

HarryT · 12-28-2008, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I disagree about the "angry" part. Firm, yes; angry, no - in my opinon.

Totally agree. "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" as the saying goes. "Polite" achieves a lot more than "angry".

tompe · 12-28-2008, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Totally agree. "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" as the saying goes. "Polite" achieves a lot more than "angry".

Eh, "angry but polite" was the suggestion. I would say that this seems better then a letter that do not show that you care and will continue to buy badly formatted books.

Jellby · 12-28-2008, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I disagree about the "angry" part. Firm, yes; angry, no - in my opinon.

Well, my choice of words is rarely the best

I probably meant "firm" as well, something that would clearly show the dissatisfaction and disappointment, but not fall into name-calling.

lilac_jive · 12-28-2008, 08:53 AM

I know if you got the book from Sony, they have an email address where you can tell them about typos.

I haven't had much of a problem with it, just a few that I would normally see in a pbook.

AlexBell · 12-29-2008, 06:08 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. I will send a polite but firm email to Fictionwise and Hachette Books Group, and to Margaret Weis if I can track her down.

The main thrust of the message will likely be that I would be ashamed of putting out such a book in over my signature. There are not quite as many typos in later stories, but still more than there should be.

Regards, Alex

dasym · 01-09-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

Thanks for the suggestions. I will send a polite but firm email to Fictionwise and Hachette Books Group, and to Margaret Weis if I can track her down.

The main thrust of the message will likely be that I would be ashamed of putting out such a book in over my signature. There are not quite as many typos in later stories, but still more than there should be.

Regards, Alex

I would be interested to hear how you get on with Fictionwise. I know lots of people here say they are a good company to deal with, but I've contacted them twice now about unacceptable typos in an ebook I purchased from them and have received no replies. I'm glad I didn't take out the membership they were pushing at the time I bought the book.

Dave

sassanik · 01-09-2009, 02:45 PM

I do wonder sometimes at how the typos manage to make it through. You would think that the electronic copy that they use is the same one that they use when publishing the paperback verision, though apparently this is not always the way things work?

Email fictionwise, I would be interested in hearing waht their response was.

I got a book one time where the author misused the word caste, they spelled it cast, instead of caste. Silly english language same sound different word thing! I was surprised the editor did not catch it.

Some of the typos I find in ebooks are from the conversion process that I run them through to get them to imp format. Though if you bought from fictionwise I am guessing it was multiformat so you should not have had a conversion issue?

Amy

jlbfoot · 01-09-2009, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sassanik

Email fictionwise, I would be interested in hearing waht their response was.

I want a refund!

Elfwreck · 01-09-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sassanik

I do wonder sometimes at how the typos manage to make it through. You would think that the electronic copy that they use is the same one that they use when publishing the paperback verision, though apparently this is not always the way things work?

Fictionwise offers a great many out-of-print books, many of which have no digital edition. Books/stories created before ~1990 were often typed, not computer-created. So they make the ebooks by scanning pbooks. Apparently, they're not careful about proofreading their OCR results.

12-28-2008, 05:55 AM	#1
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	Ebooks, Quality Assurance, and refunds I recently downloaded a book from Fictionwise called 'A Dragon Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic' editor Margaret Weis. It is a collection of short stories and novellas about - what else - dragons. The first story in the book has typos on almost every page, sometimes 5 or 6 on a page, and the second also has some typos. I haven't read any further yet. I think this is totally unacceptable. I would not tolerate this many typos in a print book; why should I accept it in an ebook? I accept that some ebooks are generated by scanning print books, and that OCR is not an exact science. But print books have proof-readers; why not for ebooks? If this was a print book I'd return it to the vendor and demand a refund. ButFictionwise put a 100% rebate on this book, and it would be hard to return it anyway. So what can we do to let vendors know that typos in ebooks are not acceptable? Regards, Alex

01-09-2009, 02:45 PM	#13
sassanik Guru Posts: 774 Karma: 1211741 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oregon Device: EB1150, iPhone, Cool-er Purple, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Fire	typos I do wonder sometimes at how the typos manage to make it through. You would think that the electronic copy that they use is the same one that they use when publishing the paperback verision, though apparently this is not always the way things work? Email fictionwise, I would be interested in hearing waht their response was. I got a book one time where the author misused the word caste, they spelled it cast, instead of caste. Silly english language same sound different word thing! I was surprised the editor did not catch it. Some of the typos I find in ebooks are from the conversion process that I run them through to get them to imp format. Though if you bought from fictionwise I am guessing it was multiformat so you should not have had a conversion issue? Amy

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12-28-2008, 07:12 AM	#2
alehel Zealot Posts: 112 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Norway Device: Kobo Clara HD	This seems to be a common problem with ebooks. Publishers seem to treat ebooks as nothing more than a novelty despite the rather large increase in sales lately. I doubt they'll start paying more attention to details such as quality untill sales go up even more, but it is of course possible that this was a mistake, so it's always worth trying to contact the publisher. Personally I have rather bad experience with some publishers and very good experience with others. So far I've bought ebooks from Faber and Faber and Canongate which have been of very good quality. Penguin, Corgi Books and Orion on the other hand have not impressed me and I certainly wont be buying any more ebooks from them. Penguin was the worst. Basicly the only thing we can do is let the publishers know what we think by sending them emails and so forth.

12-28-2008, 07:16 AM	#3
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,543 Karma: 19001583 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	That's one of the reasons I haven't bought a single e-book yet (I have enough with the free stuff for the moment). I'd write an angry but polite letter/email to both Fictionwise and the publisher, and ask for a refund or, better, for a new corrected version of the book.

12-28-2008, 07:16 AM	#4
Seabound Steerage Class Posts: 711 Karma: 505995 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pacific Northwest, USA Device: Won't fit here anymore, see sig for a list of liseuses.	Alex, tell Fictionwise about the problem book, complain in a polite but firm way to them and they would probably reimburse you and withdraw the book. It is a valid complaint. Also, drop the publisher an email saying in no uncertain terms that you're a very dissatisfied customer.

12-28-2008, 08:02 AM	#5
tompe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,452 Karma: 7185064 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Linköpng, Sweden Device: Kindle Voyage, Nexus 5, Kindle PW	If you can comment on the book at the lace you bought it then do this and point out the faults so that people can avoid buying the book. I also think that a web page collecting this kind of information would be a good idea.

12-28-2008, 08:53 AM	#10
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	I know if you got the book from Sony, they have an email address where you can tell them about typos. I haven't had much of a problem with it, just a few that I would normally see in a pbook.

12-29-2008, 06:08 AM	#11
AlexBell Wizard Posts: 3,413 Karma: 13369310 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Launceston, Tasmania Device: Sony PRS T3, Kobo Glo, Kindle Touch, iPad, Samsung SB 2 tablet	Thanks for the suggestions. I will send a polite but firm email to Fictionwise and Hachette Books Group, and to Margaret Weis if I can track her down. The main thrust of the message will likely be that I would be ashamed of putting out such a book in over my signature. There are not quite as many typos in later stories, but still more than there should be. Regards, Alex

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