Typos: Who Cares?

[theducks]

I prefer the Calibre Editors Spell check by just a freckle. (The last intry is the current word, that you can just touch up, rather than having to type all in. A big plus for us slow H&P keyboardists )

Both are good. Both allow for Current Document (file in view) or Whole book
Both allow user dictionaries.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Hmmm... one book my wife was reading where the author wrote: "He spewed filthy names at me as he filled several syringes with heroine." Hmmm... is that the higher class stuff like Smith and Smithe?

The villain had already killed the female lead and liquified her. But the author has missed out the definite article.

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by DNSB

My recommendation would be to use a word processor and then take your output from that as input to Sigil or calibre's editor. Take the time to learn about styles so you can produce an epub with minimal issues. Sigil has a plugin to import .DOCX files and calibre can convert .DOCX to epub.

I think you are missing my concern.

I have an epub ebook. It has typos in it. If I load it onto a word processor, and spellcheck, it will find every incident of control information and highlight those as well as the actual typos.

I'm not starting with a word processor file. Most word processors accept many different control element structures (DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, ect.) DO any accept Epub constructs?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Greg Anos

Is there a good word processor with a spell checker available that can handle epubs?

You can use Sigil or the Calibre editor to spell check your ePub.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Greg Anos

I think you are missing my concern.

I have an epub ebook. It has typos in it. If I load it onto a word processor, and spellcheck, it will find every incident of control information and highlight those as well as the actual typos.

I'm not starting with a word processor file. Most word processors accept many different control element structures (DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, ect.) DO any accept Epub constructs?

No. I do not know of any word processors that accept ePUB format. Sigil or Calibre are the only two immediate options, WITH spellcheckers, that jump to mind. I don't think that anything else, other than Blue Griffon, does and I can't in good conscience recommend BG for the stated purpose. I see that it is STILL 195EU, which to my mind, is horribly overpriced, compared to something like Sigil, which is FREE FREE FREE. (I'm truly not pimping for Sigil here, although I think it's pretty fantastic, but BG doesn't really do much that you need for a book.)

AWP (Atlantis Word Processor) is pretty spiffy for a DIYer author, but no, it cannot intake ePUB format. I don't recollect about Jutoh--anybody remember? Oh, wait, Jutoh plus. Jutoh Plus can use scripting, but my inference here is that you don't want to mess with that, is that right?

So...no. Calibre and Sigil, only, I am reasonably certain. Word-processing formatting elemeents are, largely, unsupported in eBooks and vice-versa, so..Sigil or Calibre would be my recommendation for Spellcheck.

But of course, nothing is perfect. I'm not sure that I'm truly answering what you've asked but if you elaborate, I'm sure everyone here will cheerfully jump in.

Hitch

[Quoth]

Convert/Export from Calibre as RTF, edit and import as DOCX and convert to epub works well.

I have multiple custom dictionaries for different projects. Also conversion between Word and LibreOffice dictionaries is very simple.

LibreOffice Writer: Free
Notepad++ (Windows) or KATE (Linux) for pure text with sessions, tabs and regex: Free
Sigil: Free
Calibre: Free

I've used various versions (bought) of Word for over 25 years but find LibreOffice Writer does what I want, though it's a little different. I edit only ODT files and Save As DOCX or DOC or RTF

I've used Sigil, but if the ebook is simple and styles are sensible in LO Writer, then DOCX to epub2 in Calibre works well. Then use the epub2 not DOCX for other format conversions.

Adobe Indesign seems ludicrously expensive and now you can only rent! I used to have Aldus programs before Adobe Borged them.
I've also used Google Docs. I'd regard it PURELY as a method to collaborate in real time and then EXPORT immediately. Similarly Office 365 is bonkers thing for a single user.

[Quoth]

If you are doing many different genres and novels you need MULTIPLE dictionaries and ability to load any selection of them. Simply the one US or British English isn't good enough.
So I have 18th C English, 16th C English, English/British names, Irish names, Technical, Per series (fantasy or SF names, places, things, sometimes for one book), US English, British English, Irish (Gaelic), French, German.

You can edit the MS Word/LO Writer dictionaries directly with Notepad++ or KATE.

In LO Writer it's simple to mark blocks as being in a particular language or add a word to a specific dictionary while spelling checking.

Be sure you know the regional, dialect, technical and temporal contexts before assuming a word is a typo!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Greg Anos

Is there a good word processor with a spell checker available that can handle epubs?

Originally Posted by Greg Anos

I think you are missing my concern.

I have an epub ebook. It has typos in it. If I load it onto a word processor, and spellcheck, it will find every incident of control information and highlight those as well as the actual typos.

I'm not starting with a word processor file. Most word processors accept many different control element structures (DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, ect.) DO any accept Epub constructs?

You can use either Sigil or calibre's editor to spellcheck. However by no stretch of my imagination could I call either a word processor which is what your original post requested.

[droopy]

Curious to hear from all those who have reported an error in an ebook:

1. Did you see your correction reflected in an update? How long did it take?

2. Perhaps those authors/publishers who do care about typos can set up a reward system: The first reader who reports the error gets a free ebook or their money back or a deadtree version with author's autograph. Whatcha think? Also imagine the increased number of buyers who buy the book right away (or preorder). Maybe you'll find that the books on the bestsellers list are those from authors/publishers with such reward in place, and with a reputation for typos. LOL

[Frenzie]

Originally Posted by droopy

2. Perhaps those authors/publishers who do care about typos can set up a reward system: The first reader who reports the error gets a free ebook or their money back or a deadtree version with author's autograph. Whatcha think?

More deviously, give them a free uncorrected proof for another book. Besides which, doing so for just one error would surely be a grave mistake.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by droopy

Curious to hear from all those who have reported an error in an ebook:

1. Did you see your correction reflected in an update? How long did it take?

I've seen more than a handful of books removed from sale, and then yes, I've seen them returned, fixed. The most egregious was a Perry Mason that was simply unreadable. HUNDREDS of errors and I was angry when I saw that someone else had reviewed the book five years earlier, complaining about the large number of typos. I got customer service on the horn and told them that it was unacceptable for the publisher to ignore such a huge number of typos for years. Book was off-sale within 24 hours and returned to the lists about 5-6 weeks later.

I use the regular, in-book reporting methods for any "normal" number of typos, say, 10-20. More than 20 gets my attention; more than 50 really starts to piss me off.

2. Perhaps those authors/publishers who do care about typos can set up a reward system: The first reader who reports the error gets a free ebook or their money back or a deadtree version with author's autograph. Whatcha think? Also imagine the increased number of buyers who buy the book right away (or preorder). Maybe you'll find that the books on the bestsellers list are those from authors/publishers with such reward in place, and with a reputation for typos. LOL

I can't see that. If we were talking typical publishing house books, publishing house pricing, maybe, from VERY popular authors, but given that on any given day, you can find, easily, 2,000 free books, on Amazon, and surely a hundred or so, at a minimum, in a given genre, why would anyone "sign up" for books rife with typos? I mean...seems a bit contraindicated, doesn't it?

Not to mention, logistically, how do you "prove" to Jane Doe that John Smith sent you an edit first, or whatever? That seems like exactly the sort of boggle that most authors are dying to avoid.

Just my $.02.

Hitch

[HLS]

The bulk of my typos is from the fact i can't see well and I never wear my glasses lol

[JSWolf]

I've never reported errors on Amazon. How does one report errors?

[ShortNet]

If you are reading on an e-ink kindle: A) highlight the erroneous word/section; B) hold to select - just like you would do to look up a meaning; C) chose '...' D) choose 'report content error'; E) There will be a choice of typo, missing text, duplicate text, or punctuation; and F) Make your choice and then submit.

It takes very little time, and my explanation was more complicated than the process.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ShortNet

If you are reading on an e-ink kindle: A) highlight the erroneous word/section; B) hold to select - just like you would do to look up a meaning; C) chose '...' D) choose 'report content error'; E) There will be a choice of typo, missing text, duplicate text, or punctuation; and F) Make your choice and then submit.

It takes very little time, and my explanation was more complicated than the process.

I'm not on a Kindle and if I was, the WiFi would be off so that does not work. How do I report on Amazon?