Typos: Who Cares? - Page 5

Frenzie · 03-01-2020, 01:58 AM

To proofread is to read for errors, you have to do it at your slowest reading speed. You should use any tools at your disposal. Text to speech may be one of those, but don't forget about traditional techniques like using a sheet of paper or an opaque ruler to focus on one line at a time. Some people also read the text backwards a a final pass, line by line.

I have my doubts about the efficacy of text to speech; it mispronounces many words and all the false positives get tiresome very quickly. But perhaps it would allow you to proofread while tired and distracted.

You shouldn't try to focus on everything at once during one read-through unless you have no other choice. You'll be less likely to detect inconsistencies.

Once you found and corrected an error, reread the line. There may be others lurking.

Read page by page. Take breaks.

And at least two pairs of eyes should go over the text.

Proofreading isn't editing (i.e., content and structure).

My two cents.

Pulpmeister · 03-01-2020, 06:04 AM

I used to have to proofread documents many years ago; there was always two of us, One read it out slowly, like:

"Capital A arthur said comma, inverted commas,....."

Not quite Victor Borge, but it produced a clean document.

Pajamaman · 03-01-2020, 07:17 AM

It occurs to me now that this new breed of typo grammar crusaders are probably wanna be writers on the new kindle platform. Their egoism and lack of knowledge is reflected in the writing quality of their books lol.

doubleshuffle · 03-01-2020, 07:25 AM

It's probably bad style to post my own old joke, but: who cares?

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...&postcount=214

JSWolf · 03-01-2020, 08:17 AM

One type of error that throws me out of the book is the hyphen that should not be there. So in the middle of a line if I see something like hy-phen, it's going to stop me. Those sorts of errors should not be there.

meeera · 03-01-2020, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One type of error that throws me ut of the book is the hyphen hat should not be there. So in the middle of a line if I see something like hy-phen, it's going to stop me. Those sorts of errors should not be there.

I got past "ut of the book" ok with just a bump, but re-read your post three times trying to figure out what a "hyphen hat" is. I guess I should rest my case.

doubleshuffle · 03-01-2020, 08:46 AM

And I didn't even notice the hyphen hat. Thanks for pointing it out -- I love it.

"Sorry folks, but I'll have to put on my hyphen hat and play grammar nazi now."

DiapDealer · 03-01-2020, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

I got past "ut of the book" ok with just a bump, but re-read your post three times trying to figure out what a "hyphen hat" is. I guess I should rest my case.

I read his entire post as he intended it to be. Didn't notice the mistakes until you mentioned them.

I say that not to suggest that's how everyone's experience should be, but just to point out that there's lots of factors at play. All things considered; I'm pretty happy I'd make a horrible editor.

theducks · 03-01-2020, 10:06 AM

Go Wolfy

You can slide a lot of poor grammar past me as long as the context make sense. (I also read a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy, where the language is not of this world

)

Wrong words do not FIT the context, and jar my read, like driving over a pothole.

Pajamaman · 03-01-2020, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One type of error that throws me out of the book is the hyphen that should not be there. So in the middle of a line if I see something like hy-phen, it's going to stop me. Those sorts of errors should not be there.

The Horror!

But seriously, it seems some readers are more sensitive that others. The occasional errant hyphen doesn't bother me. I only really care if the meaning of the text becomes obstructed or harder to decipher. I've read a lot of old poorly scanned pdf files in my time.

Sirtel · 03-01-2020, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

The Horror!

But seriously, it seems some readers are more sensitive that others. The occasional errant hyphen doesn't bother me. I only really care if the meaning of the text becomes obstructed or harder to decipher. I've read a lot of old poorly scanned pdf files in my time.

Of course. The same with formatting, many people don't care how a book is formatted, others insist it be formatted exactly as they want or else. Some people customize/patch/root/jailbreak/tinker, others just use default options and couldn't care less. Some de-DRM, backup and hoard excessively, others don't care. People are very different. And OCD types (whatever they're obsessive-compulsive about) are almost always in the minority (I'm one of them myself).

j.p.s · 03-01-2020, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I read his entire post as he intended it to be. Didn't notice the mistakes until you mentioned them.

I think meera's point had to do with kettles that cast pots at their own glass houses, or something like that.

DiapDealer · 03-01-2020, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j.p.s

I think meera's point had to do with kettles that cast pots at their own glass houses, or something like that.

Oh yes. I fully realized that.

Deskisamess · 03-01-2020, 11:49 AM

Quote:

But seriously, it seems some readers are more sensitive that others.

I think it has more to do with the reader's education level, at least to start with. My MIL has an 8th grade education. She has little knowledge of grammar, and wouldn't spot most errors.

Saying it's a matter of "sensitivity" puts the responsibility on the reader. When it should be on the writer/publisher to get the finished product correct.

Some typos will get through the process, in print or digital. Whether or not these errors are spotted by the reader isn't really the point. Whether or not these errors bother a reader isn't really the point either.

The goal of any author should be to have a good (correct) finished product. When a book is full of errors, it's jut sloppy lazy work.

Tarana · 03-01-2020, 11:54 AM

The first ebook of Lord of the Rings on Amazon had so many typos, I returned the ebook. So did thousands of others. It was redone and reissued several months later. There was no excuse for this incredibly sloppy editing. A few typos is fine. A book littered with them is not and very likely leads to other problems with the book (like paragraphs missing). The reviewers are not stupid - likely there were a lot of complaints and the book was FIXED by the time you bought it. Would you pay $12 for a book full of errors? If so, you are not the norm.

03-01-2020, 08:17 AM	#65
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,755 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	One type of error that throws me out of the book is the hyphen that should not be there. So in the middle of a line if I see something like hy-phen, it's going to stop me. Those sorts of errors should not be there. Last edited by JSWolf; 03-01-2020 at 10:26 AM.

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03-01-2020, 01:58 AM	#61
Frenzie Wizard Posts: 1,751 Karma: 730681 Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Antwerp Device: Kobo Aura H2O	To proofread is to read for errors, you have to do it at your slowest reading speed. You should use any tools at your disposal. Text to speech may be one of those, but don't forget about traditional techniques like using a sheet of paper or an opaque ruler to focus on one line at a time. Some people also read the text backwards a a final pass, line by line. I have my doubts about the efficacy of text to speech; it mispronounces many words and all the false positives get tiresome very quickly. But perhaps it would allow you to proofread while tired and distracted. You shouldn't try to focus on everything at once during one read-through unless you have no other choice. You'll be less likely to detect inconsistencies. Once you found and corrected an error, reread the line. There may be others lurking. Read page by page. Take breaks. And at least two pairs of eyes should go over the text. Proofreading isn't editing (i.e., content and structure). My two cents.

03-01-2020, 06:04 AM	#62
Pulpmeister Wizard Posts: 2,822 Karma: 29145056 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Perth Western Australia Device: kindle	I used to have to proofread documents many years ago; there was always two of us, One read it out slowly, like: "Capital A arthur said comma, inverted commas,....." Not quite Victor Borge, but it produced a clean document.

03-01-2020, 07:17 AM	#63
Pajamaman Wizard Posts: 2,861 Karma: 10700629 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Canada Device: Onyx Nova	It occurs to me now that this new breed of typo grammar crusaders are probably wanna be writers on the new kindle platform. Their egoism and lack of knowledge is reflected in the writing quality of their books lol.

03-01-2020, 07:25 AM	#64
doubleshuffle Unicycle Daredevil Posts: 13,944 Karma: 185432100 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Planet of the Pudding Brains Device: Aura HD (R.I.P. After six years the USB socket died.) tolino shine 3	It's probably bad style to post my own old joke, but: who cares? https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...&postcount=214

03-01-2020, 08:46 AM	#67
doubleshuffle Unicycle Daredevil Posts: 13,944 Karma: 185432100 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Planet of the Pudding Brains Device: Aura HD (R.I.P. After six years the USB socket died.) tolino shine 3	And I didn't even notice the hyphen hat. Thanks for pointing it out -- I love it. "Sorry folks, but I'll have to put on my hyphen hat and play grammar nazi now."

03-01-2020, 10:06 AM	#69
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 31,055 Karma: 60358908 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	Go Wolfy You can slide a lot of poor grammar past me as long as the context make sense. (I also read a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy, where the language is not of this world ) Wrong words do not FIT the context, and jar my read, like driving over a pothole.

03-01-2020, 11:54 AM	#75
Tarana Wizard Posts: 4,038 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	The first ebook of Lord of the Rings on Amazon had so many typos, I returned the ebook. So did thousands of others. It was redone and reissued several months later. There was no excuse for this incredibly sloppy editing. A few typos is fine. A book littered with them is not and very likely leads to other problems with the book (like paragraphs missing). The reviewers are not stupid - likely there were a lot of complaints and the book was FIXED by the time you bought it. Would you pay $12 for a book full of errors? If so, you are not the norm.

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