The Reading Vent & Rant Thread

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I started reading a book. By the time I got to the end of the first chapter, I wanted some character to punch the protagonist.

Probably a sign that I should DNF.

I DNF'd when the narrative started throwing ableist slurs around (not just mild ones like 'dumb', but the actual r-word). This book was released in the late 2000s too, so it's not that.

Don't like, don't read -- gladly!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Unlike professional authors, I guess fanfic writers tend to vomit out perfection on a page

Once again, I'm not asking for perfection. I am asking someone is placing their words out there for other to read to be able to take some pride in what they produce. To take the time to polish their output.

A idea that should have been good was ruined by the scribbler's inability to take a second pass over what they had written to remove the obvious errors that even a computer can find. There is a reason that most editing software includes a spellchecker. There is a reason that most authors take the time to go over their manuscript a second time.

In this case, what we got was a could-have-been great idea embedded in a stream of unedited verbal vomit.

But I would quit while you’re ahead. Really, it’s an awful field. Just torture. Awful. You write and write, and you have to throw almost all of it away because it’s not any good. I would say just stop now. You don’t want to do this to yourself.—Philip Roth on writing.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Once again, I'm not asking for perfection. I am asking someone is placing their words out there for other to read to be able to take some pride in what they produce. To take the time to polish their output.

Uh, I was on your side.

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I would disagree with you. Are you expecting only nice comments to be written? That I should worry about hurting the scribbler's feelings by pointing out their poor English skills? Please note that I did not criticize the content, just the number of errors that made a story that I wanted to read very hard to read. If the author had offered a private message capability, I would have used that but no such option was seen.

I do have expectations about an author having at least minimal skills in using spelling and grammar checking tools not to mention the ability to use the correct homonym though I will admit to that using 'gentile pride' on multiple occasions was a rather humorous error (IMNSHO).

I have sent messages to various professional authors about errors in their ebooks. Oddly, most of them seem to be quite happy to be given the chance to correct errors. Perhaps for some, it beats learning about errors when you receive a takedown notice. Some authors/publishers even include a link in their ebooks to report errors, sometimes with a bounty for spotting multiple errors.

You can expect authors to have some skills. Fanfic is written by fans not authors

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Gardenman

You can expect authors to have some skills. Fanfic is written by fans not authors

Hmm... So I should expect authors to have some skills such as using spellcheckers but fanfic authors should not be expected to have such skills? A truly interesting view of the world.

I hate to burst your bubble but I do some work for 'professional' authors. Few of the ones I have dealt with have gone to 'author school' to learn skills such as spellchecking, grammar checking or other basic word processor skills. Most of them have a full time job to pay the bills while they try to build up a backlist with a long enough tail to let them dream of writing full time. Since most of them are using Amazon with a few going wide, an ebook with too many errors will result in a takedown notice. Much easier to fix the errors before pushing publish.

[JSWolf]

Another issue is when people who make eBooks do so using the most convoluted code they can thinking they have to use the latest and greatest code. What they end up doing is making their eBooks not work in as many places as it should if they followed the rule of keeping the code simple.

[issybird]

A pet peeve: using "it's" to mean the possessive of "it." People, "it's" only means "it is". And nothing else!

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by issybird

A pet peeve: using "it's" to mean the possessive of "it." People, "it's" only means "it is". And nothing else!

OH YES. I must send in corrections on that, in Kindle eBooks...I don't know, 10x weekly? Possibly more?

Hitch

[Renate]

Originally Posted by issybird

A pet peeve: using "it's" to mean the possessive of "it." People, "it's" only means "it is". And nothing else!

But people love apostrophe's!

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by issybird

A pet peeve: using "it's" to mean the possessive of "it." People, "it's" only means "it is". And nothing else!

Like hers and ours and theirs. No apostrophe in its.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Renate

But people love apostrophe's!

Or for plurals, in signs. AAGGGHHHH.

Hitch

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Or for plurals, in signs. AAGGGHHHH.

Hitch

And in signs on houses: "The Smith's". At which I fantasize that the chief of clan Smith, called, naturally, The Smith, has his domain there.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by issybird

And in signs on houses: "The Smith's". At which I fantasize that the chief of clan Smith, called, naturally, The Smith, has his domain there.

LOL. Yes, indeedy.

Hitch

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Renate

But people love apostrophe's!

I believe Lynne Truss carries around a palette of paints to add or remove them.

See Eats Shoots & Leaves and how much of the book is on apostrophes.

[ownedbycats]

A lot of fantasy/sci-fi naming conventions too.