book proofing

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

In the ebooks I buy, I see about the same amount of typos that I did in print books (pre-ebook). Which is not many.

Same for me. I see far more errors in indie books than I do in releases by the major league. And even in bestselling mass market paperbacks, I used to see errors here and there.

[John F]

Originally Posted by rkomar

Yes, you're right. I automatically supplied the 'at' in my head when reading the quote. I guess I should not become a professional proofer.

I think we all do this (automatically supply missing words) to some extent, and different things trigger different people. But I would think it is the purpose of the publisher/proofer to do better. I guess it all comes down to money.

For what it is worth, I was not an English major ( in case you can't tell from my posts.)

[JSWolf]

Older eBooks that have been scanned/OCRed have more errors then newer eBooks that start life from a word processing file.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Older eBooks that have been scanned/OCRed have more errors then newer eBooks that start life from a word processing file.

That might be true sometimes, but I think it depends on the publisher. I've read modern stuff on paper that's worse than Gutenberg.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

That might be true sometimes, but I think it depends on the publisher. I've read modern stuff on paper that's worse than Gutenberg.

By modern stuff, do you mean eBooks from a major publisher that have editors? Or are these self-published?

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

By modern stuff, do you mean eBooks from a major publisher that have editors? Or are these self-published?

I just read a David Baldacci book published by Grand Central, and there were numerous cases of quotation mark errors...either the wrong direction or incorrect spacing, like:

“Really, ”he said.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

I just read a David Baldacci book published by Grand Central, and there were numerous cases of quotation mark errors...either the wrong direction or incorrect spacing, like:

“Really, ”he said.

Which book is this?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

By modern stuff, do you mean eBooks from a major publisher that have editors? Or are these self-published?

No, big publishers, not SP.

[icallaci]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

I just read a David Baldacci book published by Grand Central, and there were numerous cases of quotation mark errors...either the wrong direction or incorrect spacing, like:

“Really, ”he said.

I see quite a bit of this kind of thing from certain publishers too. Or an open double quote but a single close quote. Oh, well, it lets me practice my regex skills.

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by Kindleing

It isn't just typos, but runs the gamut of wrong-word use to mixing up characters. In one book the character driving a car changed from one paragraph to the next without stopping the vehicle.

Worst error I've seen was a book cover.
The cover designer, proof-reader and copy-editor (all hired by the author) missed it.
The ARC reviewers missed it.
The publisher missed it.
The publicity people missed it.
The release party attendees missed it.

About six months after release, a reader asked the author about the issues with the cover.
That was when she realized that the cover was wrong.

I saw the cover just before the release party, thought it was odd, but probably related to the plot. Nope, wrong title on the wrong book cover.

edit ACR -> ARC

[Fiat_Lux]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

In the ebooks I buy, I see about the same amount of typos that I did in print books (pre-ebook). Which is not many.

I think the record for errors I've seen, that a proof-reader should have caught, was in a book published circa 1990.
One major grammatical error per page.
One minor grammatical error per paragraph.
Two typos per sentence.

This was a US$40 trade paperback published by one of the major publishing houses in New York City.

I'm almost at the point of OCRing any hardcopy book I buy, simply because both proof-reading and copy-editing are required.
At least Calibre makes it easy to correct ebooks.

[Lukusaukko]

What would you call an error, where the author describes something in a way that makes no sense in a later context (well, except bad writing...)? I was reading an urban fantasy book where the author describes someone as wearing a suit with frayed seams two sizes too small for him. Later in the book, the character is described as growing in size and sprouting spikes when angry - if the suit were too small for him to begin with, it would simply be torn apart, so the only way it makes sense if the character actually had a suit too large for him in his normal form. I would imagine an editor would have caught that kind of a lack of logic - though given the genre, logical discrepancies are often par for the course...

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Lukusaukko

What would you call an error, where the author describes something in a way that makes no sense in a later context (well, except bad writing...)? I was reading an urban fantasy book where the author describes someone as wearing a suit with frayed seams two sizes too small for him. Later in the book, the character is described as growing in size and sprouting spikes when angry - if the suit were too small for him to begin with, it would simply be torn apart, so the only way it makes sense if the character actually had a suit too large for him in his normal form. I would imagine an editor would have caught that kind of a lack of logic - though given the genre, logical discrepancies are often par for the course...

That's not the kind of thing, though should be edited after an early "proof" reading of a draft. But some don't care about that.

I think people in this thread (certainly myself) are talking about definite typos, wrong punctuation, absolutely wrong words, grammar that's clear cut errors rather than style or ethnic variation and lack of consistency were alternate spelling or grammar is allowed (like am, pm, spelling ages or not). Stuff that should be spotted between a final draft and final proof.

What you're taking about is stuff that beta readers or developmental editors should pickup and complain about even in the first complete draft. At a certain point re-writing should stop* and proofing is then about local mistakes. Not plot holes or logical inconsistency or glaringly wrong facts about factual things etc.

[* I know one guy that takes years to "finish" a novel because after final proofing he'll decide it needs re-written]

[icallaci]

I started reading a book (which shall remain nameless) that had multiple wrong word choices. God was "graceful" instead of "gracious." Someone put the dishes "ahead" instead of "away." Someone else had a good "idea" for composition instead of a good "eye" for composition. I wondered if the author dictated the story or possibly used an AI tool that wasn't quite up to the task.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Lukusaukko

What would you call an error, where the author describes something in a way that makes no sense in a later context (well, except bad writing...)? I was reading an urban fantasy book where the author describes someone as wearing a suit with frayed seams two sizes too small for him. Later in the book, the character is described as growing in size and sprouting spikes when angry - if the suit were too small for him to begin with, it would simply be torn apart, so the only way it makes sense if the character actually had a suit too large for him in his normal form. I would imagine an editor would have caught that kind of a lack of logic - though given the genre, logical discrepancies are often par for the course...

That is a Logic / continuity error. That is something 'first readers' (AKA beta victims) should point at. (Final) Proofing is just before release. (don't ARC come out before? Final)