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serynThere's a poll on Dear Author (the blog) asking if grammatical/spelling errors are a serious problem to you the reader.
They are largely talking about true typographical errors, not the kind where the author can't bloody type, but the ones introduced by the printing process--- which is still the case, they still typeset even in this era, and apparently they do so by OCRing the manuscript. That's fucking ridiculous and a stupid method that obviously needs to be addressed with better software linkage.
But I hate errors in published work. What's the difference between fanfic and published work? From here, published work costs a significant amount of money and is much more inconvenient to obtain and often impossible to comment upon therefore the author never hears back about what does and doesn't work for you the reader.
I am somewhat tolerant of mild errors in fanfic. I'm irritated, of course, but free is free. Even so, persistent errors and a refusal to address those mistakes will get me to stop reading anything by an author, especially the ones who say the story is more important than arbitrary grammatical rules. You can't ignore the medium entirely without leaving the impression that your oil painting is a kindergartner's crayon drawing.
When I have paid $9 for a paperback and there are continuity issues, character issues (like a woman who says she never eats vegetables and orders a salad on a date without any explanation), I blame the publisher for letting an untested author off the leash. When there are grammatical and spelling and typographical errors, I truly wonder what I am paying for.
I have some expectations that a professional publishing house will actually do their jobs. That means actual editing, oversight, and getting a handle on the caveats of their process. If they're not going to be professional about it, then I don't see why I should pay them full price.
They are largely talking about true typographical errors, not the kind where the author can't bloody type, but the ones introduced by the printing process--- which is still the case, they still typeset even in this era, and apparently they do so by OCRing the manuscript. That's fucking ridiculous and a stupid method that obviously needs to be addressed with better software linkage.
But I hate errors in published work. What's the difference between fanfic and published work? From here, published work costs a significant amount of money and is much more inconvenient to obtain and often impossible to comment upon therefore the author never hears back about what does and doesn't work for you the reader.
I am somewhat tolerant of mild errors in fanfic. I'm irritated, of course, but free is free. Even so, persistent errors and a refusal to address those mistakes will get me to stop reading anything by an author, especially the ones who say the story is more important than arbitrary grammatical rules. You can't ignore the medium entirely without leaving the impression that your oil painting is a kindergartner's crayon drawing.
When I have paid $9 for a paperback and there are continuity issues, character issues (like a woman who says she never eats vegetables and orders a salad on a date without any explanation), I blame the publisher for letting an untested author off the leash. When there are grammatical and spelling and typographical errors, I truly wonder what I am paying for.
I have some expectations that a professional publishing house will actually do their jobs. That means actual editing, oversight, and getting a handle on the caveats of their process. If they're not going to be professional about it, then I don't see why I should pay them full price.
