Needy Author

I had a nightmare scenario this past weekend. I found a typo in my book – not in the galleys since those are 2 ‘verions of revisions’ old but I was comparing some stuff. Now, I am psychologically prepared to handle pretty much any mistake in the published text. Except this one. I rifled through all of my versions of the manuscript and sets of revisions and I had missed a major super-duper OMG I’ll look like a chump typo.
My editor just called to say we caught it in time.
This could have been a massive elementary mistake on PAGE 3 of the book. Yeek. We caught it. WHEW. I feel like I need to send pizza to the copy editors.
Situation normal.


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5 responses to “Needy Author”

  1. Tris Avatar

    Wow, sounds like you’re going to need a stiff drink after that!
    I haven’t had happen to me in a large published work, but my Masters thesis … OMG. I HATE that document!

  2. Marcia Merrill Avatar

    Wow-when I was in theatre, I used to have nightmares I didn’t know my lines or even the play!
    But, a book…Yikes! I agree, my Master’s theses-(yes-plural! I’m a glutton for punishment)They were awful-and lots of coffe went down my gullet!
    Can’t wait to read the typo-free product!

  3. Andy Wibbels Avatar

    My theatre nightmare was always real. As a thetatre director, you have to sit in the middle of the audience and calmly watching something that everyone sees as your work and yet you have zero control to stop it when things go wrong. Sweet terror.
    It’s even worse if you wrote the play, too.

  4. Jim Donovan Avatar

    Hi Andy:
    I’d be worried if I did NOT find a typo. I’ve never seen a book without at least one. When my second book came back I found a chapter number different than the actual chapter. Being self-published on that book, I felt sick at the thought of trashing 5,000 books. I called an expert and he said not to worry. From that printing, one person noticed (he is a radio host and was looking somethni up:-)
    All the best with the book,
    Jim Donovan, author
    Handbok to a Happier Life

  5. Kristie Tamsevicius Avatar

    I think it’s nearly impossible to get all typos out of a book. I paid one editor to proof it. Found errors. Hired another editor to proof it twice. There were still errors. My publisher proofed it again. Still more errors. It took my husband (Mr. Computer Programmer) to find the remaining errors. Guess I should have just hired him in the first place! *grin*
    That’s why you always want to do small print runs at first.
    Author of,
    I Love My Life: A Mom’s Guide to Working from Home

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