The no. #1 Worst Offense from Publishers
Why do I always know the answer to that question? Want to know the number one blunder smaller self- and traditional publishers make? (I can actually name the offenders, too, but I'll be polite.) Littering the books with editorial mistakes. I can't tell you how many authors (and this applies to the big overseas publishing houses, too) show me their books only to have earmarked dozens of mistakes. In my opinion though the worst mistakes are the egregious and "ew-producing" back-cover mistakes. I'll be fair, a small handful of interior mistakes I can halfway accept, but the minute I see a back-cover with mistakes galore, I am always flabbergasted. The editors couldn't even take two seconds to ensure the most-read part of the book and THE most important part of the book didn't have mistakes? The only word that comes to mind is "sloppy" ... well, I can think of some other words too like "lame," but you know let's not digress. Why does this happen? I can guess so here is a list of explanations (and if you don't like some of them, contact us to publish your book because we don't use these practices):
- Overseas publishers whose editors first language is (get this) NOT English!
- Entry-level editors who don't know a past participle from a banana. It's forgivable to be an entry-level editor (been there done that). How else do you learn? On-the-job training is the best breeding ground for improved expertise. However, that doesn't excuse the publishers who use them as the ONLY editors on the book. An entry-level, low-paid editor has no business attempting to edit and proof a complete book on his or her own.
- One set of eyes leads to blunders galore. It takes at least 2-3 qualified sets of eyes to review a manuscript, and even then it can a challenge. The final proof is harder than the initial proof. You need someone who hasn't read the book yet to spot the final flaws that your tired eyes can no longer see.
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