Authors--Give Attention
Authors: Give Attention to Detail–On Every Page
Pat Morris, President of Midwest Independent Publishers Association, member of PEN, Professional Editors Network
I threw the book down in disgust. I had been editing much of the day, some of it quite technical, and all I wanted to do before I went to sleep was read something fun that someone else had already edited.
I usually read everything in a book, including the acknowledgments, foreword, author’s note – even the copyright page. This particular book had an “Authors note” – uh, oh, no apostrophe. By the end of that one page I had counted five spelling and punctuation errors and a few things that weren’t technically errors but could have been easily improved. I had paid full price for the book and already felt I had wasted my money. The next morning I remembered that the author had thanked her editor, so I scanned several later sections of the book. They were error-free.
Apparently, even though the rest of the book had been competently edited, no one edited the first page of the book. I couldn’t help but wonder how many people had picked up the book, read that first page, and decided not to buy it because of the errors.
Another book (from a major publisher) I reviewed recently was so badly edited that I’m pretty sure no in-house editor even read it before it was printed. It may have been “edited” by software or it may have been outsourced overseas for editing. As publishers have downsized their staff positions, often the editors are the first to be pink-slipped.
At a seminar last month, one speaker stated that some of the big publishers expect agents to do the editing. There’s one problem with that: agents are not usually editors and according to the Canon of Ethics of The Association of Authors’ Representatives, ”...may not charge clients or potential clients for reading and evaluating literary works and may not benefit, directly or indirectly, from the charging for such services by any other person or entity.” Agents are only paid when they sell a manuscript to a publisher. It’s unlikely they will invest much time or money in the editing of too many manuscripts before they are sent to potential publishers.
It stands to reason that a manuscript will get more attention from a potential publisher or an agent if it has already been edited. And every manuscript needs editing, or at least proofreading – including children’s books. Computer spelling checkers are not enough, and should not be trusted. As an example, do you know what a soffit is? If you do, you’re smarter than Spell-check; it wanted one of my clients to use “suffix” instead (if you don’t know what a soffit is, you’re still smarter than Spell-check – it just means you’re not yet a homeowner).
The English language, especially the American version, is continually changing. What was a “rule” when you were in high school, may no longer apply. And don’t even get me started about the education fad that told children, “Anything you write is okay; it’s just important to express your feelings.” Many of those kids ended up in remedial writing courses as college freshmen or taking extra training in their first corporate jobs.
How do you find an editor? One of the best ways is to look at the directory at http://www.pensite.org, the website of the Professional Editors Network. Find some editors who specialize in your genre and interview them. You’ll connect with one better than others. Then listen to your editor. That doesn’t mean you have to accept every change, but I’ve never known an editor who wanted a book to fail.
But please, don’t make me throw your book on the floor!
Pat Morris is a professional copyeditor/proofreader, magazine editor and advocate for good writing—and of course, everything being professionally edited.