I have here a 20-page booklet inviting me to join the Science Fiction Book Club. Page 3 is dedicated to LKH's "A Stroke of Midnight." They've included a pull quote which begins "Yesterday we'd tried to be discrete about the weapons..."
I understand that LKH cannot spell, does not run spell check, and it has never occurred to her nor her minions that maybe they could try giving an English teacher $20 to proofread the material before it goes to the publisher, which doesn't seem to care about issues concerning proper language use either. All these people with good jobs, and none of them care that they look dumb! (bangs head with aura of utter frustration)
Could be worse. It could be like that cover of Ms. Magazine, which went out worldwide with big letters:
The Future of Feminisim
So sad. Everybody sort of laughed and said, "We got this week's edition of the publishing bad-luck special."
I forgive a small number of typoes in print (more inside a book than in press materials or cover copy), considering how many I have missed in my lifetime.
the publisher, which doesn't seem to care about issues concerning proper language use either.
That's what gets my goat the most (yes, I have a goat, and ita, STAY AWAY) -- the freaking PUBLISHER. I mean, I have contempt for authors who are too lazy/arrogant to run spell-check (though spell-check wouldn't catch "discrete," since it's a correct spelling, just an incorrect usage) or hire a proofreader (who would catch usage issues like "discreet/discrete").
But publishing companies who let more than a few mistakes get through? I'm appalled.
When publishers started making severe cutbacks in their budgets back in the late 1980s, the first thing to go was the proofreading departments. They just relied on spell check and making the editors do the proofreading, in addition to all their other work. I could probably tell you the exact month when Harlequin got rid of their proofreaders, since I was still buying their books on a fairly regular basis back then.
Maybe they are trying to artificially increase the collectibility of the books in question. I mean, there's almost no secondary market when you've got a print run of 43 gajillion, but someone read an anecdote once where the first edition of "Banjo the Pony Dog" fetched $250 at auction because of the famous typo on page 28, where Banjo barfs at the intruders, scaring them off.
Hmm, works for turkey vultures.
Matt, you're a genius! A children's book about a brave turkey vulture. I'd buy it.
Of course now my mind has a cartoon image of a cute little puppy-sized Petey from The Little Rascals covering several stereotypical masked burglars with upchuck from head to toe.
This is a very broad question, but I'm looking for a historical fiction reading list, partly because I like the stuff and partly to figure out where I belong, since I recently had an epiphany that I'm more of a historical fiction writer than a historical romance writer.
So. As y'all know, I've already read scads of Patrick O'Brian. I'm up-to-date on Diana Gabaldon, and I'm going to try more Sara Donati. I'm avoiding the Sharpe books as long as I'm writing Rifles myself, but I'm up to trying other Cornwell. I know I need to try Dorothy Dunnett again--I tried the first Lymond book once and didn't get very far, but it took me two tries to get through
Master and Commander,
and I now adore the Aubrey/Maturin series and want to have its babies. One of my critique partners just recommended the Poldark saga. In high school I devoured Pearl Buck, Herman Wouk, and Leon Uris.
Who else? Recently published is good, woman-centric is good, 18th and 19th century settings are good, but I'm not being exclusive about it. I'm just trying to expand horizons, while hopefully getting a feel for who publishes what and who I might mention in the "my book would appeal to fans of X" section of my query letters.
