Any writers out there?

Self published books have a lot more spelling mistakes.

I did an OU creative writing course. The tutor read us a story he had written which, in my opinion, was a perfect example of how NOT to write a short story. It was completely incomprehensible, kept introducing characters with no explanation and appeared to have no discernible plot. I didn't bother attending a second tutorial but had good on-line contacts with other students - and somehow got a distinction which I thought was not entirely deserved, but I was my own most severe critic.

Blimey that's a sweeping generalisation if ever there was one! Its certainly not true of those that I`ve read. I also like the very old books (late 19th/early 20th century ones) that have been prepared for Kindle. Some don't fit the format perfectly but are often fascinating perspectives on lost times and often beautifully written.

You have probably read more than me, in which case I will take your word for it.

It is disheartening how much sloppy spelling and punctuation one sees these days. However I would be unable to extrapolate from this to any blanket opinion on self-published books. I do find Ebooks quite bad in this respect which I attribute to sloppy proofreading and editing.
As a child my father would involve me in proofreading for his (provincial) newspaper. It was an excellent preparation for checkng school reports as HoD and of Year!

Errors even slip through in published books Soutra

The books my DS writes go through at least 4 different people before they are printed. They are scrutinised very carefully.

In his one series the hero is called Jack and in his latest series the hero is Connor. He accidentally got them round the wrong way on one occasion and the only person who spotted it was one fan from India. It was altered in the next print run.

Oh I know they do Nankate it was soontobe who accused self published books of being particularly prone to them. I just happen to spot them in books on my Kindle .

That is the trouble isnt it.
Other books go through 4 people at least.
Self published books, not as many.

Doesn't anybody proofread or edit them then?

The really bad one that I know, only her mother did as far as I am aware. who herself cannot spell well
The book has more than 20 spelling mistakes in it.
The author is aware of it [it is actually getting great amazon reviews apart from the remarks about spellings], and has commented herself on it.

This may be a good time to say that I am going to name change soon, as I tend to put quite a lot of personal information on gransnet.
So in a couple of days I will be a different name.
I will be the next name if you get my drift.

When you have written something yourself, you don't always see the errors, you just see what you meant to write. A new pair of eyes can catch a lot. If every self-publisher had someone else to proof-read, it might cut down the typos and incomprehensible bits.

A paired buddy system might work, if it could be organised. Both parties would need a certain amount of tact.

Since retiring, I have written a script for Doctors on the BBC and a psychological crime thriller. Currently trying to finish the second in the series and it's turning out to be hard work. Self-published, both print and ebook. Selling well in USA.

I have written poetry,both funny and serious,since I was 14.I would love to write a novel but don't think I have the stamina!Instead,I am concentrating on writing a sort of memoir,just for the family,to show future generations what life was like in my time.

Spelling mistakes in published works

1) It is more difficult to proof-read on screen than it is on hard copy. You can go through something several times on screen and think you have it right, then when you print it out you immediately spot some hideous mistake.

2) There is a belief that an electronic spell check will pick up mistakes and proof-readers are no longer required. Ha, ha, ha!

3) Professional proof-readers and particularly specialist proof-readers are thin on the ground these days.

I think editorial mistakes are on the increase too, even among publishers with high reputations. This is partly a result of much faster publishing schedules than in the past and partly a result of using untrained and ill educated editors in the first place. Fact checking – in both fiction and non-fiction – seems to have been lost almost completely.

Although getting a book published and having success is a brilliant achievement, most new writers do not realise that the publisher will then want them to write book 2 pretty quickly and to a deadline.

This deadline is very important as the Publishers set up a whole team of people to proof read, edit, check for continuity, the printers are set up and the shops lined up for receiving the books. So if you miss the deadline you have put a lot of people in difficulty. Then you have to wait until all this can be set up again.

In addition monies for the book are split into parts such as, signing the book contract, sending in the draft manuscript, publication day.

Please don't think I am being pessimistic, it is just a number of would be authors imagine they will be sitting quietly, writing at their own speed and to their own timetable, which is definitely not the case.

However if you can overcome all this and be realistic about the work involved, it can be a very satisfying vocation (not many authors retire).

Hi,i,m 67 and I,ve just finished a short historical novel about the great famine of 1315 called jake belshaw and it,s out on kindle amazon.enjoyed writing and researching it.it,s set around bordsley abbey in my own county of worcestershire.

Personally I think I have the one book in me.
Pretty sure there is not another!

Right weepam I am going to "professionally" proofread your post. No offence intended, just imagine my changes are the red pen!

Hi, I'm 67 and I've just finished a short historical novel called Jake Belshaw about the Great Famine of 1315, out on Amazon Kindle, which I enjoyed writing and researching. It is set around Bordesley Abbey in my home county of Worcestershire

Now you might argue that you did correct your spelling (Bordesley), your punctuation ( capital letters, apostrophes etc) in the book itself -at least I hope you did.

Others may disagree with my alterations. Any offers?

Absent among "mistakes" which too often slip through are mistakes in other languages-vocabulary, basic grammar or idiom. Those always jump out at me person!

Spot on, Soutra.

re 20.37pm

Lots of writing Grans around judging by the various posts. Well done those of you who have published. Interesting to hear about the pressure put on writers by publishers. I've noticed professional copy editors advertising. Any views on them? They seem very expensive but I suppose its time consuming. One I looked at seemed mostly for factual writers.

Copy editing is not particularly well paid but the more experienced ones are paid more than the tyros. You are not just paying for the time spent working on your manuscript but for the years of experience and the accumulated skills brought to the task. Very like other professions, then.

soutra I believe that the trend now is to use fewer commas even in long sentences:

stylemanual.ngs.org/home/C/comma

(Just one example website above).

This is something I learnt from my children: it is a complete give away of age to put two spaces after a full stop. Only former typists do that.

I don't think commas are used more frugally these days; they still serve the purposes that they always have. Rather, people who are/were unsure about the rules of punctuation tend to bung them into sentences willy nilly until the page resembles a bout of measles. As for double spaces after full stops that went out with the Amstrad – easily removed with a "find and exchange".