Ah Proofreading!
Kristen King, inkthinker blogger, posted a link to a glaring typo on the cover of author Phillip Roth’s newest, American Pastoral… I chuckled because I’ve been caught in these situations.
The very first book I helped ghost was Terry Cole-Whittaker’s What You Think of Me is None of My Business. Only hours before the launch party the publisher called me to let me know that on the hardcover spine, the author’s name had been misspelled. The first words out of my mind were “how could this happen?” I took that sentiment back immediately because I understand.
At the time I was also editing a magazine for Terry. Every month we had a couple of proofreaders go through first the edited copy and then the blue lines (Does this date me or what? A blue line is defined as: a proof made directly from the press negative onto photo-sensitive paper showing the printed piece exactly as it will appear. It’s no longer done this way, or rarely.) We caught dozens of typos and it never failed that at least one, and sometimes more, slipped through. And every month one reader sent me a marked up copy of the published magazine. Unfortunately, that person would never agree to proof before we went to press.
For awhile this inability to create a type-free magazine drove me crazy. I actually felt terribly guilty. The one month I picked up a copy of a much larger magazine that was in roughly the same genre. I knew this publication had the benefit of a bigger staff, and bigger budget. The inside signature was bound in upside down! That upside down signature was a true gift to me. If they couldn’t get it right, I realized, I was reaching for a perfection that simply didn’t exist. I relaxed. We still made every effort to get rid of typos and we got better at it. But typos happen, no matter how much effort goes into any particular project.
Sometimes, like the cover of Roth’s book, it generates publicity… which can’t be all bad.
Write well and often,
Subscribe to Abundant Writing News
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Musings From A Freelance Writer
2 opinions for Ah Proofreading!
Tom
Jun 12, 2006 at 10:43 am
Don’t you mean typo-free magazine?
Anne Wayman
Jun 13, 2006 at 9:52 am
yep, see what I mean?
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: