Sloppy editing

Every now and then you stumble across a site you can't help going back to--again...and again...and again. One of those sites is A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, the blog of J.A. Konrath, writer of the Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels series. Konrath tells it like it is, enlightening both the pros and newcomers of the writing world.

A recent post of his that garnered a number of comments was based on his recent experience judging a writing contest, and how he can tell how good a story is by the first sentence or two. He goes on to instruct in the proper formatting of a story for submission, whether for a contest or agent/publisher. Having experience as a newsletter editor, I know where he is coming from, and can only agree with what he says. Some of his advice is common sense, such as making sure there are no typos or spacing issues, and that your first sentence--heck, the entire first paragraph--grabs a reader's attention, but it never hurts for even the more seasoned writer to be reminded of some things.

Like Konrath, I have trouble reading past the first sentence if there are a lot of errors. I used to feel bad about this, particularly on message boards, but--in my opinion--there is no excuse for lazy writing. Especially on a website or blog geared towards writers. Writing properly at all times improves one's writing, one's grasp of language and grammar. If you claim to be a writer, use proper English, capitalizing the pronoun "I" as well as the first word of any sentence, at all times. You will garner more credence as a writer, whether you have been writing for years or have yet to publish. First impressions truly are important, and if you can't be bothered to write a proper paragraph on a message board, how is anyone to believe you are a good writer, that your book is worth not just buying, but reading and referring to friends?

During my stint as a newsletter editor, the submissions I saw ranged in various degrees of polishing. One regular contributor never sent me an unclean article. In over a year of working together I questioned only one word in one submission--and she agreed that my suggested change was better. Other writers would send material that needed only a minimal of editing, a typo here or there. The submissions I received from a multi-published author, however, were horrifying.

This was an author published in both fiction and nonfiction, and her submissions were so riddled with typos, spacing problems and inconsistent formatting that it would sometimes take hours to clean them up. I refuse to believe that any professional author, especially one with as many books out as she, would ever think of sending something like that in to an editor, yet she apparently thought so little of me--so little of our publication--as to consistently submit unpolished material, and usually past deadline as well. I will not lie in that it lowered my esteem for her considerably. In fact, whereas I was once a huge fan of hers, I will no longer even look at one of her books, let alone buy it. How can I be sure of getting a quality product when I have seen the lack of quality in her submitted work?

It isn't solely this one author, however. I've become equally less enamored of an entire series put out by a publisher. Why? Because in two different books, one published in November and one in December, I found the same type of error that 1) should have been caught by the author and at the very least 2) should have been caught by the editor or copy editor. I know that, as a writer blessed with an internal editor, it may have been more obvious to me, but I cannot believe I am the only person to catch these mistakes. Readers are very astute, and I can recall a discussion of a mini-series on one message board in which the method of how a bracelet came to be lost was different in two back-to-back episodes of the series. In one, the bracelet was stolen; in the next it was lost and recovered by a suspicious character. Readers picked up on this immediately and railed on it.

In the case of the more recent incident, the error involved who was performing an action. I will not embarrass the writers or the publisher by naming names, but am sure anyone who has read these books will recognize them immediately. In the first book, a husband and wife are in a truck listening to a news report. The husband snaps off the radio and exits the truck. Not more than a page later, the wife reaches over to the radio--which had not been turned back on!-- and shuts it off.

In the second book, a couple enters a diner and places an order, including coffee. The waitress leaves to submit their orders, and it says, "It was the owner who brought their coffee." They talk for a couple pages, the owner leaves, and suddenly the waitress appears with their coffee. Not with a refill, but with the initial cups of coffee!

This kind of mistake is inexcusable.

With the first book, I was especially disappointed as it was a local author I have met and whose books I have always enjoyed. When the same type of mistake occurred in this series of books by a different author, I was angry. I felt betrayed as a reader and a book buyer. When you lay down money for a book, whether in print or ebook format, you do so with the expectation of receiving a quality product. It is first up to the writer to submit the best book she can, smoothly polished and with a gripping story. It is next up to the editor to make sure that the material submitted is as good as it can be. Anything less than that is a betrayal to the reader, and can only reflect back on the publisher (and the writer) in the form of fewer sales. I know I personally have reservations about ever buying this series--and even from this publisher--again.

Inconsistency can be a major story killer, and reading for it should be an integral part of the editing process. I've heard of books where the hero's name suddenly changed. Not just from a given name to a nickname, but from Bob to Ted with no explanation other than a writer changing the character's name and not fixing it all the way through the manuscript.

Not too long ago, a friend was asked to review a book for her website. Though she eagerly agreed, she found herself unable to write a favorable review. The reason? Sloppy editing. Both the heroine's skin and hair color changed throughout the book, with no apparent reason other than the writer possibly writing the heroine initially as one race, then changing her mind. While a white character becoming black during the story might have worked in John Updike's BRAZIL, it is not advised for the average writer. Readers will notice, and be quite disgruntled with the error.

As writers, we have an unwritten contract with the reader to deliver a quality product: a good story, clean copy, and consistent and believable plot. When these criteria are not met, we risk alienating, and even losing, the reader. Not only will she not finish this particular book, she will be unlikely to read another, and will suggest her friends avoid you as well.

Few writers actually enjoy the editing process, yet it is an integral part of the contract with the reader--and the publisher. It begins with you, writing the best product you can and making sure that it is clean and consistent before submitting it. It next becomes the editor and copy editor’s obligation to make sure that the story is clean and accurate. When editing and proper formatting become inconsequential, an injustice is committed towards the reader. You owe it to your readers--be they judges, publishers, or consumers--to submit only the highest quality of work you can produce.

To do less is a breach in contract with the reader.



Recommended reads for strengthening grammar and editing skills:

SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS by Renni Brown and Dave King
ON WRITING WELL by William Zinsser
THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE by Strunk & White
WOE IS I by Patricia T. O'Conner