Die, Typos, Die

Posted on by under Dragonfire, Publishing

Typos, or typographical errors, seem to be like gremlins. They pop up unexpectedly, even in the text of books that have been proofread a zillion times. I seldom read the finished versions of my books, because I know I will find at least one typo and it will drive me crazy. Part of the reason they bug me is that it’s been standard practice in publishing that once the book makes it to print, there are no further changes to the text. Even if the book is reprinted, it will be reprinted exactly the same way as it was printed the first time – typos intact.

So I was very excited to learn this week that things have changed. It might just be at Penguin, or it might be the result of digital technology, but my Dragonfire editor told me that the house will FIX TYPOS when books go back to press to be reprinted. Wow! The Dragonfire books are being reprinted, so this is a very exciting opportunity.

I’ll need to read all of the books and send my editor a list of the typos I find so they can be corrected in subsequent printings. It puts another job in my job jar, but I don’t mind. Could this be the end of typographical errors? I hope so! 🙂

8 thoughts on “Die, Typos, Die”

  1. I think every reader believes that typos are corrected in later editions. I know I did. Finally reality is meeting this expectation. And congratulations on the reprints!

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  3. That is soooo awesome. I have been meaning to buy additional copies as mine have been read so many times I feel bad for the books so I’m buying new ones for on my shelf of favs while I continue to read the old ones. So if you ever need help proof reading just give a shout. I look forward to seeing Kiss of Fury after the Typos are removed. After all there were several though don’t get me wrong I still loved it. Heres looking forward to the reprints.

    Lendell

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    • I’m excited about it, too, Lendell.

      Now let me tell you a trick. You’ll want to make sure that you buy one of the reprints that has the typos fixed. If you look at the copyright page of the book, where all the legal stuff is printed in tiny type, it will list the reprints of the book. So, KISS OF FURY has a line that says “First Printing, August 2008”. This will grow into a column, each reprinting listed with a date.

      I’m not sure how many printings each of the books has had at this point, and it’s possible that some of the typos have already been fixed. (Authors get copies of the first printing, and sometimes we’re told about subsequent ones. I know FURY has gone back to press at least once.) But I’m going to read the first trilogy this summer and send in my typos. You’ll want a copy printed after my notes go in, so I’d look for a copy with a printing later than September 2010.

      Make sense?
      d

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  4. Would you mind if we listed typos that we find? I’m rereading Kiss of Fate right now and have found several I could list for you.

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