Deanna Hoak

7 Responses to “Copyediting story”  

1. 1 readwrite May 28th, 2006 at 8:42 pm

   Readers of old sf pulps are no strangers to brass brassieres.:

   http://www.physics.emory.edu/~weeks/sea/thrilling-wonder-stories/4808.htm

   http://linesonpaper.tripod.com/zfa748.jpg

   http://linesonpaper.tripod.com/zfsq3.jpg

   http://linesonpaper.tripod.com/zplnt10.jpg

   http://linesonpaper.tripod.com/zss150.jpg

   http://linesonpaper.tripod.com/zsss749.jpg

   Actually, that last one may be stainless steel…

2. 2 deannahoak May 29th, 2006 at 5:54 am

   Heh. Yeah, there’s a saying I used to hear in rural Texas, too: “Colder’n a witch’s titty in a brass bra!”

3. 3 ghosh_writer May 31st, 2006 at 4:23 am

   Maybe yes. But at what cost? More proofreading, reviewing, or simply reading through, implies more person-hours tied up in that job. To what end? Perfection cannot be achieved in this way. Neither is this cost effective. In my opinion its always better that one or two persons go through the material but with adequate time.

   EC’s journal spells receptacle as ‘receptical’. Is this intentional? I don’t think so. Or is that a typing error?

4. 4 deannahoak May 31st, 2006 at 6:50 am

   I definitely think you need more than one person reviewing a book; way too much will be missed with only one set of eyes.

   Even the best of us make typos and mistakes; anyone who does very much of their own writing at all realizes quickly that they’re not immune. :-)

5. 5 ghosh_writer May 31st, 2006 at 9:49 am

   I guess you are right. But I think you have been lucky with the authors you have worked with. Here the situation is very different. Its not just the typos. Its the way they present their matter in a book. Sometimes its plain incorrect.

   Have you worked on non-fiction books also?

6. 6 deannahoak May 31st, 2006 at 9:56 am

   Yes, I started out editing college textbooks, and I’ve worked in just about every genre.

   I have had some great authors. But all kinds of authors make mistakes; I just don’t get upset about them. It’s my job to point them out, but it’s not my book.

7. 7 ghosh_writer Jun 1st, 2006 at 2:57 am

   You’re right. I do have to get a bit detached.

   Right now I’m working on a book on biochemical calculations and biochem statistics. There are quite a few instances of errors. But like you said its not my book.

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