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HH's avatar

I’ve encountered typos in published books before, and I’ve indeed wondered why they weren’t caught. I never imagined that the writer might be so burdened by an all but incompetent editor, he would be forced, in the service of saving his sanity, to move the manuscript as quickly as possible. I’m angered and saddened for writers who must endure such editors. And I’m grateful to you, Lev, for giving us readers a glimpse into the dark underbelly that lurks beneath the published work. Thank you for this insightful piece!

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Robert Eversz's avatar

Oh, do I know this experience too intimately. I once returned a copy-edited manuscript to my publisher, telling them it was unworkable, and they needed to begin the process again with a new copyeditor. This was at Simon & Schuster. To convince them with a minimum of discussion, I copyedited the first 20 pages of the copyedited version, showing them factual errors that hadn't existed in the original, and how the copyeditor had failed to understand how first-person voice works. The process was vexing, but when it was over I felt badly for the copyeditor, who clearly had no idea what they were doing.

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