So I’ve been sending out e-ARCs of Tangled Threads to reviewers/bloggers, and a few folks have e-mailed me back letting me know about typos, small mistakes, etc. I’m really grateful for this, and I’ve been able to make some changes based on these e-mails. Even if it’s too late to make changes to the original version, I still pass along the info to my editor so the second and subsequent printings can be corrected (assuming the books go back to press).
But no matter who it’s from, whenever I get an e-mail pointing out a typo, etc., I always cringe a little inside because I hate, hate, hate that there are mistakes in my books. Argh! It makes me feel like Charlie Brown running up to kick the football and Lucy pulling it away from him at the last minute.
Believe me, I’ve tried to cut down on the typos and mistakes. I spend days (sometimes weeks) apiece on each round of rough drafts, revisions, copy edits, and page proofs. I probably read through each one of my books at least 10 times (if not more), editing pen in hand every single time. And still at the end when the book goes into print, there are typos and other mistakes that creep in.
Argh! I feel like I just hit the dirt again, just like poor ole Charlie Brown.
I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot since I just finished up the page proofs for Touch of Frost and am currently working on copy edits for Spider’s Revenge. I’ve looked at these pages until I can see them in my sleep, but every time I go back through them, I see something else that I could fix or tweak. Sigh.
I know that I’ve just got to make peace with the fact that my books are never going to be perfect. There’s always going to be some small typo that I don’t catch or a better word that I could have used somewhere — but letting go is never easy.
I think maybe the next time Lucy pulls the football away from me, I’ll just lay there on the ground awhile and take a nap. At least then, I’ll be well-rested. LOL. Until I get the next round of edits or page proofs, that is …
