Dear Readers,
As you know from following my blog, besides enjoying television and movies, I love to read.
There is nothing better than a well-written story or account to keep a reader engaged. However,
when the editing is done poorly, my antenna goes up and I must write about it. Continue reading to see some of the worst errors I have encountered.
Example: In Jennifer Weiner's novel The Guy Not Taken, Marlie, who is getting married, has lunch with a friend who asks incredulously, "You're having second thoughts about your china? Haven't you already gotten four place settings already?" *Is it as obvious to you as it is to me that the author wrote "already" twice in that last question?
Example: I found this error in Madeleine Wickham's novel The Wedding Girl: "You know, I'm sure Milly would want to you to come." *Did you spot the addition of the superfluous "to"?
Example: C.J. Box writes in his novel Savage Run, "The Old Man felt sick. He had waved away the offers of jerky and iced tea by saying he thought he thought he was coming down with the flu."
*This example, I believe, is quite obvious.
Example: In his first novel Open Season, C.J. Box introduces us to new Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett who almost didn't get the job. "In what Joe and Marybeth later called 'one his larger bonehead moves,' Joe had written the wrong date for the appointment with the director in his calendar and simply missed it." *Did you notice the absence of the word "of" in the phrase "one his larger..."?
Example: Here is another error I found in C.J. Box's Open Season. "Joe stood on the end of the bed to make sure he had seen everything on the shelf...But Joe didn't see what he looking for."
* Did you figure out that the word "was" is missing in that last sentence?
Example: One final mistake I found in Open Season is when Joe is trying to get information out of a possible suspect/witness. "There was a tiny reaction on the corner's of Clyde Lidgard's mouth..."
*If you read my previous blog about the apostrophe, you would note immediately, like I did, that the correct word above should be corners. I really think that C.J. Box needs to fire this editor.
Example: John Grisham wrote a very good novel, The Last Juror, but I still found some editing problems. "Given those conflicting sentiments, I was quite pleased not be invited to the meeting."
*How many of you noticed the missing "to"?
Example: Continuing with this book, "The box was twelve inches square, five inches deep, white in color with red and blue stars and stripes. It was gift package from the Bolan Pecan Farm..."
*What's missing here is the word "a", right?
Example: Lastly, in the Grisham novel, "The second death occurred later that night, and when I heard about it on Monday I went to my apartment and found my pistol." *I believe that the mistake here is not putting a comma after the word "Monday", where one would normally pause. This may be a minor oversight, but I still beseech Grisham with the same advice to C.J. Box: Get a new editor.
Example: In Going Clear by Lawrence Wright, there is a paragraph describing the current head of Scientology, David Miscavige, at age twelve. David was using asthma inhalers that contained steroids. Wright clarifies parenthetically, "(corticosteroids can stunt growth, however, and if Miscavige took them might have contributed to his short stature.)" *Very awkward sentence, don't you agree? It needs editing.
Example: OK Magazine published an article on Katie Holmes and her new leading man in the June 10, 2013 edition. "All this has Katie's pals convinced there's more going on than a strictly a professional relationship." *Did you spot the double use of "a"?
Example: Also in OK Magazine, the article on Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds published in the August 5, 2013 issue, says that he would like to have a large family. An unidentified source is quoted as saying, "He essentially wants to re-create the childhood he had for his own children. He has three brother and his dad would take them all camping in the summer." *If you read my blog about plurals, you would know instantly that brothers is the correct word here.
By far, the worst offender in the poor editing category is the book Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill. Coincidentally, this is also a recounting of the practices of Scientology, this one by the niece of the above-mentioned David Miscavige. That in and of itself is not the problem. The problem is poor editing. Keep reading for enlightenment.
Example: Jenna describes the Ranch where, as an 8-year old, she was sent to live apart from her parents. "Mr. Parker was the adult responsible for education and activities. After with her arrival [all adults were addressed as Mister, regardless of gender]..."
Example: Describing their room where she lives, she says, "There was an authorized phone in our apartment for her one of my roommates' use only."
Example: "Dianetics and Scientology were so new to the spiritual landscape that they was barely older than she was..."
Example: "I should have known it was all too good. More important, I should have listened to my friend's when he warned me that Martino and I should be careful..."
Example: Tom, one of Jenna's minders, says to her, "Jenna, if you calm down, I will talk to you upstairs to my berthing..."
The above highlighted editing errors are simply embarrassing. Jenna, if you write another book, please stay away from this editor.
So, Readers, it is with satisfaction that I end this post after having edited this page myself.
