Non-Proofread Kindle Books

[TromboneAl]

I'm reading a free Kindle book right now that's not too bad for being a silly science fiction read:

http://www.amazon.com/Just-Plain-We...222X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326738789&sr=8-1

The thing that I don't get, and I've seen in a number of books lately, is that the errors are so numerous and bad that I can't see how any proofreader could miss them. Examples:

"At one point the thought, he found a fragment of an ancient tool."

"In other words, it's not of my business."

"Jealousy has never to do with it."

"Wherever the black stuff was, the soap was doing I great job on it."

"I don't care where it was build."
​

There are errors like that every few pages. They are in the print edition also. The author writes well enough that he must have had some education.

Was there no proofreading at all? My guess is that it started with five times as many errors, and the proofreader gave up.

 

[Rustward]

Maybe you should ask for your money back?



Could it have been written in another language and translated by a robot?

 

[bssc]

Or a bad proofreader, I have seen some in other print books. It is a dying art.

 

[clifp]

As somebody who is awful at proofing his own work, with thousands of posts to prove it , I am somewhat sympathetic. I figure my readers, much like the author's readers, are paying nothing for my wisdom so it is bit much to ask for you all to ask me to hire a proofreader.


FWIW I have also noticed the really cheap ebooks appear to have been self-published without the benefit of an editor/proofreader.

 

[Gumby]

Some of the problems T-Al mentions probably could have been avoided by running the text through Word's built-in grammar checker.

 

[modhatter]

Many Kindle books are self published. Many who write these books do not want to spend the $500+ for a proof reader, as generally sales from these books are miniscule unless you are "hot" author. The writers are referred to as "independents". They represent themselves and pay all costs themselves, and thus, don't hire professionals. When you give your book away for free or only charge $1.99 for it, and Amazon takes a good part of it, you can understand why they don't employ the services of proof readers.
Many just ask family members to read it, and look for mistakes.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I'm reading a free Kindle book right now that's not too bad for being a silly science fiction read:

Amazon.com: Just Plain Weird (9781438222226): Tom Upton: Books

The thing that I don't get, and I've seen in a number of books lately, is that the errors are so numerous and bad that I can't see how any proofreader could miss them. Examples:.

It's rampant and very distracting. Seems worse in the cheap or free books to me.

 

[KiraC]

I read a lot of free kindle books. If the errors are so numerous that it distracts from the reading, I write a customer review on the Amazon site and suggest the author consider proofreading the work. At least then future readers know about the errors. If there are only a couple issues, I just overlook them and enjoy the free read.

 

[REWahoo]

This may shed some light on the subject: Karen Dionne: "E" Stands for "Errors"

The article says don't blame it on the authors...

Self-published authors frequently take the hit for poorly edited and badly formatted e-books. But the truth is, many of them are more careful about proofing their work than traditional publishers seem to be.

The problem appears to be in the formatting, page layout and translation process going from word files to e-book format.