Why Can't Publishing Companies Spell?

Little did I know when I asked a simple question in my group on Amazon.com would I get so many responses. The question was, "Do you notice this, or is it just me?." There are so many errors in books today it is astounding. These are some of the mistakes that I have come across:

Simple: Using there when it should have been their

Bad: Misuse of the English language, for example: ' Chance gave he a chaste kiss on the lips.' (the heroine is a woman)

Worst: Repeating phrases, changing characters names in the story, changing the name of a place in the story. ... And in one book the author had the the same chapter number three times in a row.

And, it is not just in books either. Can you believe there are grammatical errors in audio books? How can a person read something and just not know that it's wrong? This is just being downright lazy! I think authors should go over their books after they write them, at least a couple of times. When I see my books in print, I would feel really embarrassed over having those kinds of errors mentioned above in my books.

So, what is the problem with these publishers for printing such shoddy work? According to one member of my group, as with many industries, the publishing industry has been laying off copy editors and proofreaders in the last couple of years. Someone else has mentioned seeing errors way before the layoffs occurred. This is really, really bad. An employed editor, who works hard, spoke up and said that we should complain. So here I am, complaining for everyone who loves books.

Books are not just something we buy and mindlessly go through and get rid of. Whether it's informative or fiction, does not matter. Books take our spirits to another place and make us feel whatever the author wants us to feel. Having really, simple errors in books takes away the pleasure of our reading. It's annoying and stops the flow of what we are supposed to be enjoying.

Here are a few comments that were made.

Curly Q
This drives me crazy, too. Sometimes I feel like I'm mentally spell checking the book as I read along.

The Poster With No Name
Errors like that show a book has been run through an automated spell check but no one's actually reading the book for grammar or proper word usage. I know publishing has drastically cut down on proof readers and editors and many writers are under a lot of pressure to get several books out a year but still it's shoddy and unprofessional by all involved.

K. S.
My cousin use to proof-read for a major publishing house. She was let go a couple of years ago along with most of the department. According to the publisher with spell check and the cost it just didn't need them anymore. Several of my friends are authors also and they are told to self edit there own books. I am sure there are authors that don't have the money to hire a proof reader and it's very difficult to proof read your own work. As to the formatting on kindle? That I suspect is a combination of the publisher and amazon, or any other e-reader company.

Jd
I'm sure some publishers are cutting back on staff because they think people wouldn't know the difference between the correct spelling or use of a word anyway. I read once that most people read at a sixth grade level, which was shocking. I'm not college educated, but errors in books drive me up a wall. That's why, even after I get my edits back from my editor, I go over my manuscript again. I know they read fast and sometimes make errors of their own, which ultimately reflect on me when my work is published.

TxRomance
I just got a Kindle and am reading ebooks for the first time. My goodness...there are soooo many errors on ebooks! One of the books I read had a maid named Mary and all through the book she was called Main off and on. Even on the same page they got her named switched!!!!! SOMEONE IS NOT DOING THEIR EDITING ANYMORE!!!!

Amberle
What we really need is readers to stop complaining about bad editing on discussion boards and forums. The complaints need to be sent to the publishing companies, so they will realize how much good copy editing is appreciated.

So, on behalf of my group and anyone else who loves to read books, I sincerely ask publishing companies to please, step up and care about your readers, your buyers, or else we all may resort to checking out books at our local public libraries.