It’s difficult, and I hate it. I found mistakes in my published two books, This Red Earth and Beyond this Red Earth. I was appalled, and I am now correcting both. To think that I would put out material with such poor formatting is almost beyond mu comprehension. But it happened, and here I am in a dilemma. What do I do? How can I contact every single person who has purchased these two books and replace them with corrected updated ones? I can’t. lf a doctor loses a patient, he can bury him. If an architect makes a mistake, he can grow a vine. Writers have to live with humiliation for eternity. There’s no turning back or covering up
I went to the writers’ group and talked about it. One astute and successful writer friend said I could make a statement on Author Central and ask that anyone who downloaded my books on Kindle or Nook could contact me and I could send them an updated version. I’m going to do that. Another friend consoled me and said, “All authors make mistakes. Don’t worry about them.” Yet another writer friend suggested I contact people I know who have copies of the book and offer to replace them. That’s what I’m going to do. If a person w ho has my two books returns them to me, I will send them the updated, corrected copies. Meanwhile, I am humiliated to think that certain intelligent readers and certain friends may see my writing as less than professional. I have noted a number of typos and sentences where the formatting didn’t jive. I found some typesetting “widows and orphans.” Alas, alas. Most obvious errors occurred when the material was uploaded, and some lines didn’t appear in correct order. No excuses can be given, but mistakes do happen.
One correction I’m making is that in one story I mention that a certain piano was an “Emerson” piano. Checking the dates relative to Emerson pianos, I note that the Emerson Company was started a few years AFTER I had it present in one of my stories. Now most readers wouldn’t take note of such a thing, but I need to get it right. And so it goes.
Maybe it’s the process, but in correcting and updated my books, I’ve learned a lot more about my characters and my stories. Actually I’m enjoying them. I hope you will too, when you receive your new copies.
I went to the writers’ group and talked about it. One astute and successful writer friend said I could make a statement on Author Central and ask that anyone who downloaded my books on Kindle or Nook could contact me and I could send them an updated version. I’m going to do that. Another friend consoled me and said, “All authors make mistakes. Don’t worry about them.” Yet another writer friend suggested I contact people I know who have copies of the book and offer to replace them. That’s what I’m going to do. If a person w ho has my two books returns them to me, I will send them the updated, corrected copies. Meanwhile, I am humiliated to think that certain intelligent readers and certain friends may see my writing as less than professional. I have noted a number of typos and sentences where the formatting didn’t jive. I found some typesetting “widows and orphans.” Alas, alas. Most obvious errors occurred when the material was uploaded, and some lines didn’t appear in correct order. No excuses can be given, but mistakes do happen.
One correction I’m making is that in one story I mention that a certain piano was an “Emerson” piano. Checking the dates relative to Emerson pianos, I note that the Emerson Company was started a few years AFTER I had it present in one of my stories. Now most readers wouldn’t take note of such a thing, but I need to get it right. And so it goes.
Maybe it’s the process, but in correcting and updated my books, I’ve learned a lot more about my characters and my stories. Actually I’m enjoying them. I hope you will too, when you receive your new copies.
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