This is a monthly event started by the awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh and organized by the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Click here to find out more about the group and sign up for the next event.
I'm starting the IWSG post of the new year with a confession. I made a stupid mistake in my book. Not that mistakes are usually smart, but still. This was really the stupidest of all.
My debut novel Chimeras was the result of two years of work. I spent one year researching both the science and the police procedural. When it finally came out I was proud of myself. I'd carefully fleshed out everything: the plot, the characters, every single detail you can think of. Then I wrote an appendix in which I explained the science behind the scenes: the genetics and epigenetics that explained my main character's condition, the oncolytic viruses mentioned in the book, and gene therapy, which also plays an important role in the plot.
And then I made the stupidest typo of all. I turned a b into an m. Human DNA is made of 3 billion base pairs, and I 'accidentally' wrote in my book 3 million pairs. Ouch. I'm so ashamed I want to dig a hole and hide in there. Instead, I'm being brave and writing a public apology here on my blog. I figured it would be a perfect fit for the first IWSG of the new year. :-)
Happy new year everyone!!
One of my writer friends who has a lot more experience than I do says readers actually really LOVE catching mistakes... if it is perfect, they don't get to feel super smart for catching you out... I wouldn't worry about it too much...
ReplyDeleteHappy new year! Don't worry too much about it. As Hart says, readers like to find mistakes. Good luck with the book!
ReplyDeletehaha, good point! I'll just say it was a trick I used to see if people actually read the appendix! ;-)
ReplyDeleteLOL! We all make mistakes. Goes with the game. Fortunately, 99.9% of your readers are oblivious, so you're totally covered.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! --Here's hoping you feel smarter with every passing day.
Doh!!! Typo indeed. It happens. Wipe the dust off your shoulders & move on!!!
ReplyDeleteTerri @ Scribbler’s Sojourn
That is one of those mistakes you want to hide under the bed about! Still, God's will. There's a reason you made that mistake. It'll become obvious at some point.
ReplyDeleteOh dear! That's one that does make a big difference, but your only human. We all make mistakes. Keep your head up!
ReplyDeleteDon't you hate that? You should've been there when someone pointed out to me that I'd spelled hangar 'hanger' in my first book. Neither my publisher nor I caught it. Stupid! At least we were able to fix it.
ReplyDeleteeh. Don't beat yourself up over that widdle bitty typo. It can be filed under Stuff Happens. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI saw your blog and had to visit. Why? Because my third novel is titled Chimera Mage. For some reason, your blog caught my eye, ha.
Author of Wilder Mage at Spirit Called
Facebook Wilder Mage
It happens. I remember getting the final copy of Book II of my series, randomly opening it up, and right there at the top of the page was a typo. Pits!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I've been a professional photographer for almost 25 years. Some of my work is featured and available as stock photos on my website.
It is funny how the mind plays tricks and the eyes miss it, because they see what is suppose to be there. As a beta reader, I know for me I would have missed it, because it is a fact I did not know, so would never have caught it. I can tell you I love the story and the mystery. I caught wait for number 3 in the series either. Looking forward to you next release. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous and great new year ahead.
ReplyDeleteJuneta at Writer's Gambit
LOL, talk about mistakes and the eye not catching it. My post is prime example. Sorry for the mistakes.
DeleteHaha, no worries Juneta, I didn't even notice. Like you said the brain automatically corrects for the typos, which is why we keep missing them. :-)
Delete*hugs* it happens. Here's the good news. Most people reading fiction won't know its a mistake and think anything of it. And, they won't remember the number anyway. Now, if someone comes to your house and accuses you of being the reason they lost Jeopardy, well, um. *shrugs* They should have checked their facts. ;)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Charity !!!
DeleteWe all make mistakes. Just proves we're human. Love Charity's comment about Jeopardy
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry. It must feel huge right now. It's one of those things that is so easy to do though and very easy to miss. Try not to give yourself a hard time. It's done. Have a great 2015!
ReplyDeleteOh, yikes! Sorry that happened to you. I'm prone to typos like that, too, so at least you're not alone, haha.
ReplyDeleteOuch. Those type of silly typos can haunt a person. Hopefully very few people noticed it. :)
ReplyDeleteOh no! I did that too, with my first novel, but I went back and paid to have the mistake corrected (I published with CreateSpace). I couldn't live with the error and didn't want to ruin my "reputation" with the kind of error I made, namely, in a partially historical novel, I put Louis XVI when I should have put Louis XIV!
ReplyDeleteoh no, Lisa, that's a tough one too! sorry! well, at least it's good to know that we're not alone, right? ;-)
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