Typos, typos, typos...they happen to everyone, including authors, but should a reviewer just look the other way?
Okay, what brought this up you ask? As I was reading through some threads at LibraryThing, I noticed an author/writer ranting about how reviewers shouldn't point out the typos in their work.
I am no stranger to a typo. I make them often in reviews, blog posts, replies, etc...but I'm also not an author. I'm not putting my "words" out there for someone to buy and read. My typos come free of charge. To be completely honest, typos in a book/ebook are one of my biggest pet peeves. It's funny I can spot someone else's typos yet completely overlook mine. And yes, I am one of those annoying reviewers who will point them out. Not individually of course (unless the author asks), but I will mention they are there. Usually I am pretty forgiving if it's just one or two and won't bother mentioning, but when the work is riddled with typos that could have easily been corrected, I'm not so forgiving.
I just believe that if you are marketing your book as a finished product, tons of grammar and punctuation errors can not be overlooked by the reader. As a reader, I think it makes the author look sloppy and completely destroys the flow of the story. I can't believe there are authors out there who think typos are just a trivial matter and we shouldn't be pointing them out. I highly beg to differ. I know I see more of these errors in ebook editions, than DTE of books. I think pointing out these errors, especially when reviewing ebooks, can only benefit the author. They have the choice then to go back, correct the errors, and release an updated edition of their ebook. For me, it doesn't matter if the story itself is worth 5 stars if it's full of grammar and punctuation errors. It just ruins the story for me.
What do you think?
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If the book is an ARC I won't point it out unless it's funny. I once read an ARC that had a line that went something like this "She scanned the feces in the crowd". She meant, of course, faces. Now if that isn't fun review fodder, I don't know what is. I didn't put it in my review and instead emailed the author about it but that was years ago. Today I would probably put it in the review because you just don't come across that every day.
A finished copy however is an entirely different matter. If there are tons of typos or other issues that pull me out of the story I have to mention it.
LOL! Now that is a funny typo!
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