Spelling Challenge...

At one time, you seldom found misspelled words in published work. Everyone knew how to spell and those who didn't owned a dictionary and knew how to use it.

The bad thing about having a misspelled word in a print work is...it's a done deal. There's no way to go back and fix it until the next edition (if there is one). Unlike digital works, the author, the readers, the publishers have to live with the mistake. Today author Jayne Ann Krentz pointed out and apologized for an error in her newest print book--and promised it would be rectified in the paperback edition.

Now with digital, it's a different story. That same book was also released in digital form with the same error. And that can be corrected immediately. So any reader who buys that book in say...the next week or so, should have the corrected copy.

But what about digital errors on the Internet? Who do you tell? One of the headlines on the Weather Channel was "Tender, Dry Conditions Keep West Fires Burning". No, I don't think so. That would be "Tinder". That's the stuff that burns.

While I'll be the first person to say that everyone makes a mistake now and then, it seems to me the number of spelling mistakes is escalating. And calling them typos isn't addressing the real problem. Part of it is carelessness. But a bigger part is ignorance.

You read that correctly. The days when spelling correctly was a matter of pride are gone. The day with an author checked word usage and spelling in a dictionary is gone. Sadly, many simply shrug and move on.

Some even ask, "What's the big deal?"

For a reader like me, it's a matter of tossing me right out of the story. Too many tosses and I toss your book. Once I do that, I'll never buy another. Remember, competition is stiff. There are millions of books out there for me to read. And my time is limited. Why should I spend time and money on your book if you don't care enough to make sure you're using the correct word? It's a two way street.

I think that's probably why I re-read my older books rather than buying new. Yeah, I think so. Authors, publishers, editors took pride in their work and delivered a quality product. As for Ms. Krentz? She's promised to make good on the error. I'm proud to read her books.

anny

Spelling and Reading...

Some words just escape the brain. Personally, I think most words should be spelled phonetically. Then school would be skul. Or if you insist, skool. Wouldn't that be easier? All "ool" words would be spelled with the ool. skool, kool, rool, mool... And the "k" sound would always be a "k" only. So chek, kik, sik, lik. Much easier!

I was reading last weekend with my younger granddaughter. She had no idea of the relationship between old, gold, sold. We were reading a Dr. Seuss book and she caught on pretty quickly that the words rhymed, but not that the same sequence of letters sounded the same.

This puzzles me because that was a big part of how I was taught to read. Reading is a matter of "knowing the code". So if you know "old", then you also know how to add the letter in front to make other words like mold and fold.

I wonder why they don't teach the code anymore?

anny

Spelling bloopers

I had a recent reading jag. Book, book, book. One thing I can tell you is spellchecker doesn't do it. Nope. Spellchecker only checks to make sure a word is spelled correctly. It doesn't check to see if the author is using the correct word.

Given that most of the books I read in my speed demon race were erotic romances, some words showed up with distressing regularity. My top pick?

Shutter. She shuttered as his fingers touched her. Uh-huh. I think not. A shutter is a wooden cover for a window. I deeply suspect that the young woman in this case probably shuddered.

The team won several awards and brought home nine metals. What--uranium, copper, aluminum? No? Ah, the author no doubt meant medals.

The restaurant served a variety of hot entrees and tempting deserts. Hmmm. Mongolia, Sahara, Painted...right?

Joe was admitted to the hospital with gang green. Interesting diagnosis.

His wife went to see the chef of surgery. Wonder what the chef was serving? Maybe some of those gang greens...

As long an the author types an actual word, whether it's the correct word in context or not, spellchecker will give it the go ahead. The difference between shit, shot and shut is considerable. So it is with virgin and vagina. And the list is endless.

These are the types of errors a slow careful read should catch well before the book is submitted, let alone edited or published. I cannot tell you how many errors I picked up while reading a dozen books in the last few days.

What is your favorite spelling blooper?

anny