Now, I have to make a confession regarding a big mistake in one of my books. I though long and hard about this but I often post writer's typos on Facebook so I thought I'd share this, too. I made a big boo-boo in a book that came out last year. A reader who actually won the book here on our blog pointed it out to me. Writers do research and we proof and we edit and sometimes in spite of that and several editors and proofreaders helping us, we still make mistakes.
Let me explain. If you have a copy of my "In Pursuit of a Princess" you might know what I'm talking about. It involves getting two words mixed up. I did research on one of my favorite subjects-the Acadians who left Canada and came down to Louisiana. Today, we know them as Cajuns but they had to leave Canada in the 17th century and start a new life due to an expulsion by the British. I have researched and studied this topic for other books so I know the history. But somewhere in my research for this book I came on a form of painting and thought I'd also use that in the book. And this is where it gets confusing. The painting method is Arcadian. ARcadian. Which I only use in the book once to explain how a painter used a dream like theme in his paintings to showcase the Acadians in Louisiana. Only Arcadian got mixed up with Acadian and well, I didn't catch it and neither did anyone else. So I called the Acadian people the Arcadian people several times in the book. What???
Once my nice reader pointed this out, the book was already in print. And even though no one else has come forward stating the mistake, it has weighed on me for months now. So confession is good for the soul and saying I'm sorry will make me feel ever so much better. One little letter, that dreadful "R", messed me up and I just kept right on writing and never saw it.
Why am I telling everyone this. Well, I have a new book out this month. So the first person to find the mistake in "In Pursuit of a Princess" and tell me how many times I used the wrong word for the right people will win a copy of "Deadly Holiday Reunion." That won't make up for my big boo-boo but it will be fun to see if anyone has a copy of "In Pursuit of a Princess" and can tell me the answer. And the other reason I wanted to post this--Has anyone else ever done this? Do any of you have stories regarding mistakes in your books? I surely can't be the only one, right???
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Lenora, you are not alone. All authors have found mistakes in their books. Mine are usually typos of some kind.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Merrillee. I find typos, too. Even with so many people checking and proofing, mistakes do happen. We try to get our research right but the eye doesn't always catch what the brain knows!
ReplyDeleteMistakes happen. If they didn't, we'd be perfect, and only Our Lord is perfect. Yes, I have made mistakes despite hours upon hours of effort trying to get everything correct.
ReplyDeleteChristine, thanks! I have learned from this one to double-check, to spell check and to make sure two very close words don't get confused with each other!
ReplyDeleteOh Lenora....bless your sweet heart (said in my strongest southern accent *wink*) - - NO need to fret about this....Everyone makes mistakes - - and the one you described would be so very easy to make (I'm actually surprised someone caught that). But I do hope you feel better now that you've "confessed"!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Patti Jo (A Lenora Worth FAN!!) :)
In one of my very first books, I had students taking the ASAP test instead of the ACT. I got letters. And, me a teacher.
ReplyDeleteOh, Lenora, I can empathize. We authors all have those cringe-worthy moments when loyal readers point out our oopsies. A dear lady at church pointed out two in my debut novel, saying she wanted me to know about them so my publisher could fix them when they reprinted the book. I laughed to myself, thinking how unlikely it was that a newbie like me would have her first book reprinted. Lo and behold, my published repackaged my story in a 2-in-1, and I got to correct those mistakes. I was one happy perfectionist, let me tell you. =)
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the dreaded mistake! Don't beat yourself up over it! :)
ReplyDeleteNope you're not alone! Not to brag, but I'm the typo queen.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite was missing'hoist' for 'foist'. A reviewer noticed the mistake and said I didn't understand the English language. 74,999 used correctly..but I don't know the English language!
Hi Lenora, You mentioned the ARcadian 10 times in "In Pursuit of a Princess. I loved that book.
ReplyDeleteLenora, I'm so grateful to you for this post. I have a glaring error in my upcoming January LIH, Cowboy Seeks a Bride. Between posting my aft info to our amazing Harelquin authors and sending in my final edits to my editor, I changed the heroine's last name. Art folks didn't read my mind, so the back cover says Marybeth O'Malley, and the manuscript says Marybeth O'Brien! Oh, my. I wonder if I'll get letters about that! I do know one of my nieces, a schoolteacher, will point it out. She always catches my goofs, but I love her for it.
ReplyDeleteI meant art info, not aft info. This is NOT a pirate cowboy story. LOL!
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