I found two mistakes in A Coventry Wedding. That doesn’t mean there are only two, but they are the two I saw. Bless the copy editor who caught some of the ones I made in my original submission, but these two aren’t mine.
Error 1. I used the surname Fields. Each time I had to make it possessive, I made it Fields’. When I got the galleys, the first two times, it had been changed to Fields’s, and the third time, remained Fields’. I noted that I didn’t care which way it was made possessive, but it should be consistent. They left it Fields’s, Fields’s, and Fields’. I don’t know why.
Error 2 annoys me a lot more. Perhaps you may remember this 1980s iconic T-shirt:
One of my characters makes a reference to the T-shirt. Tim made sure I quoted it right in my original, and we both checked the galleys to confirm that it still said “Frankie Say Relax.” After I approved the galleys, someone changed it to “Frankie Says Relax.”
I know there are worse problems in the world, but still, it’s my work, and I want it to be right. Plus I can promise you, I WILL get an e-mail from a Frankie Goes to Hollywood fan to let me know I’m ignorant.
That’s how I make a word or name ending with an S possessive. Not sure where I learned that, but I always notice when someone does it the Fields’s way, and it makes me doubt my teaching.
I know it’s just a T-shirt that came and went to some minds, but that was a rather iconic fashion moment and pop culture touchstone… and I can’t believe someone said, “Aw, poor Ms. Cochrane… here, I’ll just correct that for her.” Blood-boiling.
You were taught correctly. =0)
Oh, every now and then, someone tries to change the rules on us. It’s all going to be moot anyway (or moo, as Joey would say, because I can’t let Rupert Everett down and not quote a Friend) when we all communicate solely by texting, using as few characters as possible.
I put that parenthetical aside in just for you.
Robbie Say Relax
The worst typos are always the ones we didn’t make, but knew were going to happen. Grammatical mistakes you make on purpose will always be the ones that get corrected.
But not to worry, as we all know I’m a terrible proofreader — so when I read Wedding I’ll auto-correct all typos.
Re: Robbie Say Relax
I know I’m a much harsher reader of my own work than anyone else is. Except maybe Tim and my high school English teacher (who both rock).
These sound like the kinds of things I edit at work… we’ve outsourced to the Philippines. They would read, “Frankie Say Relax” and think nothing of it.
This reminds me… I was reading captions under some photographs online the other day and was all, SWEET MOTHER OF THE MLA, WHO EDITED THIS STUFF? Then I realized I was reading a page that was being translated literally from Spanish to English, which often doesn’t work.
That sucks! But I still can’t wait!! =0)
=)
*headdesk* OMG Becky… after typing the word Thomas’ a hundred times in the past few weeks…I would be furious if someone changed it to Thomas’s. *Censored*
But even better – I think Jim actually had that shirt…and matching shorts.
I’d pay money to see a photo of Young Jim in that T-shirt. Okay, maybe not, because if he hears that, he’ll find a picture just to make me pony up.
And matching shorts? He suddenly sounds very Wham!
I would have fought harder for “Fields’.” But I’m a stubborn purist. I also know, unfortunately from experience, that when you tell someone, “I don’t care…” they stop listening to the rest of what you say, and nothing will be done.
Truthfully? May these be the worse things in your book. I mean, it’s not a major gaffe, like having no apparent reason for making a character a certain race. 😉
I recognize the stubborn purist streak in myself and appreciate it in you (and Denece), my fellow tech writers. I had it Fields’. That’s the way I was taught and prefer it. But every publisher has a different set of standards, and I stopped fighting some battles long ago and just try to keep up with the differences between Kensington, Alyson, Haworth (remember them?), and Cleis.
Frankly, I will sell out many apostrophe standards to them what writes the checks. Woe be to anyone, however, who puts that damn apostrophe incorrectly in “its” or places it in the wrong place in “y’all.”
…and another thing? If someone writes in, refer them to this post…and then give them the email address of your editor. 😉
I can’t blame my editor. I’m sure he knows it’s “Frankie Say Relax,” and neither he nor the excellent copy editor changed it. It’s someone else, someone we’ll probably never know, who went, “Hey, she left the ‘s’ off her verb…”
However, I will refer any Frankie Love e-mailers to this post. And even get a sworn affidavit from Tim, my 80s guru, that he made sure it was right the first time.
It was right the first time, and anyone who doesn’t believe it can give my ass krisco kisses.
Marika to Frankie fans that might write Becky : Relax, Don’t do it!
LOL, thanks!
Good answer, Marika!
real Frankie fans will be living those dreams and scheming those schemes…. it’s the Frankie poseurs that will write
I can see why you would be annoyed and upset… In regards to both of the issues at hand.
This is your work – and you have every right to be upset.
I’m sorry this has happened.
🙁
Your book will still be marvelous, though!
🙂
Thanks! I’ll be better after I’ve slept. Which I can’t do because Margot will not shut up. She’s probably channeling irate Frankie fans.
I’m STILL buying the book 😉 Having the insider info makes it even more interesting.
I’m one of “those” people who sees the error and then can not focus on anything else. Poor Jandy has sat through movies/ tv shows with me where I have to pause it and rewind while indignantly saying OMG did you see that??? Her shirt was buttoned and then unbuttoned and then buttoned again! Can you believe that? Where’s the continuity??? And then I obsessively watch the buttons throughout the rest of the show to the point where I lose the plot and never really knowing how it ended.
I totally understand. I have that problem with the ash on Julia Roberts’ hair in a scene from My Best Friend’s Wedding. There’s Julia being all funny and Dermot Mulroney being all gorgeous, and all I can do is say, “There’s the ash. Where’s the ash? There’s the ash!” And worse, throughout the movie, I’m wondering, Is this the ash part? No. This? No. This? Yes! Here it is, the vanishing and reappearing ash! Yep, I was right. It comes and goes and comes back. The ash.
That ash wears me out.
Here’s what’s always confused me: are bands a “they” or an “it.” I mean, bands with plural names, like the Beatles, are inevitably a “they.” But what of, say, the Cure? Or Frankie Goes to Hollywood? I suppose if the band is actually saying something (e.g. “relax”), we’d have to go with “they,” because it’s really the individual members doing the speaking; the band isn’t a sentient entity.
In any case, we may have Target to thank for the confusion … .
It is confusing, and I’ve often stumbled over that very thing when writing about bands.
However, thanks to your link, I now know that if anyone under twenty reads my novel, they won’t even know it’s wrong as they look down at their pink (?!?) T-shirt.
My heart just broke a little after following that link. Now they’re taking away my own pop culture references. *wipes tears from her eyes* Bastages…
Sorry to hear about the errors,but YAY YAY Yay on the book! I am so proud of you and can not wait to read it.
I have been meaning to send my copy of Coventry Christmas to you with proper postage and all to get it signed….at this rate, I may just wait and do both at once my dear!
Again, I am just so excited the new one is soon on sale!!
Thank you. =) I hope by the time you go to buy it or mail it, you don’t have to ride your Musk Ox through snow up to your roof. It’s TOO COLD up there!
How awkward that someone thinks they know better than the author . . .
Such little things, but so annoying; I really feel for you; after you’ve put so much work into the writing and the proofing, and are such a perfectionist when it comes to grammar, it’s a grand annoyance that shouldn’t happen!
Still, it won’t put me off!!!
🙂