The Importance Of Grammar, Spelling and Formatting
When I read a book, if I find a lot of grammar errors, spelling mistakes or formatting issues in the opening chapter, then I’m unlikely to read on. There’s just something about such errors that annoy me. And I doubt that I’m not the only one.
Not only do mistakes make it hard to read the prose, but, to me, they kind of say that this writer/author either didn’t edit properly, didn’t proof-read or wasn’t really that concerned…. Okay, so maybe I’m being a bit harsh; everyone’s subject to making a few mistakes. But that’s the thing: a few mistakes. Not hundreds.
Recently, I read a book (I’m not saying who it is for the sake of the author) where there were a LOT of grammatical mistakes, words spelt wrong and formatting issues–it was a kindle download, and some pages only had a few words on. Yes, it’s fine to play with how the words look on a page, if that’s your intention, such as:
Mr Rabbit crept slowly along the corridor, listening to the noise below…
…bump…
…bump…
…bump…
But it really annoys me when there’re pages that obviously aren’t write. Okay, so these problems mainly arrise with books that are self-published, but surely if the author wants his or her book to be as good as possible, then it is worth checking the formatting, and how it’s all come out.
When I see mistakes like these, it makes me not want to read on, which could be a great shame if the book is spectacularly amazing. I guess these errors just make it that little bit harder to read, and surely an author’s job is to make their book easy to read?
Again, poor spelling and grammar makes it harder to read. I tend to find my eye being drawn to the individual words that are spelt incorrectly, and my brain focusses more on them than what’s actually being said. A shame, right?
So, I guess this just points out the importance of having an editor and someone to proof-read your book. Because, let’s face it, you want to spot and correct all the mistakes before your book is published, not after.
Oh, and that reminds me of another pet hate of mine. When indie authors re-release their books a few months after the original publication date, so that they have a second ‘edition’ out that has no grammar/spelling/formatting issues. It just doesn’t seem fair to me. Just think about all those people who bought the first version (a ‘draft’ essentially) who had to put up with all the errors. They’re not likely to buy the updated version.
Yes, I have seen the above done, and surely that just shows that the writer thought their book was ready, when really it wasn’t. And that brings us to one of my golden rules of writing: Don’t rush.
Writing is a very personal and creative process. You need to take time with it. Of course, you can still set yourself deadlines, but I suggest that you take a month or so out between each of your drafts or versions of your novel. That way, when you come back to doing the next draft, you’ll be looking at it with fresh eyes, and you’ re more likely to spot mistakes and errors.
For me, having correct grammar, spelling and formatting, is of pretty high importance on my list. That tends to be why I prefer buying books that have been published ‘traditionally’ with publishers; there’s a sort of gurantee of quality. Of course, this doesn’t mean that I won’t read indie books, but, I tend to need more persuading. I suppose it’s just a nagging worry in the back of my mind that there might be more errors, as it makes me sad when I read something that has a lot.
My friends and family will tell you that I get very picky about correct apostrophe use in paricular. Or the wrong there/their/they’re or you’re/your. When I see a mistake, there’s something in me that just makes me want to draw a big circle about it. And this urge can get quite awkward, say, if I’m in public and I see mistakes on a noticeboard or poster. I even saw a mistake in the window of an estate agent, and that annoyed me. Grrrr…..
Well, I’ve probably scared you off now, right? But, I just wanted to write about the importance of checking your work, and getting an editor, proof-reader and/or beta-readers to look over your writing before you submit it.
So, how many mistakes did you spot in this post? 😉
