I'm not one of those readers who flip out when they see a typo. I understand that mistakes are going to happen, and am pretty forgiving when they pop up in my reading. Yes, there are some typos that are unforgivable, though I have to tell you--I was in a class this last summer at the SCBWI LA conference where there was a question/answer session with a prominent editor. One woman became very heated when she asked the editor why there were typos in books. (Like, this woman was standing and waving her arms, yelling that it was careless that big publishers would allow such mistakes to be put in print)
The irony is, this woman kept saying "Grammical" errors. And the editor kept correcting, "You mean grammatical?"with an emphasis on the "t." Honestly, it was pretty intense and funny at the same time. The poor editor. And the poor woman who kept saying grammatical wrong! Miserable. Though I was surprised by her heated passion on the topic.
Education: Curses in liberal arts, computer science, and accounting.
Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain store.
I am a rabid typist.
Proven ability to track down and correct erors.
Personal interests: Donating blood. 15 gallons so far.
Strengths: Ability to meet deadlines while maintaining composer.
I am loyal to my employer at all costs. Please feel free to respond to my resume on my office voicemail.
Cover letter: Thank you for your consideration. Hope to hear from you shorty!
Do typos irritate you? Or do you breeze over them and not give them a second thought? Any funny typos you've encountered?
Red. Head. Out. :D
Posts
I can kind of/sort of see the ranting lady's point...especially if it's a big publishing house. I mean, that's what they get paid for, after all.
ReplyDeleteIn reality, though, we all know there will be things that slip through the cracks and we're all human. I'm sure it was funny/strange to watch her in action, though.
I loved your examples....they gave me a laugh, thanks! :D
Depends on what's involved while maintaining the composer!
ReplyDeleteMost typos I skim over. Only bothers me if there are a lot or I have to reread the sentence a few times to figure out the correct word.
So gangsta-- calling your potential employer "shorty" ;) hahaha thanks for the laugh! I skim *most* typos-- unless it's my copy of Twilight-- where they are all circled and/or underlined.
ReplyDeleteLOLOL. These are great, thanks for sharing :) And that poor lady at the conference, she probably had no idea how everyone was inwardly laughing at her mistake! I'm usually pretty lenient with others, especially as I know how things can get overlooked when you're short on time. However, I try to be more strict with myself. I can usually spot grammar issues in my own writing, so when someone points out something stupid that I missed, I want to smack myself :)
ReplyDeleteI dunno though - on things like a query letter or resume, I'm not as forgiving, since I know those have to be perfect. Speaking of, I found a mistake in my own query (stupid formatting pushed two words together when I italicized something) after I had already queried some agents and I felt pretty embarrassed! Though, with the italics, it *was* really hard to notice, so I'm hoping they let it slide... :)
Typos bother, but not to the extent of the poor woman at SCBWI. HILARIOUS, btw. I don't get, like, angry about it. But they do irk me. Mostly, I think, because I know that there's a good chance when my book finally gets published, it will probably have a typo or two, too.
ReplyDelete:)
These were great! I see mistakes all the time and wonder if perhaps someone might need glasses-moi included, lol!
ReplyDeleteFun post Morgan-thanks for making me smile :D
Typos really annoy me. I'd be curious to know what sort of typos you see as unforgivable though :D
ReplyDeletePersonally for me it's the you're/your that drives me insane. But there/their/they're is another one that brings on twitches. I could go on but I won't. ;)
I am dyslexic and English just makes it worse. Often I read it right even when I might write it wrong. The more worried I was about this, the worst it turned, so I just shrugged it off. I pray the Higher Powers and MS will catch them for me. For the rest I apologize.
ReplyDeleteHow funny! :) I am pretty forgiving...unless someone is writing me a "nasty" letter/email- kind of hard to prove a point if one's writing is riddled with errors. But we all make mistakes and typos happen, especially with spell check and auto-correct.
ReplyDeleteI think of typos like flies. Some places are better at keeping them out than others. Still, they get into even the most unlikely of places.
ReplyDeleteI let them slide...to a point, then it just becomes ridiculous. But I know that everyone can become better! HOPE!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog :)
My favorite was a co-worker many years ago who sniped at me for using "all the big words" and sent out a client e-mail riddled with errors.
ReplyDeleteI normally just skim over typos, but if someone is going to display their ignorance they can expect me to retaliate!
Lauren
True story... The first newspaper I worked out had a headline, HUGE font, above the fold to announce a much-anticipated special gathering for all citizens to attend.... the headline:
ReplyDeletePUBIC MEETING IS A GO
Oh man, if I'd been at that conference I think I would have had to leave the room because there's no way I could have kept a straight face. Grammical? Too funny! Typos only bother me when the people who make them are being pretentious or rabid (like the typist on your list lol). Otherwise, I consider it an honest mistake and hope I don't make the same one myself. :)
ReplyDeleteToo funny... Loved these.
ReplyDeleteWE are all human, but certain typos can drive me crazy. If there is only one here or there, not so much ... but more... I would go nutz.... LOL.
The thing that gets me is how easy it is to miss typos in your own writing! I can read a passage 5 times and not see it, yet I'll read something by another writer and it is like a distress beacon on the page!
ReplyDeleteTypos in books drive me nuts. I'm guilty of making typos though, so I try not to flip if there's one here or there, but when a work is permeated with them, I get twitchy. Typos in signs and such make me laugh though, and there's no shortage of that.
ReplyDeleteHa ha. Typos usually irritate me. I read everything, including the emails I write, at least three times, but they still sneak in.
ReplyDeleteSince I tend to make a lot of "grammical" mistakes I also tend to be pretty forgiving. If there are many of them or if they're fairly obvious and should have been picked up by spell/grammar check it can start to bug me, but not to the extent of the poor lady at the conference. It's hard to catch them all in our own work. We know it so well, and we know what we want so we tend to read what we think we're saying, rather than what's on the page.
ReplyDeleteHA! This made me laugh. Usually when I think I've come across a typo it's because I read the sentence wrong in the first place. Then I have to re-read the sentence until it either makes sense or if there really is a typo, I figure out what the word was supposed to be. Irritating, but not to the point of craziness like psycho grammical lady.
ReplyDeleteA few don't, but when it's a consistent mistake--which usually doesn't happen in traditionally published. But sometimes self pubbed authors mess something up and keep doing it. Then yes.
ReplyDeleteGotta remember editors are people too. They make mistakes.
Those are WAY too funny--totally snorting my raisin bran at the moment :) I'm definitely not someone who gets worked up over typos. Most of the time I'm too absorbed in the book to notice them anyhow. That, and heavens knows I make enough of my own to not be looking for any motes...
ReplyDeleteHope to hear from you shorty> Hahaha. A good editor is worth the price.
ReplyDeleteI kind of the same way. It's like, wait ... how did the author, editors, ARC readers, etc, etc, miss that? But it happens, and we're human. So long as I'm able to figure out what is meant to be said, I'm good. :)
ReplyDeleteI bet he learned those 'curses' in liberal arts and accounting at Hogwarts! :-D
ReplyDeleteThose are hilarious! I hate when people call me out on typos. It's like we're all human!
ReplyDeleteFunny! My life is full of typos. What makes me mad is that I don't catch them until after I click "send". Ugh
ReplyDeleteI loved the tracking down erors one :) My favorite typo was insead of she was too busy, she was too busty :D
ReplyDeleteThose are good. I hate when I don't catch a typo before I hit "send!'
ReplyDeleteI'll never forget the moment when that editor FINALLY corrected the lady, put her in her place by pointing out she was saying "Grammatical" wrong, and then Ryan snorted. It was such a choice moment! (Ryan's snort was the best part, I think, lol!!)
ReplyDeleteTypos our a pet peeeeve of mine, actualy, sadly! (Not to say I never do the same thing, ha ha, becuse I do!!) But it bothrs me when things aren't writen or especially aren't punchewated correctly--especially on signs or things posted to the public. There's a resterant back home where the apostrofey is totally in the wrong place. Come on, people, if your gong to put someting for everyone to see, at lest make sure you're doing it right.
:-p
I will not comment on typos, in case Strength ends up with a few. Haha :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. TWO WEEKS!
Haha that was priceless! I guess everyone else was too polite to laugh out loud :) That woman was, um, very enthusiastic about the issue of typos in print. The look on the editor's face when she finally corrected her was awesome. Good times.
ReplyDeleteI've seen some embarrassing typos in books, like lines about a ship selling sale or someone wrapping on the door. Although sometimes you really don't see an error till it goes into print. I worked at a newspaper for five years, and sometimes we'd be so embarrassed to find a typo (often in the headline!) after it went to print. Of course, there were people who were always calling or writing us to complain, convinced we had a grudge against them and were spelling their name or their organization's name wrong on purpose because we were idiots.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Engrish.com and the not very safe for work or family friends auto correct sites.. I laughed so hard I cried on the auto correct one, but it's definitely not for those easily offended by crude, albeit unintentional, errors.
ReplyDeleteI skim over most typos too. It's the one's that confuse the meaning of the sentence that is the problem.
ReplyDeleteJust between you and me, Morgan (and I guess anyone that bothers to read my comment), I think 90% of people who identify as "authors" have a mental illness. I work for Voc Rehab and nearly all the women clients I have (probably 200 some) all have tried or are trying to publish a book. Some of them have T.B.I.'s (traumatic brain injuries) while others are just play "cray cray." Holy cow...this one woman the other day was so distraught that her computer crashed (no backups of all her writing). However, I am pretty darn good with computers, and even though her hard drive was clearly grinding away, I managed to rescue her files about ten minutes before the whole thing went *poof. Anyway, she was so overjoyed that I got them back from her and I said, "Hey...I know what kind of work goes into this kind of stuff, and I also know that no one in your life appreciates the kind of work that goes into this stuff...but I do!" But then she started going off about this millionaire who is going to publish her book and blah blah blah...and my eyes started glazing over...
ReplyDeleteAnyway...long story short: You saw a woman who was all excited/waving hands in the air/ etc. about errors in books. I see a woman who is "mentally ill", that writes, and dreams of being famous and is bitter at the world for not being famous yet, and just happens to attend the same conference as my friend, Morgan. That's the way life goes.
Anyone can buy a ticket to one of those things. Anyone.
Those were amazing,. I am having horrible FB status update block, I'm stealing these...I'll credit you ;)
ReplyDeleteand no, errors don't bother me. I figure as long as I am human, I'll accept it from others...now once I am an angel, I may up my standards!
Hehehe! Those typos would have just made me laugh. I wouldn't hire them, but they'd make me laugh. It sometimes irks me to see a lot of typos in published books. I see more and more these days even from the Big Five.
ReplyDeleteoh, the irony! Great post, Morgan. Sooo hard to catch everything. I had three different friends (all English teachers and cracker jack proofreaders) read the final draft of my second book. They each caught entirely different errors. It reminds me of that little paragraph you see posted every now and then where all the letters in the words are scrambled, except for the first and last, and yet it's easy to read. The brain sees what the brain expects to see.
ReplyDeleteOh no so funny. I used to work as a career counselor and saw many similar mistakes! My favorite typo in our town appears in every crosswalk on those little orange cones: Yeild to Pedestrians. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteMy other favorite typo was on a hand-written sign at an art shop in town: "Mating available". I'm assuming they meant matting. Still, I was tempted to go in and ask if I could chose my partner and how private were their services.
Sounds like stuff for Jay Leno to me.
If the story is good, I don't notice typos or 'bad' writing as long as neither are too numerous or bad.
ReplyDeleteConferences bring out all kinds, don't they?!! I love to sit back and people watch as much as I love to participate and meet new friends.
Those are so funny! I do notice errors when I'm reading, and it doesn't really bother me. I just think, "Oh, that's an error," and move on.
ReplyDeleteBut my husband is studying this material for an exam, and those pages were riddled with errors. But they were errors that made the text read wrong. Know what I mean? Like, the word was "take" instead of "task," or something like that. Those types of errors bug me, especially when they're in study material. Gah!
Education: Curses in liberal arts, computer science, and accounting.
ReplyDeleteCover letter: Thank you for your consideration. Hope to hear from you shorty!
Those are my favourites. I bet that cover letter got some attention.
The occasional typo doesn't bother me, and if I'm wrapped up in the story and reading quickly, I'm probably going to jump right over the typo and not notice. What bothers me more are inconsistencies in the story and the overuse of !!!!! I don't know why but exclamation points really bother me in a book unless they are truly warranted. In comments or email for example, I have no problems with using exclamation points and I probably tend to overuse them, lol. But, in a book, it gets under my skin if they're overused.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing things like this, especially in person. Gives me a laugh.
ReplyDeleteAs a Tech Writer typos come with the territory. I even edited the newsletter at my last writer's conference...I couldn't help it (shrug) :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a bad one to ask about spotting errors...I'm usually the one creating them! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat story here and the examples are funny. I don't get upset with typos, although they can be surprising when in a book from a big publisher. The worse thing that did upset me was when a favorite writer of mine (way back in my early twenties) had repeated nearly a whole chapter in a subsequent book, and it wasn't just a flashback. I stopped reading him after that as it was just so wrong. Not a typo, but chintzy just the same.
ReplyDeleteLOL - Those are funny. I'm like you - a few are fine in fiction. No one's perfect.
ReplyDeleteThe best (worst!) one I ever saw was 'pubic' for 'public' ... on graduation programs. 0_0 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/missing-letter-graduation-program-embarrassment-university-texas-article-1.1083522
LOL-- I'm the girl who corrects her friends on text message and instant message for their typos ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe last one cracked me up. That was good.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually notice typos, which is likely why I have so many in my rough drafts. but when I do find them in books they don't bother me. Certainly not like the poor lady who felt so passionate about it.
I worry about my own typos, because sometimes I glance right over them. I always want to make a citizen's arrest when I spot them in books. Great examples Morgan!
ReplyDeleteJulie
I needed a grin this morning! Thanks for the laughs. I'm sure I've committed some heinous typo crimes.
ReplyDeletelol. Sometimes, despite the fact that there are errors, my eyes refuse to see them. I had to read the last one several times, because I kept adding the 'l'. haha.
ReplyDeleteSo funny! I love those typos! And the lady at the conference, that would make me giggle (inside of course)
ReplyDeleteMy only problem with typos is when you misunderstand what they're saying. For the most part I figure we're human, and I need patience with my mistakes and others need it as well.
I think some grammar nazi's aren't happy people. It seems to be a complex for them. But MAN, are they fantastic copy editors!
Hey Morgan!
ReplyDeleteHaven't been by in a while, but I visit again bringing good news. You've been nominated twice for February's Paying Forward Awards!
The categories you were nominated in: Most Supportive/Helpful Blogger and Sweetest Blogger. Congrats!
Misha
Too funny girl! I think I would have spit wadded her!!
ReplyDeleteToo funny girl! I think I would have spit wadded her!!
ReplyDeleteI am so guilty of typos! I make at least one on every blog post! Some are hilarious, some are just shameful!
ReplyDeleteI hate my own, especially the ones I spot as soon as I hit Send or Publish. I love spotting those funny ones.
ReplyDeleteHahaha those are amusing. I tend not to be too worried with regards to typos, although I get annoyed when they occur frequently.
ReplyDeleteoh my! I missed out on that SCBWI session i think. Funny!
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
This is too funny. I suppose we are all human and make a typo at some stage or the other.
ReplyDeletehehehe that was a fun read :) I really wish there was a spell checker that notices that even if a word is spelled correctly, it might be a typo :)
ReplyDeleteI was always so worried about this with resumes. This is why you have to have a lot of people read them over :)
ReplyDeleteI love this one: Hope to hear from you shorty! Just put a comma before that one and you'll be all chummy with the recruiter right off the bat :)
Typos are like weeds, aren't they (I loathe weeds ...)?
ReplyDeleteHey yet again!
ReplyDeleteJust want to let you know you placed in both your categories in the Paying Forward Awards. You were voted Sweetest Blogger and Second Most Supportive/Helpful Blogger. Congrats!
Please check out my blog to see how you can claim your prizes.
Misha
Those are hilarious!!! Loved reading them. Typos jump out at me, but they don't bug me. I'm just surprised by them. (although they really bug me when I find them in my own writing)
ReplyDeleteThose had me giggling. Especially the blood one.
ReplyDeleteI'm not so rabid about typos. They're going to slip through no matter how many eyes pour over a ms. Those who get all bent about them... well, I think they need another obsession.
LOL! Thanks for sharing. Hugs
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I'm laughing so hard. These are great!
ReplyDeleteI can overlook typos in books as long as they're not excessive enough to pull me out of my story. That grammatical-love that.
haha, sometimes typos are pretty funny. It annoys me when I make them, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteAllison (Geek Banter)
Well, maybe that second guy was just being realllly honest.
ReplyDeleteI have a strange quirk, and typos make me giggle, even when they're not necessarily funny. These, though, were priceless. Thanks for the laugh. :)
I hate grammarical errors!
ReplyDeleteApart from mistakes, I also find it funny that an editor might have missed other things, like conveying the wrong message. I remember seeing something on an online newspaper that read:
Queen Mary's rusty bottom getting repaired.
Typos annoy me--but only when I'm reading a book. My students' typos used to make me laugh though, back when I was teaching.
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
I make grammatical errors/typos all the time, no matter how careful I am or how many times I check for them. Not that I am using this as an excuse but I have an auto-immune disease that leaves me with a bit of a brain fog. I don't want to give up on writing, which I love and makes me happy, just because some people may not like it when I make mistakes.
ReplyDeleteIt still baffles my mind and makes me incredibly sad when people get all mean about it and self-righteous over something as stupid as typos. (Like that lady shaking her fist.) Come on, who amoung us is perfect and hasn't made any mistakes?
Typos do irritate me! They piss me off, actually, especially when I find typos in my writing.
ReplyDeleteIt has to be perfect, perfect, perfect!
So no tupos for me!
Never!