What errors ARE okay?

I've read well-selling, popular books with good stories that have typos I catch on the first page. Don't sweat it right now.

Karen Duvall said:

I was so embarrassed by the number of typos and missing words I found in my ms after I got my agent, but she never even saw them. She was more focused on the storytelling to notice, so that's when I realized how diligent I need to be when proofreading.

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Oh, it's really nice when the errors are colored bright blue when she sends the edited MS back with tracked changes. I even misused a word that's one of my pet peeves (palpable vs palatable--argh!). Embarrassing.

I had, ahem, several errors in my MS and she still thought they were minimal.

If it's just a few, it will be fine.

I would't worry overmuch. My agent signed me because he liked my voice. He told me I dropped the ball the entire second half of the book and we would need to work on it. And it took four edits, but its out there now. And he signed me right then, no "rewrite and resub" or anything.

The more I went over it, the more I thought, "Did I really go over this thing ten times already?" There is always something!

I absolutely HAD to print out every page of my first volume due to an extreme paranoia that my old horse was about to crash with my secret world trapped helplessly inside. That's when so many of the odd phrases I'd used first raked through my mind's ear. I still shiver at the thought. Maybe it's only the strange way my head works but actually turning the pages, seeing black upon white is the only way I would ever have noticed such horror. A relative in the ghost writing biz once told me that experienced editors understand, a creative person often struggles with spelling; that terrible grammar (outside the intentional flavor of dialogue) and glaring lack of good composition are the true kisses of death. I hope she's right or I'm doomed.

I think that everyone on the planet has had an OOPS moment when typing. Whether it be an email to your boss or a query to an agent. It SUCKS but what are ya gonna do?

Epiphany said:

So two days ago I received a phone call from an agent saying that they wanted to look at my entire manuscript.

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The fact that an agent actually called is surely a good sign. You're probably being a bit hard on yourself.

I have no idea how any of this actually works so I'm merely throwing in the question for those more experienced to answer.....

Does the fact that an agent called mean that it's all right for you to call and apologize for the typos etc they're going to find?

Rufus Coppertop said:

Does the fact that an agent called mean that it's all right for you to call and apologize for the typos etc they're going to find?

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It is never all right to call, unless s/he is already your agent.

I had really stupid ones...

1. Always use your spelling- and grammar-checkers. I'm stunned by the number of errors that authors make that would have been caught if they'd just spell-checked.
2. Use Webster's 11th Edition and check any words that you think are foreign to make sure they are and to check spelling on anything you are even vaguely unsure is correct.
3. Use THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE to check your use of italics/underline and capitalization. These are the two areas I find most authors screw up.
4. Print the entire manuscript out in at least double-space, preferably triple-space. Sit someplace quiet with good light (the kitchen table or a big library table are my favorites) and several sharp pencils and a big eraser. Read every line and ask yourself if you could do a better job on that line. Edit with the goal of making things tighter and also more visual. The faster the pace and the easier it is to picture the scene in the eye of the reader, the more likely an agent or editor will get caught up and become interested in the work.

Z

Karen Duvall said:

I was so embarrassed by the number of typos and missing words I found in my ms after I got my agent, but she never even saw them. She was more focused on the storytelling to notice, so that's when I realized how diligent I need to be when proofreading.

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A great compliment to your storytelling!