Publisher Refused to Fix Typos in Book

Wow, that's almost lawsuit worthy.

BR&BC thread about Damnation here.

If you read the article you'll notice that the author in question has taken the publisher to Court.

I'll be watching this author's progress with great interest as it could have big implications for any other writers caught up in a similar situation. I'm thinking of PublishAmerica, and a couple of other presses.

I wonder if DB has the same contract terms as PA; at the discretion of the publisher...

It depends on what her contract says. But $16.31 for a paperback? Somehow, I doubt sales are going to be good enough for anyone to notice the typos.

How shriek-inducingly frustrating would it be to have the typesetter introduce errors, and the publisher refuse to fix them, and to know it's going to be your name on the cover? I really empathize with this author.

Susan Littlefield said:

I'd heard of Damnation Books before, but I don't think I realized they were local to me. I just read Preditors and Editors, the place where authors should always check prior to submission, and Damnation is strongly not recommended.

Our Sonoma County Judges can be pretty tough, so the author is in good hands.

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Your judges have to follow the law, same as judges elsewhere.

"Damnation refused to make the changes, saying they made the book better, she said."

It's insulting enough that they could introduce errors into a proofed manuscript, but to have the gall to say that "it made the book better," is beyond everything. I'd respect them 1% more if they just admitted "We don't want to spend a dime on your manuscript."

Let me see if I have this straight:

A writer sent a manuscript to an outfit called "Damnation Press", and they screwed up the print edition.




Riiiiiiight . . .

caw

Susan Littlefield said:

Blacbird,

What's your point with the sarcasm?

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Just amused by the name of this "publisher". I can get my submissions damned pretty easily without sending them to "Damnation Press".

caw

Susan Littlefield said:

That's a good question. In other words, the publisher says something stays that's the last word?

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It may well have something like that going on, yes. Our standard contract says we send the author the typeset page proofs and they have a set amount of time to request any changes; after that point, if the author wants corrections they are liable for the cost. (Not that I ever remember invoking that.) Part of the onus for checking for typos therefore does fall on the author as standard; though there's no excuse, really, for sending page proofs riddled with hundreds of errors, and if they're going to print without sending anything at all then they're not really doing a good job, IMHO.

thothguard51 said:

I wonder if DB has the same contract terms as PA; at the discretion of the publisher...

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Susan Littlefield said:

That's a good question. In other words, the publisher says something stays that's the last word?

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Torgo said:

It may well have something like that going on, yes. Our standard contract says we send the author the typeset page proofs and they have a set amount of time to request any changes; after that point, if the author wants corrections they are liable for the cost.

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There's a world of difference between the trade publishers that Torgo and I have worked for, though, and PublishAmerica (and, presumably, Damnation Books which I keep wanting to call Dalmation Books).

I'm used to there being several layers of editing (structural editing, copy editing, proof reading), and several people involved in the overall editing process, many of whom are skilled and experienced in these various fields; the editing offered by PublishAmerica does not compare in quality, depth, or extent.

I can't imagine any of the publishers I've worked for passing a book with hundreds of errors for printing; whereas most of the PA books I've seen have many errors per page.

Yeah, basically regardless of what the contract says, a properly-published book doesn't go out with hundreds of typos. If it does, the publisher simply doesn't care about producing a good product, and we're in author mill territory.

Old Hack said:

BR&BC thread about Damnation here.
.

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And this is why people should check out their publisher thoroughly.

That thread is 4 years old, and it seems like very little has changed.

Sad times.

Unfortunately, one of my mates is having the same issue with Damnation. His book has come back riddled with errors which were not in the original MS, and they are refusing to change them.

I warned him about Damnation's reputation, but he went with them anyway. I was hoping against hope he'd squeak by unscathed. Sadly, that is not the case.