That's ok, Author. I forgive you.

[wayfaringwordhack]

How forgiving are you when you come across a continuity error in a published book/series of books? I'm not talking about changing eye/hair color, a forgotten knife suddenly in the hero's hands. Those things are annoying, yes, but I'm talking about plotty things. Like X doesn't know who did harmful Y but intends to find out, then in book 2, suddenly it is X who did Y to serve his own purposes. o.O (And no, there was no explanation. It is apparent that the author forgot what she had said in book 1 because a) X doing so makes no sense despite the author's reasoning, b) there is NO explanation, c) harmful Y was too full of plotty goodness as it was presented in bk 1. X doing Y takes out alllllllll of the tension.)

How about when an author, again in bk 2, seemingly decides they no longer like the way they set up a certain aspect in book 1 and continues to repeat the "new" fact over and over again, either trying to convince you or themselves that that's really the way things happened in the first volume? Yeah, annoys me, too.

As an aspiring author, I've written my share of slips, but why doesn't someone catch these things? Beta readers, an agent, an editor, a copy editor?

Are these mistakes enough to keep you from reading an author, or do you forgive them as well?

Comments

[frigg.livejournal.com]

What books are those? *curious*

[frigg.livejournal.com]

Just realized I forgot to answer.
Nope, no forgiveness from here either.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

*lol* A regular little busybody, aren't you?

[bkdunn.livejournal.com]

No forgiveness! Of course, I just finished reading Grapes of Wrath tonight and am now putting together a list of notes that I would've given Steinbeck that would've made it 600% better (1. Cut the length in half; 2. There should be some sort of central tension; 3. etc.). So anyway...

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

*lol*

Just goes to show that even the "best" could use some help.

[bkdunn.livejournal.com]

I've often maintained that I should be given final edit on *everything*... So far no one's listened. :)

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

You should be thankful. Just think of all the work that'd be. And some of it bad enough to drive you to drink, tears, or an early grave, no doubt.

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

I might be willing to forgive the first mistake, but if there's more than one... not so much. I mean, what's the point of reading anything if it could change at a moment's notice? That'd be a waste of time.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm up to mistake number four now, and that's not even talking about all the repeated info that I've already assimilated, Author; thank you very much!

[stillnotbored.livejournal.com]

You know...I don't think I've ever read a series where that happened. And that is the kind of thing I'd remember. :/

And yes, someone should have caught these continuity errors and made the author fix it. That no one did makes me wonder if the books were edited at all, as in publishing the first draft. I've watched my friends slog through the hell of revisions for their editors (and agents) and this kind of error doesn't just 'slip by'.

Was this a well known published author with a big house?

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

I know the author has at least 5 other books out, and they are with Ace.

It surprised me too, especially since I'm up to continuity error number 4 now. Argh.

[pjthompson]

I get annoyed, sometimes very annoyed, but if the rest of the stuff is good, I'll probably read on. The things that will keep me from reading on are flat characterization or a consistent tendency to 1) have people do stupid things just to advance the plot; 2) a sense that the characters exist only as a plot device; 3) the plot veers into the really stupid and/or has little or no groundwork laid; 4) I forgot what I was going to say (happens a lot these days). But it has to be consistent problems for me to abandon an author I otherwise like.

As an aspiring author, I've written my share of slips, but why doesn't someone catch these things? Beta readers, an agent, an editor, a copy editor?

I often wonder this myself. I've concluded it has to do with the speed with which things are edited these days and the volume of work on said agent and editors desks.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

I'm in agreement. This book is actually a reread, a book I'm going to donate to the library, which is why it is still in my possession and none of my good books are (they've been shipped back to France). I was so bored, even knowing the annoying bits of the book, I decided to reread. And now I'm remembering all over again why I won't ever search out the third volume of this story.

I don't want to suffer that much to find out how it ends. And I'll never look into her other books. So I guess that shows I'm not that forgiving either.