Who Fired the Editors?

Seriously, what the hell happened? I can't even express how ticked off I am....

Is it really too much to ask that someone reads over the galleys, perhaps even someone who speaks the language and - yeah, I know, now we're entering the land of witches and fairies - has the ability to spot a typo or that there's an apostroph that doesn't belong?

I thought publishers used to employ people who did just that. Is it now solely the writer's responsibility to hand in a manuscript that's perfect and fit to print as is or, worst case scenario, the translator's?

(Translations are nothing I write about in detail because, quite frankly, I'm worried about my blood pressure. I'd pop a vessel or something, I swear. Nobody seems to check their work. Nobody. That's the only explanation I have for all the horrible incompetent hack jobs I've encountered lately. It's a tough job that requires a broad set of skills and knowledge that far exceeds merely "knowing words". Looking up words in a dictionary won't cut it. Author's tone/voice ought to be preserved and then there's the "little" issue of knowing the culture; knowing both cultures, actually. But I think if someone took the time and read the translation this person would stumble over this or that weird thing just like the reader does in the end. And I would fire any translator who doesn't even know how to translate a simple, everyday word like "business card" into her own language. That must be one huge rock that old lady lives under, holy shit. The paper her degree was printed on must be all yellow by now and she obviously "forgot" to stay current. That is another issue that pops up, believe it or not. Something's missing - classes, perhaps? If you can tell from reading the translation what mistake the translator made before you see the source text then that's bad. That's really bad.)

Seeing typos online, in blog posts or comments, that's a completely different thing. Who edits their blog posts? Who re-reads their comments? I've stumbled over some of my mistakes and couldn't believe it. Hung my head in shame even though there isn't a reason for doing that. Anybody who judges a fellow blogger in that respect lives on another planet, obviously. Or blogs for a purpose other than fun. And most people blog/comment for fun, they take a break from writing or whatever and they don't get paid for it, either. It's not our frigging job. I even cut a newspaper like the NYT or a mag like DER SPIEGEL some slack if there's a typo in an article that I read online. For free.

When I buy a book I have certain expectations. They are all about the story, the author. Until recently, I thought that a text free of typos and grammatical errors would be a given. But now I know better. It's not the odd publisher who quickly under tight deadlines threw a crappy piece on the market but in general it's all good. No. Nu-uh. It's Lübbe Group, it's Limes (Patterson in translation (hardcover, no less)- do not ask; Eschbach), it's Diana Verlag (Melissa Bank (hardcover) in translation - nobody read this before it went to print. I swear. That's the only explanation I have for this mess).

My fave publisher - Diogenes - has Suter, Cuelho and Arjouni on their list of authors. Not only did I realize that hey, I know and recognize a publisher I trust (!!), I now also am aware that they care enough about their authors and their readers not to insult them with sloppy work. I do appreciate that.

It's a collaboration. Should we not be able to expect that each and everyone involved in a project does their job? They want great stories, this that and the other thing from their authors, and they want the readers to shell out the money too, and to keep on buying their products.

In the end, what's a reader to do? The answer is not that simple. If you don't buy a book, the author loses out on royalties. If you do buy it you feel like an idiot for supporting the publisher and telling them via your money that all's swell - when indeed you curse and throw your hands in the air when a typo or grammar mistake threw you out of the story.

I have no answer other than: write to the publisher and let them know how you feel about their product you just purchased. How you feel about their work.

Perhaps they think that either a) we don't notice (dumb customer) or b) we don't care (ignorance is bliss). I don't believe that either one is true. I've seen one customer complain in her review on amazon about typos. But that won't do anything.

Jesus, what a rant. Terrible. I just wish I had no reason to be upset.

I'm extremely curious why this phenomenon is now so common. What has changed in recent years that led to this?