I've just finished this collection of letters between Julia Child and Avis DeVoto and, gee whizz, but it was a great read! It's possible my own writing style will never recover. There are so many excellent aspects to the book but tonight I share Julia's response (dated April 24, 1961) to getting the first set of galley proofs for the first volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking:
I have now received two batches which takes us to the last page of the sauces. But I am presumably to wait for the illustrations to be sent so they can be keyed into the galleys before I send things back to Knopf. They were supposed to have been sent on the 18th, and in the mean time J. Jones says everything must be hurried as they are behind schedule, etc. etc. But the instructions are really not quite adequate so I know what I am supposed to do, but I have done what I decided to do, which is to answer every query no matter whom it seems to be addressed to, and some seem to be addressed to the printer. Ah well. I didn't know I was also supposed to be a typographer, but it says in the instructions "Answer every query." However I have decided I have to participate in the typography because there is a passel of illogic in headings. It all looks splendid indeed when you look at it casually, but then when your nose is in you find that headings are not consistent, pages farther on has another, etc. etc. ETC. ETC. J. Jones says I must be warned that I am fully responsible for proof reading--does that also mean type? I must assume so. At least, if I do not point out errors, they may well be missed. But I cannot believe any serious publisher would leave all that kind of stuff to an amateur! So going over the setting copy, I have made a long list of all the type faces and symbols, etc. etc. and have just marked up the galleys the way I think they should be done.
It would be much easier for authors if fuller instructions were sent, and if a type guide were also included. Certainly I know how I will do my next book . . .
-from page 383 of the exquisite As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child & Avis DeVoto, edited by Joan Reardon.
I am always amazed how many errors an author (me) can make and how many errors find their way into a manuscript during editing (often by author). They pop up between every line, between every word, and between letters in individual words. There is no such thing as "no room for error."
ReplyDeleteEvery time anyone touches a book in progress there's a chance for fresh errors to be introduced no matter how slight the touch. On the 8th edition of "Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills" "Mr Splinty" (an illustration showing a very accident-prone individual) started popping up everywhere. It was frightening. It's not the author's domain by a long shot: editors and designers introduce quite a few. Ideally, they get caught before the book is printed--but a few always manage to survive every review. Maybe the printer creates them. Or maybe it's the book gods keeping all of us humble.
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