Type A About Typos

Posted on 26 April 2011 by RAP

Sarah Hobbs, Untitled (Perfectionist), 2002, chromogenic print

I’m eating my heart out. I found two—count them, two—typos in my recently published novel, The Bride of Manhattan. Well, the eBook version will have the corrections made (I’m currently 3,487 in the update queue. Excellent!), so those who buy the book in about a week will have the clean version. The poor saps who buy the print version (due to appear on Amazon.com in the next couple of weeks) will have to live with those blunder-pustules of inaccuracy in my otherwise lovely manuscript.

Admittedly, they’re not glaring typos. In fact, not one of the dozens of people who have read or edited the book has caught them. Only me, with my vision finally perfectly focused by the combination of two glasses of wine and the teeny-tiny print on my Android eBook app.

I’m sick about it, really.

Thanks! I'm so not.

Call me a perfectionist, but after nearly 38 years of writing, you’d think I’d have the proficiency by now to eliminate all errors from a professional manuscript. I mean, come on, woman!

Oh, I could go on and on about how tiny little gaffes like this keep me awake at night with vertiginous agida, and how much more therapy I’m going to need to fix that insane way of thinking—not to mention what an unflattering portrait my perfectionism paints of me. And who’s to blame for it the first place? (When it’s obvious my parents are entirely at fault; parents are responsible for everything that messes us up as adults.)

But I won’t do that to you. More words equal more opportunities to make a typo. Instead, I’ll put a positive spin on this whole unfortunate business.

The Bride of Manhattan, paperback version

If you buy the book and find the typos—hidden like hideous, rotting little Easter eggs—I’ll refund your money. Seriously. Drop me a line at typosmakemesick@gmail.com and let me know the extent of personal hardship you experienced reading the mistakes. Don’t be shy. I want gagging. Weeping. Gnashing of teeth. Spit takes. Anything. (Or you can politely ignore them and hope I spend the money on additional therapy.)

In the meantime, happy reading! It’s a good book. Really. Go buy it. Heck, it might end up being free.

About RAP

Writer and peace worker Rachel Astarte Piccione is the president and founder of gentlefish productions, inc., a full-service writing company devoted to promoting positive and sustainable change in the world. Primarily a journalist and fiction writer, Rachel was also the 1996 Poet Laureate of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Her first non-fiction book, 101 BETTER SEX TIPS was published in July 2007. She holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston and has studied Theater and Acting at Loughborough University (UK) and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. From 1999–2001, she was the head writer for and performer in the New York City-based comedic theater company, Circle in the Squirrel. She was also the co-founder and Executive Creative Director of Bardos Films, Inc., a company dedicated to uniting cultures through the globalization of cinema from 2001-2004. Currently, she works as a voice-over artist for radio, television, film, and the Internet. Rachel's international work has centered on the promotion of cultural unity through the performing arts. Her feature script, "Little India," was a semi-finalist in the 2006 American Screenwriting Competition and a 2006 Gloria Film Festival Screenplay Competition selection. In December 2006, her one-act play, "Middle East Side," had its premiere reading at SALAAM Theater in New York City. Rachel has also been an adjunct professor of writing at a number of east coast colleges, including Philadelphia University (formerly Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science), Bucks County Community College, and Emerson College. Rachel is an ordained clergy member, holding the title of Peace Counselor since September 2002. As part of her ongoing peace work, Rachel has given numerous readings across the country, and lectured at such venues as New York City's New School on the topic of employing the arts as a means toward conflict resolution. Rachel lives in New York City and Nyack, NY with her husband, son, and two very loving cats.
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3 Responses to Type A About Typos

  1. MommyTheorist says:
    26 April 2011 at 6.34 pm

    It’s agita, not agida, my friend. Thought I’d rub a little proverbial salt in the wound. I love you.
    Mommy Theorist

    Reply
  2. Paul says:
    26 April 2011 at 9.01 pm

    Michelle, I thought the same thing – that “agida” was ironically misspelled. But having been educated by Rachel (of part-Sicilian descent) and the Internet, it seems “agida” may be the better spelling. Although other sources say it’s “agita,” from the Italian word “agitare”. Amazingly, there is even a third possible spelling (with identical pronunciation) — “acida” – derived from the Italian word for acid. Who knew.

    Reply

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