I love this!

A good buddy of mine, Karin Tabke, just posted this great blog over at Murder She Writes about some of the common misconceptions about writing and publishing.

I've received many emails along these same lines--especially regarding covers (running the full gamut from complaints about the hair color not lining up to asking me to do away with the torso covers). I'd also add that I don't get to pick the models, I don't get to meet the models and I don't get to go to the cover shoot. Bummer, I know.

Karin does a great job of pointing out some of the common misconceptions. Make sure to read the comments as well, there are some great points about choosing titles (author's have little control) and prices of books (author's have NO control). I've noticed the new trend on Amazon reviews to give authors one star reviews for kindle prices. I feel really bad for those authors. Many people don't take the time to read the reviews and just look at the overall stars.

I also appreciated the point about errors/typos. They happen. By time the manuscript is published I've read it literally dozens of times. My editor has read it. The copy editor has read it. Then two proofreaders have read it. Yet, they still sometimes slip by. As Allison points out, sometimes people have identified it and it just gets missed in production, and sometimes no one catches it. I don't see it after the proofreaders read it and sometimes they change things on their own. I've had one or two surprises (one of the reasons I don't like to read my books after they are published). For example, in The Chief dedication I had "Go Cardinal," referring to the Stanford Cardinal (the COLOR not the bird), it is not plural. The proofreader put an "s" on it. No big deal, but a BIG no-no to Stanford fans. I've already had one or two smart-a#$ comments. Sigh.

Did you guys know all this or learn something new?