Wednesday, September 08, 2021

Continuity Crises

The final eBook of Murder at Magic Lake is due Saturday for Amazon. My proof copy arrived last week, right as work got extra busy. I finally finished reviewing the proof last night. As you can see from the photo below, I have quite a few corrections to make. 

Besides catching typos and tweaking phrases, I also use the final draft to catch continuity errors. For example, did I spell a person's name the same way throughout? Did I change a description or number from one page to the next? These may be small details, but they're noticeable, whether the book is traditionally or independently published. If you're not careful, details can change between book to book, or even in the same paragraph.

When I first started writing, I kept most of my world-building details in my head. These days, I try to be more diligent about writing them down in a separate document. When all else fails, I'll search my story if necessary to make sure my details are consistent.

What's the strangest or funniest continuity error you've noticed in a book, either in your own or in one you've read? Feel free to share in the comments.

2 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I spelled hangar wrong in my first book and my publisher didn't catch it either - not until after publication. (It was fixed though.)
Hope you get all the corrections done in time.

James Pailly said...

I've started putting together a continuity bible for my own story world. I don't feel like I really need it at this point, but I know it's going to get harder and harder to keep track of all the little details going forward.

The strangest continuity error I've seen in a book had to do with whether or not two characters had slept together. It was a very jarring when that bit of backstory suddenly and inexplicably changed.

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