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An Update on Evil Author
This is part of the continuing saga, last episode:
http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=75338
The Author of Doom, aka deluded evil witch who cannot write, was years late with her manuscript, has threatened us with the Society of Authors and that she will cancel the book, finally got back to J, the head editor who is supposedly now running the project after UberBoss (the head editor on my team) refused to have anything more to do with it. Naturally, while J may be 'managing' the project (ie. continually stroking the author's ego) I am the one who has to do the actual work.
After having a screaming hissy fit at our demands that we needed to go to press, Evil Author (EA) eventually agreed to 'allow' us to only give her another week to read the damn thing. That was more than a week ago. Yesterday J gets an email from her, that I reproduce below. Italics are mine.
EA: Evil Author
J: Head Editor managing the project
N: Manager of Human Resources and general problem solver
S: Head of the Company
Dear J
As you will know I spoke to N regarding an extension of time and he agreed to my request.
We also discussed my concerns regarding editing and the problems of spellings etc that I felt were still in the script. I explained to him that I could not find these myself and hence I had asked my former PhD professor to read the script. I'm not surprised she couldn't find them, she certainly didn't in the previous 10 versions of the book she has seen, and the original manuscript read like it was written by a foreigner. She cannot spell, use grammar or, mostly likely, tie her own shoes.
I took the liberty to copy Ch 11 – 16 for my professor. A professor of mechanical engineering. Clearly the best person to proof a history book... He delivered this back to me on Sunday after travelling for 5 hours to do so. As I suspected it is sadly riddled with spellings, missing words (or extra words) and continuity problems. He even went as far to say that there were problems with understanding the epilogue and the sentences are too long in places with a number of halting phrases. SHE WROTE IT! More to the point, she wouldn't let us edit ch11-16 as we wanted to, because every time we did she threatened to pull the book. All the 'halting phrases' are hers!
I started to read the script on Saturday and I too found mistakes. I wrote off to S to offer to come down to speak to you and him but I have not heard anything back. Because he knows that you are a mental and doesn't want to waste his time with you.
Therefore I suggest that you and N sit down together and work out how this issue is to be solved – who is going to edit/proof read it again after you have made these next set of corrections, how long I have to make sure you have. Oh, is that what you suggest? I suggest you get bent.
I have never heard of a book being published with so many mistakes and I believed that this problem could have been resolved many days ago if your company were less fixated on cutting corners so that a box could be ticked and more willing to focus on the quality. We have spent as much time on this book as we would on 10. The fact is, you essentially gave us the book 10 times, always in a dreadful state, and there comes a point when to make any money you have to print it. All books have errors in them, and this one has far fewer than you would think, given that it is terrible. There was no 'quality' in the writing to begin with.
I will continue to read what I have and correct where needed and await a sensible way forward. A sensible way forward would be to take out a hit on you.
Yours sincerely
EA
So basically, she is still getting her own way. I am so looking forward to her next set of corrections... In the meantime I have been editing a book I commissioned, an excellent piece of history, well written, structured and rather interesting. The author is charming, eager to please and always on time. He is also ex-military. Perhaps I could get him to go round to her house...
http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=75338
The Author of Doom, aka deluded evil witch who cannot write, was years late with her manuscript, has threatened us with the Society of Authors and that she will cancel the book, finally got back to J, the head editor who is supposedly now running the project after UberBoss (the head editor on my team) refused to have anything more to do with it. Naturally, while J may be 'managing' the project (ie. continually stroking the author's ego) I am the one who has to do the actual work.
After having a screaming hissy fit at our demands that we needed to go to press, Evil Author (EA) eventually agreed to 'allow' us to only give her another week to read the damn thing. That was more than a week ago. Yesterday J gets an email from her, that I reproduce below. Italics are mine.
EA: Evil Author
J: Head Editor managing the project
N: Manager of Human Resources and general problem solver
S: Head of the Company
Dear J
As you will know I spoke to N regarding an extension of time and he agreed to my request.
We also discussed my concerns regarding editing and the problems of spellings etc that I felt were still in the script. I explained to him that I could not find these myself and hence I had asked my former PhD professor to read the script. I'm not surprised she couldn't find them, she certainly didn't in the previous 10 versions of the book she has seen, and the original manuscript read like it was written by a foreigner. She cannot spell, use grammar or, mostly likely, tie her own shoes.
I took the liberty to copy Ch 11 – 16 for my professor. A professor of mechanical engineering. Clearly the best person to proof a history book... He delivered this back to me on Sunday after travelling for 5 hours to do so. As I suspected it is sadly riddled with spellings, missing words (or extra words) and continuity problems. He even went as far to say that there were problems with understanding the epilogue and the sentences are too long in places with a number of halting phrases. SHE WROTE IT! More to the point, she wouldn't let us edit ch11-16 as we wanted to, because every time we did she threatened to pull the book. All the 'halting phrases' are hers!
I started to read the script on Saturday and I too found mistakes. I wrote off to S to offer to come down to speak to you and him but I have not heard anything back. Because he knows that you are a mental and doesn't want to waste his time with you.
Therefore I suggest that you and N sit down together and work out how this issue is to be solved – who is going to edit/proof read it again after you have made these next set of corrections, how long I have to make sure you have. Oh, is that what you suggest? I suggest you get bent.
I have never heard of a book being published with so many mistakes and I believed that this problem could have been resolved many days ago if your company were less fixated on cutting corners so that a box could be ticked and more willing to focus on the quality. We have spent as much time on this book as we would on 10. The fact is, you essentially gave us the book 10 times, always in a dreadful state, and there comes a point when to make any money you have to print it. All books have errors in them, and this one has far fewer than you would think, given that it is terrible. There was no 'quality' in the writing to begin with.
I will continue to read what I have and correct where needed and await a sensible way forward. A sensible way forward would be to take out a hit on you.
Yours sincerely
EA
So basically, she is still getting her own way. I am so looking forward to her next set of corrections... In the meantime I have been editing a book I commissioned, an excellent piece of history, well written, structured and rather interesting. The author is charming, eager to please and always on time. He is also ex-military. Perhaps I could get him to go round to her house...
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