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The Elements of Style

Films which are better than the books that they are based on

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I was surprised at a typo in a new novel lately, a war romance/drama/mystery by a big hitting writer, Barbara Erskine.

Instead of someone being 'doughty,' they were 'doubty.'

How did a slip like that, especially in the first few pages, get past the editing people at HARPER COLLINS?

The writing was not good, full stop. She has done/can do/is much better than that. I think Anya Seton was a better writer. Still, Barbara Erskine's 'Kingdom of Shadows' was a cracking read, Robert Bruce and reincarnation.

I wasn't grabbed, I was already in doubt and that 'doubty' did it for me. I put it down.
 
Say an author starts late, a debut aged 40, 50 or older (which happens) If they have, say, 3 or more novels 'in them,' with a fruitful decade in them, or more, with luck, how great a turn off is their late start for a potential publisher?
 
As both an introvert and a writer, I'm actually excited to do book tours (having never done one--we'll see how excited I am after a bunch of those) and social media and the like. What I don't like is that there's so many social media outlets to keep up with! Facebook and Twitter seem to be the two biggies, but then there's LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google+, Pinterest, Reddit, and tons others. Keeping up with all that, plus actually writing is time consuming.
 
Say an author starts late, a debut aged 40, 50 or older (which happens) If they have, say, 3 or more novels 'in them,' with a fruitful decade in them, or more, with luck, how great a turn off is their late start for a potential publisher?

I worry about that too. American culture, at least is SO youth-obsessed. The idea is that if you're not a prodigy, you won't make it. I am not even middle-aged yet, but I worry because I have only JUST started writing well. I think I may be published within two years, but that's just for short stories. I have novels planned, but they are a bit off yet.

I have always been a late bloomer, and it rankles me that one is expected to make a splash by 23.
 
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The Elements of Style

Films which are better than the books that they are based on

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