Books on (ghost) writingstrictly editorial

August 16, 2006

It's one thing to give advice on the obvious to the ignorant.

It's quite another to self-publish a book on how to write that's riddled with errors — errors of syntax, grammar, diction, spelling, and consistency. When the book is in its second edition, the worry is compounded.

Were errors introduced in the revision? Were errors original and not caught in the review? Was the copy editor at fault? Was the proofreader to blame? Maybe the author . . . ?

The answers to these questions (and others) strike me as immaterial when the person writing the book is telling the readers of the book how to write books for people who can't write right.

Perhaps I'm missing something. But I don't think so.