Many indie authors often make the mistake of not having a dedicated editor to insure their book is not riddled with spelling mistakes or issues stemming from autocorrect in Microsoft Word. A good editor will normally cost $1,500 to $3,000, which is outside of most peoples budget. Doing your own editing, what could go wrong?
The usage of autocorrect inserts confusion into the books that we write. These include creative expressions such as idioms (up a creek); puns (references to an ill-fated cruise’s “poop deck”); inside jokes (may the forest be with you); invented words (oyvaycation); pop culture memes (no vacation nation); similes (a hayfever sufferer in a garden is like a diabetic in a chocolate factory); and metaphors (down the black hole).
Pew Research recently conducted a report on artificial intelligence and the future of work, writer Drew Desilver asks, “As machines take on more human work, what’s left for us?” His conclusion: “For workers to win the race…they will have to acquire creative and social skills.” In other words, they need to have the language and critical thinking abilities that have always characterized the civilized discourse of literate people.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
