Sometimes authors just get it wrong. Maybe they assume they know more than they do. Maybe they just don’t check. But when they mess up, the result is that readers don’t trust them to get anything else right, either.
… the bulk of Ed’s assets went to a mysterious unnamed benefactor in his will.
A benefactor is one who assists or rewards another. In this case, the unnamed person who inherited because of Ed’s will is a beneficiary — one who receives benefits. The person who funds a new building for a college is a benefactor; the college is the beneficiary.
… it doesn’t sound as though he went too long without spontaneous circulation … It means breathing on his own.
Actually, no, spontaneous circulation doesn’t mean breathing on his own. That would be spontaneous respiration. Circulation refers to blood flow, and for someone who went into cardiac arrest, it would be a crucial question — the length of time spent without the blood circulating determines the amount of organ damage. This author might have meant either one, but certainly not the combination.
… in the Deerfield High yearbook… I was the idiot who thought being named Rhodes Scholar and graduating top of my class…
A Rhodes Scholar is a recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship, an esteemed international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford — that is, for masters or doctoral level students. It’s not something that is awarded to someone who’s still in high school, no matter how high they’re ranked in the class.
… the sliver of lye she found next to the sink… she’d ask Ruby how to make more lye so the house would stay clean.
Lye is one of the strongest alkaline bases — sometimes called “caustic soda” because it’s strong enough to dissolve grease, hair, skin oils, and food residue, which is why some drain cleaners are full of lye. In short, working with lye requires significant caution to avoid contact with skin or breathing the fumes.
This author meant lye soap, which is created by combining lye with fats or oils (often animal fats like lard, in the old days). When the balance is right, the soap is strong enough to clean well, without being damaging to skin or eyes.
Also, that must have been a pretty big sliver, if Jo had enough to scrub all the floors, surfaces, and dishes, as well as washing the clothes.
“I’ve always though Hamlet should be played… as a real he-man….”
That’s a nice sentiment, and it might have been appropriate if the speech had been “To be or not to be.” But though the speech containing “This above all: to thine own self be true” does come from the play Hamlet, it’s Polonius who’s talking. And that’s something that this character should know, since she’s a theatrical producer looking for an actor to play Hamlet.
The Snarky Editor comes out of hiding occasionally to comment on the awkward, silly, and sometimes hilarious editing errors found in published books.
#snarkyeditor #everybodyneedsaneditor
Leigh Michaels is the award-winning author of more than 100 books, including historical and contemporary romance, non-fiction books about writing, and local history. More than 35 million copies of her books are in print in 27 languages and more than 120 countries. She is also a writing coach and book editor, though she promises to be snarky only in regard to published books.
To find out more, check out https://leighmichaels.com
Leave a Reply