Urth Net
A Modest Pulposal
↰ answers David_Lebling
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Dave Lebling <David_Lebling at avid.com> wrote:
William Ansley suggests that every now and then, like the unwatched fall of a sparrow, Wolfe makes a mistake. Well, he's actually admitted to one, on this very list. When we got to ask him impertinent questions about the Long Sun books, he admitted that a mysterious appearance of (hmm, let me think here...) Maytera Marble somewhere she wasn't, near the end of Exodus, was just an error. I remember this, however imperfectly, because I asked the question. So we can rest assured that even Jove nods.
He used Mint's name when he meant Marble and vice versa and he did this at least two or three times in Exodus. I remember this quite well because I thought it was a very strange mistake to make. Certainly it wasn't incredibly subtle; I may not have caught all the substitutions the first time I read Exodus, but I noticed some.
I guess they don't make editors or copy editors like they used to (if at all in the case of copy editors); anyone really reading for continuity should have caught Wolfe's slips. Which leads me to my point. If Wolfe really feels as badly about errors like this as he said he did (and I believe he said something like, "You'll think I'm grandstanding if I tell you how bad this makes me feel") then the solution is obvious. Wolfe should tell his publisher to let the members of this list read each of his new books in its final form before it is printed. I suppose that would be the galley stage. We can then report any such slips we (think we) notice to Wolfe, who can correct them if he sees fit, and then the book is sent to the publisher.
What could be simpler and more reasonable? Anyone who has a line of communication to Wolfe should feel free to pass this proposal on.
William Ansley