Comments on: The A$20,000 Typo…Would You Pay For It? I wouldn’t.

By: etcetera — A A$20000 typo that called for…

etcetera — A A$20000 typo that called for… — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 05:42:37 +0000

[...] typo that called for “fresh ground black people” instead of “pepper.” http://publishingperspectives.com/?p=14590 (via [...]

By: jeff

jeff — Thu, 13 May 2010 08:36:45 +0000

Recently wrote an assignment including “Public Health”. Which had a letter omitted and came out as “Pubic Health”. Oh well, oops. You gotta laugh!

By: WotV

WotV — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 21:28:16 +0000

I would reprint. Absolutely. That typo would come back to haunt them later…

By: Old Pressman

Old Pressman — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 22:37:09 +0000

Seems like a human proofreader might have caught this before the ARC stage, let alone the first printing. Don’t they check for context, etc. because spellcheckers can’t be relied upon to do so?

My favorite typo occurred years ago when I was working for a printer/engraver responsible for most of the graduation announcements in Oregon and Washington. We’d already pantographed the plates for the announcements and drawn the first couple from the press when someone noticed that rather than, “sowing the seeds of immortality”, the text read, “sowing the seeds of immorality.” Fortunately, that one was caught in time.

By: Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawk — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 06:10:39 +0000

Well, that’s what you get when you rely on Spell Check. Personally, I’d fire any editor who did so. Unconscionably lazy practice.

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:04:45 +0000

Well, recall and reprint is expensive, but it does earn Penguin some good PR. Plus, the copies that “got loose” will have value on the collectors’ market, sort of like the Bibles years ago, in which the printer accidentally omitted a “not” from one of the Commandments. Hey, it’s Life. Just laugh at it.

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:10:57 +0000

Only 20K? I mean, that’s not to say it’s not a waste in many ways, but I’ve reprinted stuff for smaller errors and it’s not *that* much compared to what printing things costs. In my mind, the PR value of fixing it is worth that (and I’m in marketing) because it’s not just about whether or not someone is offended by the mistake itself. What a company does in this kind of situation-when crisis problems arise- says more about it than making the mistake in the first place. An apology and not fixing the mistake says “We know this could be offensive, but frankly we don’t care since it would cost us money.” I don’t care how nicely the apology is worded, that’s how it comes off. And even without the overtone of race, it comes out as “We are a company that doesn’t fix our mistakes. Instead, we apologize and hope the customer sucks it up.”

By: John Welch

John Welch — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:23:00 +0000

Erin,
Thanks for the update. I certainly applaud the decision of the Penguin Group Australia.
As it turns out, it is fortunate that, even though costly, the hurtful error could still be corrected.
After all, civility, sincere apology, and genuine concern for one another is what it is all about.

By: Bookninja » Blog Archive » On expensive typos

Bookninja » Blog Archive » On expensive typos — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:37:49 +0000

[...] publisher asks: The $20,000 typo: would you pay for it? Her answer? No. A short piece, but a great question. If you had a typo like the one that appeared [...]

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:12:03 +0000

Hey John,

Just to clarify, the Sunday Morning Herald just reported the story. Penguin Group Australia published the books and made the decision to reprint the books, pulping the ones with the typo.

Erin