Uh, hello, editors? . . .

And I thought I was terrible at revising my work. Now I feel a little bit of delight as well as utter fear.

What might be the single most scary thing for a published author I wonder? Maybe that nobody likes the book. Or worse, maybe nobody is even interested in the book. That wouldn't be good.

I can't speak for any other aspiring authors, but I want the sales. I want the enjoyment people get from my stories. I want that mysterious number you need to hit before your book can be a national bestseller, whatever that means.

Here's another one. How about reading your newly published novel and finding not one mistake, but several. I would be mortified if I ever saw this in one of my novels.

But now I'm wondering how picky can editors and publishers really be when sifting through the thousands of potential novels that pass by their desks. Of course you do need a good story. Obviously you can't blame the author for having a misprint published, that's the editors and/or the publishers job isn't it?

So I just recently came across this very thing. I started reading a very popular book series that is eventually being made into a movie, with the fourth book about to be released this August. I found several misprinted passages during the last few chapters - at the climax. In a published book. A massively successful published book that is currently part of a huge best-selling series.

I guess we can all take a small bit of comfort in knowing that the pros do make mistakes as well. Too bad it makes the authors look like hacks, but what can you do. The author of the above best-selling series is millionaire so I don't think she cares too much. Still, it hurts the pride a bit I'm sure.

Stay tuned next week. I'll go through my top 5 requirements for writing a novel. It's really what helped me get off my butt and finally get at it! See you then.

Out.