> Publishing too quickly. As I was
writing my book, the SAT made a change, substituting a writing sample and an
objective “style” test for one of the vocabulary sections. The format was not
set while I wrote. I assumed the format would be similar to another writing
sample used by the College Board, one that was based on reading literature. I
was wrong. The topic became personal and the length of the writing sample
became 20 minutes instead of 15 minutes. The result? I prepared for something
that did not happen. And I published it. I should have waited until the new
section on writing in the SAT was firmly established. If I had, the whole
section on preparing for the 20-minute writing sample would have been
significantly different.
> Omitting a cover—or having a poorly
designed one. I meant for my cover to contain in a block format a list of
the topics that I covered in the book. Too detailed. No one read it.
> Impatience. The problem here was my
desire to rush into publication. I stopped trying to correct my typos and
grammar mistakes. Now when I reread my book, they glare out at me, magnified by
the fact that I am supposed to be an accomplished writer. If you’re a baseball
player, you’re supposed to be able to hit and field. If you’re an English
teacher, you’re supposed to correct all typos and mistakes in grammar. After
the first reading, the publisher planned to charge me for all future mistakes,
and I chose not to. I’m paying the price now.
>Not doing research. I should have
checked out what had already been published about the topics on which I was
choosing to write. I didn’t.
Comment:
Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest! RayS.
Title, based
on the following article: “The 8 Biggest Mistakes E-Book Authors Make and How
to Avoid Them.” Kelly James-Engler. The
Writer (July 2012),30-31.
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