Punctuation Shock by Andy Scheer
I
looked forward to reading this novel. But after the first five pages,
I'm not sure I can. There's something too distracting.
That
bothers me. I
belong to an organization for collectors of this author's books. I met
the co-author at the group's convention last fall, and I'll likely
see him again in October. And I've already enjoyed three of his
books.
So
it's not the genre that bothers me. I've read the previous eight in
the series multiple times. And book nine, the first by this
co-author, struck me just fine.
Nor
did I find anything troubling about the promised storyline. Well, the
prologue bears strong resemblance to a novel I just edited, but how
many ways can you depict an aircraft attack on a naval vessel in
World War II?
In
keeping with the primary author's reputation, I saw no hint of
offensive language or gratuitous sex or violence. So what troubled
me?
It's
an editor thing. If you ever had doubts that editors are weird, cast
them aside. We're weird. What tripped me up—three times—was the
lack of serial commas.
Yes,
those commas the Chicago
Manual of Style
says to insert for clarity before the “and” in a series: Tom,
Dick, and Harry. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. Those commas.
I
first edited for a newspaper, then a magazine—places where the
Associated
Press Stylebook
reigned and serial commas were anathema. But I switched loyalties.
Now I spend my time editing books or working to sell them to
publishers. Especially when editing, I have to think and breathe
Chicago style. That's what I consider normal.
It's
like traveling to another country. This summer when I traveled to
Guelph, Ontario, to teach at the Write! Canada conference, I
expected the writing samples would have the letter U inserted in such
words as color and honor, and I expected the E and the R to be
transposed in theater and center. It's just they way they do
things—in Canada.
When
I pick up my weekly Sports
Illustrated, I
know what to expect: AP style in all its glory. My expectations were
equally solid when I began this title from Putnam. I dismissed the
first missing comma as a typo. I knew the book had been written and
produced on a tight deadline. Typos happen, especially when they're
the kind spell-check never catches.
I
shook it off and climbed back into the storyworld. I lasted two
pages. Then a missing comma again bounced me out of the story.
Disorientation struck. Had the publisher adopted its own house style
for punctuation? Is this a foreshadowing of CMOS
17?
Is the serial comma about to go the way of the dodo and compact mass
paperbacks? I certainly wasn't thinking about the storyline.
Tonight,
with my expectations patched back together, I'll re-enter the book,
buckle in, and try to stay there. I hope the story and the style are
strong enough to keep my mind off the commas.
4 comments:
So difficult to click out of editor mode when you see even the smallest mistakes. For me, it's the overuse, abuse, and misuse of semicolons. I keep wanting to reach for my little red pen.
I'm a devotee of the serial comma at my day job as a financial writer. But my book publisher doesn't use them, so I have to make a concerted effort not to put them in,
Definitely tricky when you've written for newspapers and adopted the non-serial comma style! But you're so right--in a book, it's much more readable to have the serial commas. Well, he can always edit those commas in, as many of us have done (grin). I've definitely re-integrated serial commas into my writing style, even on my blog. And if he's anything like me, he'll appreciate your editorial perspective on things!
Andy, I'm with you--both on the serial comma and on being totally distracted by errors of this kind. And I also do layout, so I'm distracted by poor design and layout errors as well. It's amazing I can ever get through a book!
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