A book I won't be reading

JaneO · Joined: 17 Feb 2008 Posts: 755

This is a bit of a rant. Well, actually, it's nothing but a rant. I just saw an ad for a novel about Isabelle of Castille that said:

"Determined to reign a nation with greatness."

Why would anyone want to buy, or even read, a book by an author who thinks reign is a transitive verb? Did he just check a thesaurus for synonyms for rule? Should I be grateful that he didn't use rein?

Could the English language be given a little respect, please?

EOC · Joined: 13 Jan 2011 Posts: 2 Location: Colorado

You made me chuckle. Last night I finished what was otherwise a good mystery set in the horse racing world - except any illusion of the author's expertise was spoiled by the use of reigns for, you know, those things that the rider holds and uses to control the horse.

willaful · Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 1469

I couldn't get over the delectable miasma of food in a recent book... but I wouldn't blame the author for an ad, unless it's a self-published book.
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"I say, don't read the classics -- try to discover your own classics; every life has its own." -- Rudolf Flesch, _How to Make Sense_

Manda · Joined: 23 Apr 2007 Posts: 520

Yep. Back cover copy is generally written by someone other than the author. The author can suggest changes, but the publisher is under no obligation to make them unless it's in her contract.

Ad copy depends. If the author does it herself, she has control over the content. But sometimes publishers put out ads that the author has no knowledge of. Let alone control over.
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Manda Collins

JaneO · Joined: 17 Feb 2008 Posts: 755

I'm not sure how self-published it is. It's a random House Digital - What does that mean?

LynnS/AAR · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 115

Elizabeth Rolls · Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 1026 Location: Australia

Could it have been intended to read, "reign OVER a nation with greatness"? It reads like an omission to me. Still irritating, but unless the book is self-pubbed I'd hold back on blaming the author for an advertisement.

I see this sort of thing all the time. People stick in apostrophes anywhere they see an "s" at the end of word. They have not the least idea about the difference between their, there, and they're, either. I think we're pushing it to expect folks to understand reigns vs reins. Rolling Eyes

Elizabeth

Tee · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 4053 Location: Detroit Metro

dick · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 2255

Yeah, those homophones can trip all of us up: I just noticed I typed "there" for "their" in a prior post. Fingers take their own paths at times, paying little attention to the mind guiding them. But there you go.

JaneO · Joined: 17 Feb 2008 Posts: 755

If no one at the publisher could be bothered to proofread a very short advertisement, what do you suppose the proofreading/copyediting of the book is going to be like?

Being that sloppy with an advertisement, which is something that is supposed to attract readers, not drive them away, demonstrates incredible stupidity on the part of whoever was responsible.

I'm still annoyed by it. Could you tell? Wink