Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!wmartin
From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: The game's afoot! (really proofreading)
Message-ID: <8402@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 21-Feb-85 10:49:10 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.8402
Posted: Thu Feb 21 10:49:10 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 26-Feb-85 20:05:25 EST
References: <22300016@ccvaxa.UUCP> <1331@bbncca.ARPA>
Organization: USAMC ALMSA
Lines: 33

>     I think it's not so much sloppiness, as the fact that Bluejay is still a
> very small operation.  The above-mentioned director of advertising, etc. is
> something like one third or one quarter of the entire full-time staff of
> Bluejay.  This doesn't leave much staff available for proofreading.
> 			    Morris M. Keesan

The thing is, anybody who publishes anything interesting, or worth reading,
could get FREE proofreading! A publisher could collect a group of readers in
his locale who were interested in the stuff he publishes, and who would
read copies of "uncorrected proofs" for the sheer pleasure of reading the
material, and annotate those proofs with corrections and give them back.
They could be paid by giving them a copy of every book the publisher prints
(if it is a small house) or some other barter-type arrangement, if they
didn't feel they were adequately paid by the sheer opportunity of
reading new stuff before the rest of the world sees it. (A reprint house
would probably have to offer some sort of honorarium, like the free
books.)

After all, wouldn't YOU jump at this chance? I'm assuming the publisher
farms the proofs out among a large-enough group that you aren't expected
to put in a 40-hour week of proofreading, but maybe a book every two
weeks or so.

These proofreaders don't even have to know and use the standard
symbols (though they'd probably learn them quickly and use them);
a for-real proofreader could put in the real symbols very quickly
if someone has already found and flagged error locations for them.

I would think such arrangements would already exist. Why not?

Will Martin

USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin     or   ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA