Okay, I’m gonna’ have to go off on a little rant here because this really bothers me. I’ve seen this over the years and kept my mouth shut but here we go….this mutha’ is ON now!

I’ve been reading through a special issue from SIMPLE SCRAPBOOKS called “Scrapbook Play with Photos”….

….and, not to pick on just them because I see it everywhere but this is just the most recent example. I’m not even through the entire issue yet and I’ve already found several typos in the magazine text, and typos on layouts. {Just so you know, I’m purposely not mentioning the name of the article writer or person who created the layouts, as my intention isn’t to embarrass any one person and, actually, I lay the blame at the foot of the magazine editors anyway}.

Page 11 – A soccer team layout – which is totally rockin’, by the way – with a glaring typo in the layout title, “We are the CHAMPOINS.” I read through the entire page, assuming there was some explanation for the mistake but there was none. I mean, really, how do you MISS that before the magazine goes to publication? It’s hugely noticeable from the second you look at the page.

Page 14 – A cute little boy with curly hair layout called “That Hair!” with journaling that includes, “End the end, we aren’t sure.”

Page 24 – In the text to explain how to “dress up a picture with a transparency sheet,” it says, “…it will subtle detail and design interest….”

And I’ve only read through page 44 of a 99-page issue!

Okay, I know I’m picky. When I was a program analyst for 9 years, I used to proudly say, “I put the ANAL in ANALyst.” I was an English major and I used to edit fellow students’ thesis papers and Senior Projects for fun. I’m a transcriptionist who gets tiny joy from fixing all the little errors doctors make when they dictate. Okay, yeah, yeah, I’m WAY pickier with this stuff than your average bear. I get it.

But are all these typos and mistakes acceptable? For me, when I see errors like this in a professionally published magazine, I loose truckloads of respect for all involved. I mean, if I were a scrapper lucky enough to get my work chosen for publication, you can bet your bippy I’d be proofing my title and journaling within an inch of their lives. And then I’d have every person I know proof it, too. Yet time and time again, I see published layouts that have misspellings, missing letters or words, or other mistakes in the journaling or title. I do remember a couple times – I think it was discussed on the CKMB so this must’ve happened to layouts that were published in one of their mags – that it wasn’t the scrappers fault; one time a layout was published with something turned the wrong way and another time an embellie had fallen down to the bottom of a layout during shipping and the magazine photographed it that way….much to the dismay of the scrapper, who saw her beautiful layout misrepresented to a huge audience. Okay, THAT kind of thing, I don’t blame the scrapper for. Maybe the sweet lady who made the “CHAMPOINS” layout assembled it correctly, then the letters fell off in shipping, and the magazine staff reassembled it incorrectly. Any way you slice it, the magazine is responsible for making such a huge mistake.

As for all the typos in articles, features, and such, I just don’t get it. I see them all the time in the scrapbooking magazines, and I’m not just talking about in recent months when magazines are cutting staff or their hours due to economic hard times. This has all been happening since the “rich heyday” when they all had full staffs. Honestly, I don’t pretend to know how FUH-REAKIN’ hard it must be to put out a monthly magazine. I know there are so many details upon details to be completed perfectly. I can see how a “their” that shoulda’ been a “there” could be missed on occasion. However, I’ve always been really stumped by the fact that SO many little errors, typos, and imperfections find their way into scrapbook magazines. I also read “People” and “Us” on a regular basis and very rarely catch typos or mistakes in those magazines. Funnily enough, they often print their own “corrections” in the next issue and I’ll scratch my head, going, “Hmmm, I missed that.” Guess I don’t know the names of all the celebrities’ kids as well as I thought, huh? It’s not really the same thing anyway, because it’s not typos they’re usually correcting, just incorrect information like saying it was Goldie Hawn in a photo caption when it was really Kate Hudson, LOL.

On a side note, don’t even THINK of pointing all all the typos and mistakes in this blog, for the following reasons: 1. I am not read by millions, 2. I am a staff of one, 3. I’m usually working on 3 hours of sleep and no coffee, 4. Sometimes I put them in just for fun and to see if you’re paying attention, and most importantly, 5. I am not paid. At the jobs where I’m actually paid, I work my tail off to make sure there are never typos. But here on the blog, see, it’s a whole different ball a’ wax…

So, what do you think? Do you notice all the mistakes in the scrapbooking magazines? Does it bug you? Why do you think it happens? I’d be really interested to know your thoughts.

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23 Comments

  1. avatar

    LOL, typos are done intentionally. just ask any printer or writer. they are there for copyright purposes, to deter ‘scanners of documents’, etc. I am sure you must have noticed it in the books you read in college too. I know I sure did. Call it protectionism of the artist/writer. Even my daily newpaper has typos. Ever notice watermarks on paper, same thing applies to the text and images. It’s been happening since the first printed page LOL. I am kind of wondering why you missed that lesson in your major LOL.

  2. avatar

    Oh boy, I totally agree. I was just reading the January/February issue of Simple Scrapbooks (and the little extra booklet that came with it) and found several typos, both in the printed text and on the layouts… Bugs me too!!!

  3. avatar

    YES!!! I totally agree. I’m the girl who found a typo in the State of Florida Drivers Handbook, when I was 15, and studying for my driver’s license test….lol.

    I would never DREAM of submitting a layout with typos or missing words. Getting that published is like saying….Hello America….I’m an idiot.

  4. avatar

    yes I hate it too….I recently finished a class sample and was up late the next night making another one with the correct spelling. I was telling people at the store (where the class will be) about the typo. They said I should not have worried about it that the class is about the technique, but I feel it is a reflection on me too….So I hung the correct one. Check out my blog to see the sample.

    Hailey

  5. avatar
    Abby says:

    Oh. my. word! I am so glad you posted this! I thought I was the only one! I hate it when I read through mags and see typos! Especially HUGE mistakes on pages. I understand that things are spelled wrong sometimes for kid pages or a funny way ppl say something, but I’m glad you clarified that. I would so be scanning and scanning and even have a few other ppl scanning my work for publication.

  6. avatar
    Carolyn says:

    In this blog entry you wrote: ” For me, when I see errors like this in a professionally published magazine, I loose truckloads of respect for all involved.”

    The word you are looking for is lose, not loose.

  7. avatar

    SERIOUSLY!!! No way- you are a medical transcriptionist too?? How funny is that! I’ve been an MT for 33 years! I was coming to your blog to tell you that my brother’s show (Departure- the Journey Tribute band https://scrappycathy.blogspot.com/2009/03/snoop-sisters-rock-wild-bills.html) was great. You had commented on the CKMB that if you were in the Atlanta area you’d be there. And now I find that you are an MT, and you are a stickler for typos in mags and LOs… just like ME! Of course it is easier for me to see someone else’s errors than my own sometimes, but I guess it’s just an occupational thing with us. It has always stumped me as to how/why they would 1) publish LOs with typos, and 2) articles. And yes, my friends call me anal too. One dear friend had spent hours on a LO, cutting out letters and adhering them to her page, when I pointed out to her that she did not need an apostrophe “s” after the names of all the familys in the pictures. Bless her heart, she took them all off and started over. Spacing issues, you know. :-) Anyway- it’s nice to see another anal-minded person here, and an MT as well!! Do you work from home? For a national company or private facility? I work from home for a local hospital. Love it! And speaking of that, I gotta get back to work. Gotta earn those cpl, you know!! Have a great day! my e-mail is bencath@aol.com, or stop by my blog sometime! Journey Rocks For Sure!!! Have a great week! CathyB

  8. avatar

    P.S. okay I just gotta laugh at myself. notice in my reply where i typed: “she did not need an apostrophe “s” after the names of all the familys in the pictures.”

    yeah, it’s stuff like “familys” that gets me goin. i’m like you though- i’m not paid, staff of one, CKMBs and blogs are usually typed in haste, without the same meticulous care I give my reports, etc. still, i laughed at myself about that. ha! have a great week.
    cathyb

  9. avatar
    angie/craftyscrapr says:

    wow!…when i type “message board style” i don’t worry about my grammar & such, but i do spell check everything …i see typos all the time in our local newspaper…newspapers & magazines need to make sure all of the words are spelled correctly and the grammar is correct- that is their business!…

  10. avatar

    Hi Pam – Wow, sounds like I stepped on your last nerve, huh? Sorry, never heard of intentional typos but thanks for the education. I was just a lowly lit./creative writing major so no publishing background here. I’ll forgive the snarkiness, sweetie!

  11. avatar

    Hi Carolyn – You win! You found one of my “on purpose” typos! (Please see side note #4).

  12. avatar

    I was taught that typos happen because “type lice” sneak into the composing room late at night and move the letters around. (Okay, I’m THAT old.)

    But seriously, I feel bad for scrapbookers when their pages are published with major grammatical mistakes in their journaling. I always think, “Why didn’t the editor fix those in PhotoShop or call the designer and ask her to make a change?” It makes people look like fools. And we all know what it’s like to be proud of your efforts one moment and feel put-down the next.

  13. avatar
    Eileen says:

    I certainly don’t agree that typo’s are intentional (typo is — typo’s are.. I’m a geek too, can’t help myself). Maybe in the Wall Street Journal where you have professional typesetters —or USED to have professional typesetters…..they’d throw in a typo here and a typo there, (give me a raise or I’ll screw up your paper so bad no one will be able to read it)….I did hear that in my youth. Apparently the legend has grown with age, as has my inpatience with typos in magazines put together by laypersons who do NOT use spell check, and do NOT hire professional typesetters…or whatever they’re called these days.

    It reflects poorly on the magazine…makes them look stupid, and not overly interested in the final product they’re asking us to spend our money on.

    Right on, sistah!

  14. avatar
    Momster says:

    You know, it seems that published books are getting worse, too, when it comes to typo’s. I hate it when I”m deep into a novel, and you see an obvious grammatical error or misspelled word. Just breaks me out of the little world I was in. (Well, actually, I probably spend too much time in My Own Little World, but everyone knows me, and I’m happy there).
    I digress. . .
    this has bothered me for years. I remember when CK was virtually the only SB magazine out there, and they had a layout on the over with a misspelled word, and I was so ticked I nearly cancelled my subscription.
    I thought that was the purpose of copyreaders and editors–to proofread.

  15. avatar
    Momster says:

    Oops, should read CK “cover” and not “over”. Need to hire a proofreader, I guess. /grins

  16. avatar
    Momster says:

    Oh, and I was a Journalism major/English minor 25 years ago, and I never, ever, once heard about intentional typo’s. Guess I missed the same lesson.

  17. avatar

    It’s funny that for one who so easily spots the mistakes of others, almost every day I find myself editing my own blog posts and correcting something or other that I have typed incorrectly. I’m not a geek, (just anal), and truly not a language/grammar specialist, and I am certainly not above making mistakes. Especially in personal things like blogs or MBs, where I feel like I can let my hair down a little bit after slaving all day/night, striving for perfection in my line of work. If you read many of my posts, you probably will notice that I am sometimes punctuation-ally challenged, but it’s usually because I’m in such a hurry. (I actually purchased the English and Grammar for Dummies book to try to improve!) Also, I do know the difference between to, two, and too… but I swear, sometimes I will use the wrong one… and it irks me terribly. And spell check doesn’t catch those mistakes! Here again, though, the OP was about mistakes in published media, where there is no excuse for the errors. It is inconceivable to me that this should happen, but we’ve all seen them. I would be so embarassed if I submitted a LO with errors, and saw it in a mag! I doubt any of my work will ever be published, but even so, it embarasses me to find a typo on my blog or MB post. So please, if anyone look’s at my blog and find’s something (j/k LOL), feel free to let me know. It’s kinda like having something in my nose… I’d rather someone tell me than spare my feelings and let the whole world see! cathyb

  18. avatar

    I put the blame on too much fast food and too much multitasking. Hmm, does shabby chic fit in there somewhere too? (hey, just kidding – I like shabby) And who knows what road texting will take us down. And I do mean DOWN.

    I am haunted by a college grad who works with my bf. This 30 something gal thought ‘approximately’ meant ‘exactly’. I can only imagine she’s had a somewhat tumultuous/confusing life so far with that misconception.

    It’s all scary stuff to me…this is how wars start.

  19. avatar

    It drives me nuts as well. I can’t count how many books I’ve read lately with typos. Perhaps they should hire me to proofread, I’m available.

  20. avatar

    Grammar, spelling and punctuation errors in editorial content? UGH. Absolutely uncalled for. One mistake you can overlook, but when “find the typo” distracts you from the content, forget it.

    Do you think Simple Scrapbooks even cared at that point???

    I have absolutely NO PROB with typos, spelling, grammar errors on submitted layouts. Hey, nobody’s perfect, and the average submitter is NOT a “professional” scrapbooker or writer or editor. The every day scrapbooker’s kids aren’t the cutest, their house isn’t the cleanest in the photo backgrounds, their photography is mediocre, their handwriting isn’t always awesome. Layouts can be excellent without being perfect. I feel kind of embarrassed for submitters with really glaring errors (“champoins?” gaaaa!). But good for them for saying “what the hell” and submitting their hearts out.

  21. avatar
    scrappysuzz says:

    Eye dont minde tipe-os two munch. Its just ale thoose grammar mistooks that confoose me! :)

  22. […] usually snag her ideas and blog about them. We were messaging back and forth the other night about THIS post on typos (or typo’s, as you prefer) in scrapbooking magazines. She asked if I had seen a […]

  23. […] you may know, I have a thing about typos in scrapbook magazines and in published layouts. Well, how about typos in scrapbooking […]

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