For those of you who don’t know, I am a writer, but I am also an editor and proofreader. I make the majority of my living on proofreading and copyediting books for major publishers on a freelance basis. This leaves me with many #writereditorproblems. Case in point: I just finished proofreading a novel that I found utterly repugnant, and I need to relieve some pressure. Actually, I already did, over on Twitter (@misslagsalot). Now that I’m done with it I wish I’d live-tweeted my growing frustration with this book because I’m sure I’ve forgotten some grievances, but…
I’m almost finished proofreading this racist, sexist, violence-glorifying, bullshit military novel for pay and I feel like I lost my soul.
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 3, 2016
This author belittled women, Arabs, Mexicans, Native Americans, & homosexuals, & glorify Christianity. IN 1 BOOK. It’s like a Trump rally.
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 3, 2016
The grammar, punctuation, and general grasp of plural vs. singular were about on par with a Trump rally, too. #proofreaderproblems
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 3, 2016
OH AND DID I MENTION IT WAS 464 PAGES LONG? Why are blowhards so goddamn longwinded?
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 3, 2016
Oh also there’s basically a scene where a guy gets away with a crime because he’s a football star. #flashesofsteubenville #fml
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 3, 2016
At one point a woman in the book–a main character–said that she “ought to be” flattered by men hitting on her. OUGHT TO BE.
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 3, 2016
At another point it was made clear that a character loved his best friend EVEN THOUGH he was gay. Cause what a failure, amirite? GODDAMMIT.
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 3, 2016
Oh and BTW I don’t mean just glorifying Christianity. I mean doing so in such a way as to make it clear that it is the ONLY true religion.
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 3, 2016
Oh did I mention the author also equated Islam to LITERAL SATAN WORSHIP. I cannot.
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 4, 2016
The author also feels the need to point out when any character is either female or black. I just. Argh.
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 4, 2016
Proofread finished. I need a drink. FFS.
— Lynsey G (@MissLagsalot) August 4, 2016
The real tragedy here, however, is that I can’t actually have a drink yet because now that I’ve finished the proofread, I have to go back through the entire 464-page manuscript and check all of my work. For like two hours. So I’ll be doing that for the evening. Goddammit.
But hey, let’s not focus on the bad! Let’s focus on the cool, like Jon Pressick’s latest links roundup, featuring my story at MEL about PayPal and Patreon teaming up, and lots of other sex-positive goodies for your enjoyment. Hooray! And also like the fact that I went to a brothel museum last week, and as soon as I’m done with this boorish proofread project, I will write about it so you can enjoy it, too!
Oh PS, for non-sexist, non-racist, non-homophobic, non-religious-elitist reading material, you can jaunt on over to my publishing company’s Patreon and subscribe to help us produce progressive, feminist, inclusive, diverse, and beautiful art books of all kinds in exchange for my undying gratitude and cool rewards! I highly recommend it!