From the Mail Bag

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by Barb, last post from Key West for the year. We’ve had a lovely time.

Most of the email, FaceBook messages, web contact form responses, Instagram messages, etc. that I get are absolutely lovely. Many people enjoy the Maine Clambake Mysteries. Some people wonder what happened to Jane Darrowfield. Others send corrections, note typos, and so on.

Then there are some like this one.

I have just finished “Hopped Along” and enjoyed it. I am a 71 year man who grew up reading lots of children’s book. I even took a College course in Children’s Lit. Your story had Major Error which was confusing. I’m surprised it was published. Your friends and editors don’t do you favors by allowing your Mistake!!! The old man in the Top Hat was like “Uncle Wiggily” by Howard R. Garis; Not Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. You need to make a Public Apology in your talks, newsletters, and website.

First Draft of Response

Dear Xxxx-

I am a 71-year-old woman who is Tired of Being Corrected by Old Men, particularly for sins I have not committed. Though your college professor from 50 years ago would be proud of your recall, your first grade teacher from 65 years ago must be weeping in the Great Beyond at your inability to read. I Never Wrote Anywhere that the old man in the top hat was Peter Rabbit. Julia’s nephew calls him the Easter Bunny. The Tale of Peter Rabbit is indeed a clue in the story but an entirely separate clue. I therefore Decline to Apologize on my website, newsletter or talks.

Yours Very Sincerely, etc., etc.

Too much?

Actual Response

Thanks so much for writing! I’m so glad you enjoyed “Hopped Along.”

Happy reading–

Seriously, don’t rush to reassure me. I’m not upset. I find these things funny. It’s not unusual for people to read things in the books and novellas that aren’t there. OR to say things that have actually happened to me are impossible and could never happen. OR to say people in Maine would never, ever say something I have heard people say many times. And (spoiler) when Julia broke up with Chris…Oy! I still get mail about that.

In reality, I’m glad people are moved enough and care enough to write. Even Mr. Uncle Wiggily above. And the truth is I am glad to have the mystery solved of who was the bunny in the top hat because I googled like mad many times and never found him.

And, as I said above, most of the mail I get is absolutely lovely. In fact, I got a beautiful email this week about the book coming in April that makes up for this one times 100.

Readers: Do you write to authors? Do you send corrections or is it fan mail or both? Writers: What is the most “interesting” piece of mail you’ve received?

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Published by Barbara Ross

Barbara Ross is the author of twelve Maine Clambake Mystery novels and six novellas. Her books have been nominated for multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and have won the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Portland, Maine. Readers can visit her website at www.maineclambakemysteries.com

48 Thoughts

  1. Barbara, first safe journey north. Key West will miss you. Second, the furious envelope has brought a smile to start my week. Thank you.

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  2. I love that “fan” letter! And your unsent response even more.

    I ask my fans to let me know if they catch typos in my books, because I know my editor will fix them in the ebook and the next printing. A few do. I’ve also gotten some letters that moved me to tears about, for example, how my book kept them company when their mother was having surgery or when the reader was in the hospital for a week.

    My doozy wasn’t a letter but a one-star review, about a Country Store mystery where two women, very minor characters in the story, come into the restaurant with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate being able to legally wed. The reader wrote, “If I’d known you were going to promote the homosexual agenda, I never would have bought your book.” Well, all righty then! I didn’t not reply.

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  3. Part of me really wishes you’d sent the first response, but I totally understand why you didn’t. I’ve written a few snarky responses myself, only to delete and use the short “thanks for reading” option instead.

    I’ve had a few (VERY few, thank goodness) folks “inform” me about something I got “wrong.” Sometimes I did make a mistake because I failed to look up a minor point. I already research
    for hours and hours to get ONE sentence right. If we research EVERY LITTLE THING, we’d never get the book written! Sometimes it was an intentional fudge to make the plot work. It is fiction, after all.

    Safe travels, Barbara!

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    1. Yes, the intentional fudge. As a good friend and editor from my writers group used to say, “If you’re going to tell a lie, tell it fast and don’t fool around with too much justification or explanation.” I have found that to be true.

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  4. I definitely write authors after reading their book. There have been a few times when I had conversations with the author while I was reading the book. I don’t send correction email unless it was blatant and took me out of reading.

    pps…I love your original response.

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  5. I’ve written a few thank yous to authors in the past.

    A couple of times I’ve written to authors when I’ve noticed ACTUAL mistakes. (After all, Maine is not on the Pacific Ocean).

    But I’ve always been polite about it, not a jackass.

    Of course, being able to write authors in any way or fashion has been made easy (perhaps too easy in some cases) due to the advent of social media and the need for authors to be active for marketing purposes.

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  6. While I know we all make mistakes, I don’t go into a book looking for them. I’m all for enjoying the author’s hard work to deliver us a book that keeps us turning pages. As for the letter written to you, I think he might have done well to do as you did – stop, think and release any negative feelings. I admire you for your restraint in your return letter. It must have been fun to write the first one and then laugh at the fact that someone would get upset enough to write you over such a minor thing – after all it’s a story not a description of actual facts. I have found that as a general rule most authors go to great lengths to research in order to make things accurate even though it is fiction. Although I’ve never written a letter, I do text or post on line often to praise an author on their book or to spread the word about a book in hope that others will give it a try in order to enjoy it just as much as I did.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    1. I do a lot of research. Over the years, I’ve found the mistakes I have made (as opposed to the ones that readers like this one imagined) are for things so mundane I assume I know them and don’t do any research or think much about what I’m writing. They are always irrelevant to the plot and characters, but I can see how they would be very annoying.

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  7. Oh for heaven’s sake. Yeah, I understand the snarky one, but better to send the generic.

    I don’t email authors – mostly because I often get to see them in person and gush then. I certainly don’t tell them “There’s a typo on page 127 in the third paragraph” or “You used affect instead of effect in Chapter 3.”

    I haven’t gotten a lot of fan mail, but most of what I do get is lovely and complimentary. Now watch. I’ll get an email about a mistake I made three books ago in 3…2…1…

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  8. Demanding a public apology, wow! I once had a reader give me a list of typos she found in one of my books. She loved the story and wanted me to have the list in case I had a chance to make the fixes sometimes down the line. I thought it was a very kind gesture.

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  9. What a fun post, Barb! I am wishing you safe travels on your way back north! As to your question, I had a similar experience to Edith’s where someone left an angry review because I created a positively protrayed immigrant family in my first novel. It startled me mostly because I was at the time, and still am, married to an immigrant.

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  10. For every “odd” email, I hope and bet that you get a hundred complimentary ones! I, for one, enjoy your books. I miss Jane Darrowfield. I also wish there could have been more about Chief Ruth Murphy. Unless someone makes a big honking mistake that ruins the story for me, I rarely pay attention to anything that could be considered an error. Keep the books coming!

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  11. I notice mistakes – I don’t usually write to the author as I assume it was the editor or proofreader that didn’t catch it. I just enjoy the book!

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    2. Same! 🙂 I read a lot of ARCs so I know the errors will be caught before publishing and if they aren’t, it’s ok too. aprilbluetx at yahoo dot com

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  12. I don’t know, I kinda wished you HAD sent the first response. Of course, I completely understand why you didn’t.

    I have a scene in Death by Blue Water where Hayden’s first stage (the part of the regulator that regulates the air leaving the tank) failed at 120 feet. She removes her tank and breathes by opening and closing the valve and breathing in the airflow from the tank. I received a vehement email from a gentleman who assured me this was impossible. He knew because he was a scuba diver with five years experience. He was adamant that I remove the scene to save lives. Er…It was my first stage that failed at 120 feet. I lived to write about it because it is possible to breathe off the bottle. When I certified in 1971 they taught survival skills. Breathing off the bottle was one of those skills. I thanked him for his interest in the Hayden Kent books and wished him many safe and fun dives. What else could I do? I admit I was a bit chuffed that he had read the book and taken the time to write. That shows a serious level of involvement.

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  13. I enjoyed reading all the responses from authors that I read. I don’t write to authors, although maybe I should let them know when their book really moves me.

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  16. As you and the other Wickeds know, I do write to authors. I have never pointed out any errors. I’ve only once found an error that ruined a book for me. The solution was definitely impossible. It was something I knew from personal experience and it is a well-known fact. I didn’t bother the author. Not worth my time. I let authors know how much enjoyment they add to my life.

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    1. You were probably right not to write to the author about the error. Once the book is published it’s impossible to fix something as big as the solution. There is one book I read where the entire plot hinged on ignorance of a well-established and understood law. I had to finish the book because I was reading it for a class but I hated every page.

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  17. I don’t send emails about mistakes in books. I figure they’ve probably heard about them a million times already and/or I don’t stop reading to take note of them.

    But I do write to authors sometimes when I finish a book. I usually just let my review do the talking.

    However, if the mistakes a rather large (and not in an ARC), I will mention that in my review. Especially if its a timeline error. Like the book I finished yesterday where the author seemed to have forgotten all about an entire day she’d put in the story.

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  19. I occasionally email an author if I have something complimentary to say or a similar experience to share. I love your first answer but think you said the right thing in the answer you sent him.

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  20. First of all, I love all your books & have enjoyed the Maine Clambake Series immensely! Secondly, we are all lucky to have so many writers “writing” books that will provide an escape from this crazy world (& some of the people in it) & Finally, know that you are doing your best & that is all that really counts!
    Ev Bedard, NY

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  21. I have written to authors, mostly because I like what they wrote. I’ve often wondered how writers would feel about my pointing out a typo or what I think is an error. I don’t always read books as soon as they appear, so is it really helpful to point out an error when it’s too late to fix it?

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    1. Mostly it’s too late to fix it, though as Edith points out above if it’s something small it can be fixed in the ebook and any subsequent printings.

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  25. I know that I am one that didn’t like Julia and Chris breaking up and may have told you. You write good characters that we get involved with. Into every life, a little rain must fall, so I understand that the book would be too blah if every romance went well. Having been an English teacher, I do notice errors, but I don’t comment to authors. I just enjoy the book. I also figure that it is the proofreader’s fault. It all goes back to being too close to the subject. I used to type things up to give out ot my class and just as I printed it, I would find an error. You look at it so m any times that you miss the little things. I am late reading this but am glad that I read it. Your comment was fun as were all of the comments to your comment. Keep up the good work.

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