It's rarely easy admitting a mistake, let alone several, but that's just what I'm doing. From misspelled words to missing words, here's a list of my known errors in my first published book, Positivity Camp.

Where can I get a copy of the book?

Ah, eager to see the errors for yourself? Copies are available through my website here. Oh, and if you're looking to get a feel for the book before you buy, the first five chapters are available on my blog. Here's the first chapter. And if you're really after a free version, check out the Allen County Public Library. "Positivity Camp" by Sarah Maree can be found there, for free.

I love my local library. Can you tell? Don't be surprised if this local author finds her way into local bookstores around town as well. Now that the pandemic is on the decline, I'm excited to get back out there and do some self-promoting! Well, we'll see how far I get with that before I remember I'm an introvert.

Why Tell Your Readers You Messed Up?

I know, it seems pretty weird to point out mistakes, particularly when they may have gone unnoticed. I might not have said anything at all, except there was one error I simply could not ignore.

In the printed version of the book (I'm focusing on that one since I can give a page number that may not be consistent with online versions), in chapter 30 on page 117 and paragraph 7 (it's the second to last paragraph in the chapter), there is an incomplete sentence at the start of the paragraph. 

Curious to know what it said? Here you go!

Error Sentence

hused grumbles and a few downright gleeful shouts, probably some pyros.

Correct Sentence

At the impostor’s announcement, there were some half-enthused grumbles and a few downright gleeful shouts, probably some pyros.

Spelling Mistakes Make Sense, But How Did This Error Slip Through Editing?

Technically, this error did NOT slip through editing. In fact, this error occurred during the formatting process, the part where I have to take a regular document and smush it into the proper print format so a printing press can handle it AND/OR so an eBook doesn't come out all janky.

Anyway, I had to remove that indent space in front of paragraphs in order to do a consistent spacing amount. Because of that, I can only speculate that I selected part of the paragraph and deleted it right along with the indent. Either that, or something even weirder happened.

I have since changed how I write my initial drafts, that way there will be fewer - I hope! - issues when it comes to formatting for going to print and/or eBook later on.

Since I had already gone over the book, painstakingly, I might add, prior to formatting, I didn't think it necessary to go line by line to check for any issues. I was wrong. I did, however, make sure to check the formatting for obvious issues. The original had some big ones, including extra blank pages, titles being different font styles or sizes, page numbers being non-existent or incorrect, and giant gaps between some paragraphs; just to name a few. None of those made it to print, and you can bet I'll be checking future books for those issues as well.

What about those other errors you mentioned?

Sadly, there were several spelling errors. The chart below shows the chapter, paragraph number in that chapter, spelling mistake, and the correction. Hey, I'm not perfect. And I have some pretty awesome fans who have helped point the errors out to me. You better believe that if I ever do a reprint, those errors are getting taken care of!

The Takeaway

You can better believe I'll be editing my next manuscript all the way up until it's in print! Of course, I'll always welcome feedback for improving too.

If you happen to know of any errors I missed, feel free to reach out in the comments below!

May your adventures be many and your inspiration be endless!