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Reader comment on:
Why Publishers Don't Fact-Check Memoirs
in response to reader comment: Why Publishers Don't Fact-check Memoirs

Submitted by Mona, Mar 6, 2008 10:38

As a former fact checker, I can say that it's rare for a reputable publication to pay $10 an hour. $25 or $30 is more like it. Anybody who's asked to work for $10 an hour should "just say no," to quote Nancy Reagan.

But your point is well-taken. Publishers could certainly afford to do some basic checking. Given the possible consequences of not checking, how can they afford not to?


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Other reader comments on this article

Comment By Date

More necessary than fact checkers are editors with some smarts. One has to ponder how this absurd story got past... [MORE]

Mona 

Mar 6, 2008 11:43

The most unfortunate part of this situation, in my opinion, is that these recent incidents only further undermine the trust... [MORE]

mike 

Mar 5, 2008 17:34

I fail to be astonished with stories like these anymore. Apparently it's easier to lie about things that never happened then... [MORE]

Adaora 

Mar 5, 2008 14:12

Since the concept of "it takes a village to raise a child" has been the heart of tribal culture (and... [MORE]

Kit Prate 

Mar 5, 2008 13:18

You don't have to fact-check to the extent of The New Yorker to find out if a memoir is completely... [MORE]

Tim Jackson 

Mar 5, 2008 10:36

Oh, come on! They pay factcheckers with graduate degrees ten dollars an hour. At that rate how long much would... [MORE]

Nancy Seitz 

Mar 5, 2008 10:12

As a former fact checker, I can say that it's rare for a reputable publication to pay $10 an hour....

Mona 

Mar 6, 2008 10:38

Every publisher's contract includes a 'liability clause' in which the author takes responsibility for what is on the page. And... [MORE]

Litwit 

Mar 6, 2008 18:43

I found this quote very interesting: Most books are already commercial failures, failing to earn back what you pay to acquire,... [MORE]

Kit Prate 

Mar 7, 2008 19:21

People have such weird ideas about how publishing works. The many books that don't work commercially, are supported by those... [MORE]

Litwit 

Mar 8, 2008 09:29

Thanks for the enlightenment. However, the foreign publishing thing? It happened to me; twice. The first time the issue was... [MORE]

Kit Prate 

Mar 9, 2008 18:29

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