Where do you draw the line?

Writing (Photo credit: jjpacres)

So you’ve spent countless hours learning how to write a rockin query letter and a slammin synopsis.  You think you finally nailed it.  And then, after a rewrite and two edits later, you are certain it is ready.  Until you hit the dreaded SUBMIT button.

That’s me.  I submitted my first manuscript to a publisher and guess what?  I found an error in my query letter.  The lonely letter “a” landed where it didn’t belong and survived my multiple edits.

How did I even discover this dreaded error, you ask?  After I hit the send button, I thought it would be smart to keep a hardcopy of the letter.  I would typically opt out of harming the environment, but thought maybe this one time it was warranted.  The second I printed the letter the typo stood out to me like a throbbing sore thumb.  There it was.  Right on the first line.  Yes, I know, it doesn’t get much worse than that.  I think it’s going to bother me for the rest of my writing career.

English: A stack of copy paper. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t know about you, but I’m obsessed with perfection.  I know self-editing is not the best resource known to authors but, working on a limited budget, editorial services seem to slip down the list of importance.  I hope the publisher can see past a random typo and move on to the bigger picture.  The story.  The characters.  The atmosphere.

Where do you stand when it comes to one lonely typo?  What about two?  Where do you draw the line?