I was recently informed about a debate going on regarding my decision not to further correct errors (such as typoes) in Fallout: Equestria. The discussion reminded me of a question that I was asked in an interview some time ago:

Is there anything about Fallout: Equestria you'd like to change?

The answer, of course, is yes. There are many things I would love to fix or change if I went back and reworked the story. I wouldn't want to change any plot points, but there are numerous typos and wrong or missing words, particularly in the first few chapters before I had my editing staff. I would replace a lot of uses of "buck". I would reaffirm Littlepip's gender in the first chapter. I would change Deadeyes' name because it is too close to Red Eye. I would seriously cut down on exclamation points in the first third of the story. I would extend the scene with the Steel Ranger vs slaver fight with the crashing Pinkie Pie balloon slightly to actually show the crash, and expand the beginning of the next scene so the transition isn't as awkward. I would make elements like the capitalization of Littlepip (as opposed to LittlePip) and the italicizing of Sky Bandit consistent. I would add in a new segment in the beginning of Chapter 4 so that the transition between chapters wasn't so abrupt, including a mention of how much time had passed and the phrase "The name of the town had apparently been a four-letter word, but the welcoming sign had been written over with so many other four-letter words that I couldn't glean the original."

But I won't make any of those changes. In fact, I won't go back and edit the story at all, nor will I allow others to do so for me. Quite a few people have asked: why?

art by Stormbadger

First, please understand that the story was edited. Admittedly, it was not edited at a professional level, but I did have a group of two semi-professional editors and one-to-four additional proofreaders (depending on chapter) who worked with me. (Granted, I did not get any of these fine people until about the sixth or seventh chapter. The early chapters were proofread only by myself. "You are your own worst proofreader," any writer will tell you. And yes, the story does suffer a little because of it.) Each chapter, they would send me their notes and corrections, I would go over them, and I would implement them as appropriate. I worked this way because I was (and still am) unwilling to had over document editing privileges to anyone else. This was my story -- every word was written by me and every edit was done by me. I felt that was integral to the integrity of the work. And this attitude is part of why I will not hand over the story and let other people edit it without my supervision and final arbitration.

Another is that even the best editors can make mistakes or may try to substitute their own judgement for the author's on matters that are subjective. Most editors have pet peeves, variances in their grammar education, or beliefs in adhering strictly to some rules that are not as hard and fast as they would treat them. The reason an author needs to know the rules of grammar isn't so he or she never breaks them, but so the author knows how to break them.

From Clay Delk (Senior Content Strategist at Volusion), Method & Message series:

The beauty of writing is that nothing is set in stone. There’s no one, true way to write anything. Every rule is fair game. But there’s one big caveat: You have to know a rule before you can break it. When you knowingly break the rules, it’s style. Breaking rules you don’t know is ignorance.

Three things prevent me from altering Fallout: Equestria.

First, any artist could spend a lifetime continuously trying to perfect a particular piece. I know that a certain self-discipline is required to avoid endless revisions, to call a work "finished" despite its remaining flaws and move on to other works. The work is finished -- I have decided to call it done and I have moved on. I am currently working on other projects, including helping design and playtest the Fallout: Equestria roleplaying game. About a month after finishing the story, I stopped editing it. And, as per the above, even allowing someone else to edit the story would mean editing it myself based on their notes and suggestions.

Second, the story is available in multiple formats from multiple sources, and there is no way I could "fix" them all. I want all new readers to experience the same work and not have to hunt down the "corrected" version.

Finally, and most importantly, Fallout: Equestria is being translated into several other languages, with several of those translations complete. I think it would do a disservice to the people working on those translations to go in and change things now. Likewise, people have already spent a significant amount of time and money on the story as it is. I have a very low opinion of anyone who would allow people to spend a hefty sum of money getting a hardbound copy of his or her fanfic only to then turn around and make a new, better edition. That is a douche move, and I will not be that person.

I know that some of those who complain about the typos and other errors are just looking for a way to attack the story, something to point at so they can deride it and the people who love it. Interesting fact: based on my research, the industry standard for professional editing of a work the size of Fallout: Equestria is approximately $16, 000. So to the whiners, I can only say: I'm sorry if you feel that are entitled to having absolute perfection in everything you are given for free, or if you believe I somehow owe you $16, 000 worth of additional work because I dared create something for you to enjoy. I'm afraid we will just have to agree to disagree. (However, if anyone felt so passionately about seeing the story professionally edited, I would be happy to allow them to pay that sum to a professional editor to have the work done. I would even graciously and generously not require they pay me for my time overseeing the work. )

However, I believe that most of the people who voice this question are people who love the story but wish I hadn't made the mistakes that I did. I understand that the enjoyment of a story is marred by stumbling over even the most occasional typo. And in a story the size of Fallout: Equestria, even if the percentage of errors is very minor, there are going to be quite a few. So to those fans, I say: First, thank you for enjoying the story. Second, I'm sorry for the errors that exist; I am only human. I did what I could while writing it to give you the best story that I could, and those who helped me poured long nights into helping. They too, however, are only human. This was a labor of love. Thank you for being able to look past the scattered imperfections.

Thank you.