I just found a typo in a piece of one-hundred and twenty words written seven years ago and extended by no less than four addenda. I read the piece at least five times, that is. The typo was obvious enough, and it appeared in the very first sentence. Instead of “no” I wrote “mo,” for crying out loud. How could I possibly miss it over so many years? Well, I was lucky to discover it today, and quite by chance, but I wonder about all the other typos that lurk in my magnum opus. With close to fifteen-thousand pieces extended by some two-thousand five-hundred addenda, there must be thousands of them. Thousands! It must be a typo heaven, no less. I shudder. I would need an army of copy editors, each of whom would have to be an expert of the trade, to clear up the mess. I shudder, again. The best I can come up with right now is to promise myself to read my own writings a bit more often. As well as to keep my eyes wide open for damned typos.

Addendum I (September 18, 2016)

Now that I spend much of my time reading my own magnum opus and writing addenda, I come upon typos on a daily basis. To my surprise, I am surprised ever anew. For instance, I just found a piece of writing from nearly two decades ago in which “it” was spelled as “iot.” Ouch! How could I possibly miss it over so many years? Still, the number of typos is on the way down. After so many earnest corrections, I feel that their number may well be dwindling into insignificance. Besides, I write ever less, thus offering fewer opportunities to typos. Fingers crossed.

Addendum II (November 1, 2017)

As of late, I have dedicated myself to copyediting my magnum opus. It is time to round off the most important project in my life, I reckon. In the process, I am doing my best to leave my Residua in the best shape possible. Although typos are an important part of my present concerns, there are many other issues I am dealing with. American versus British spelling is among them. And so are Croatian diacritical marks, which I used to eschew in the past. On top of everything, I am looking for awkward expressions of all descriptions. According to my present plans, copyediting is likely to take me another three or four months. Be that as it may, the chore gives me enormous pleasure at this stage of my life. The typo heaven will be history soon enough!