Hyphen question
Posted: 05 Nov 2024, 12:53
Are hyphens considered objective or subjective errors? Or are they uncounted errors? Or are they considered "style", and not errors at all? The reason I ask is because I am reviewing a book that, aside from its lack of hyphenation, has very few errors. I would rate it a 5 out of 5, but if I have to count all the hyphen errors, I would be forced to rate it a 4 out of 5. And that would be a shame because it's a pretty good book. Here are some examples of what seem to me to be hyphen errors (because they are not hyphenated):
He was a good natured guy.
He was a larger than life character.
She was a light skinned woman.
She lives in a world famous building.
Her sweat soaked shirt confirmed she was hot.
And on and on. There are at least a hundred of these types of (possible?) errors in the book because the author is a very descriptive writer. So, before I get dinged by an editor for counting these as objective errors when the editor thinks they should be subjective or uncounted, should I list these as errors and reduce my rating? Or do I list them as uncounted errors and give the book a 5 out of 5? What do editors think about hyphens?
He was a good natured guy.
He was a larger than life character.
She was a light skinned woman.
She lives in a world famous building.
Her sweat soaked shirt confirmed she was hot.
And on and on. There are at least a hundred of these types of (possible?) errors in the book because the author is a very descriptive writer. So, before I get dinged by an editor for counting these as objective errors when the editor thinks they should be subjective or uncounted, should I list these as errors and reduce my rating? Or do I list them as uncounted errors and give the book a 5 out of 5? What do editors think about hyphens?