Quote:
Originally Posted by Toxaris
It was not directed at you.
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Actually, in this particular thread, I'm pretty sure Toxie didn't direct it at anyone in particular, but it is a recurring issue.
As near as I can tell, the ratio of DIY'ers-advanced Ammies (Amateurs) to service providers runs
at least 10-1, if not
far, far higher in favor of non-professionals or what I would call, "limited professionals" or high-end hobbyists. For example, as far as I know, Jellby is an incredibly talented hobbyist, and his work is second to none, but I don't believe he's paid for it. (If I'm wrong, mea culpa, but I intended that as a compliment). Toxaris is not a professional ebook-maker; he's an incredibly great guy, hobbyist, etc., and has a fabulous set of tools. Diap rocks. Even our resident curmudgeon (even more curmudgeonly than I!), Wolfie, is an amateur. Turtle straddles the borders, with one foot moving ever-precariously-closer to pro. Our Ducky is a professional cat slave, however. User_none can be called a professional programmer, but I don't think he'd enjoy being a professional book_maker. Ditto meme and some of the other maintainers, but I don't pretend to speak for them. (When I say, "amateur" versus "hobbyist" versus "professional," I am speaking solely in terms of payment for services rendered on a regular basis, not skill levels.) Certainly here in the Sigil forum, workshop, etc. The Calibre forum has a boatload of widely different user experiences.
I think you'll find that
most pros don't come here, and don't provide unpaid advice to either hobbyists, ammies, DIY'ers, or folks who might be coming up and could end up being competition. That's my observation with regard to those who are here, versus those who are not. Most of the people who own the firms that mine compete with are not here. The same is true at the Kindle forums. When you think about it, forums aimed at amateur and hobbyist bookmakers are not great places to drum up business, so, to "hang out" here, you have to
like the people; by definition, conversion houses aren't finding customers here. {shrug} Those guys are off drumming up business on author's forums and the like. It's smart business. Hanging here is
strictly for fun, I'm quite sure, for anyone who does this for a living.
Hitch