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Originally Posted by jaxx6166
Looks like there are some others who feel strongly that self published authors should at least polish their works.
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I don't mind if they don't polish their works... I just want to know what I'm getting into. I'd be more dismayed by an excellent description written by a friend who does professional book editing attached to a book that obviously hadn't even been spellchecked, than the current mix of bad descriptions, awful cover art, and equally poor writing.
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Originally Posted by banjobama
Maybe we should start a blog for reviews.
I have my own, but it would be nice to have one that many people had posting privileges at so it would stay fresh. Would anyone be interested in doing this?
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Sounds like fun. Could be done here in the recs folder with some tags, or at a separate blog. (I like here for purely selfish reasons--my job blocks access to most blog sites.)
I wouldn't want to limit reviews to "books by authors who self-promote at MR;" I'd like to be able to hype the gems I've found through other methods, and warn people about the dreck.
And as much as I'd be concerned about hurting authors' feelings--reviews are for readers. They're supposed to let other people know if they'd like to read the book. How well- or poorly-written the book is isn't the point of a review, and authors & reviewers alike should treat that as just one aspect of the book. A person who's obsessed with space alien-vampire BDSM love stories may not care about atrocious grammar; the genre's so tiny they may love to find *anything* in it. A civil war recreationist may like historical fiction set in 1860--but only if the details are correct; excellent storytelling skills may take second place to accuracy. And so on.
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If we had 10 or more people contributing, each person would not have to do much at all. Each reviewer could maybe choose a favorite genre
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Ooh, I like that! With maybe some space for crossover; while most of my reading runs through a few genres, I wouldn't want to be shut out of reviewing the odd book that fell outside of them, especially if it's by an author I know from other books.
Maybe themed days of the week? Sunday science fiction; Monday mysteries; Tuesday (torrid) romances; Wednesday wild card...