Originally Posted by plumboz
And of course I agree that it is all consumer based, as it should be. Every person makes their purchasing (and time allocation) decisions based on criteria that make sense to the individual. You choose not to even consider self published work.
However, personal status as self published author aside, may I point out that simply dismissing all self published work as unworthy of consideration is exactly like saying any musician or group that hasn't got a current recording contract must lack musical chops, taste, stage presence, whatever. And that just isn't the case. Ever seen a bar band that could rock the house all night? Or a jazz pianist with a distinctive style and amazing range? Or a guy playing fingerstyle guitar to an appreciative and discerning crowd in Central Park like my family and I did last summer? Sure, there were kazoo players of maximum volume and minimal appeal just around a tree-lined corner, but the people found the guy ripping up the fretboard on his battered Guild. I doubt if he had a recording contract at the time. Just a guitar case that was slowly filling with dollar bills. And a plastic bin that was already sold of his days allotment of CD's. I still feel badly that I didn't ask his name so I could Google him and see how I could buy his music once I got home to AZ.
It is inescapably true that much of what is self published is of poor quality. It is also true that "traditional" publishing offers up a lot of dreck. Nicely packaged, occasionally well edited dreck, but dreck nonetheless. Just like a lot of the big music companies.
Changes are happening, that too is undeniable, and change always means things are bound to be messy for a while. But ultimately what we have here, in both music and writing, is the opportunity for the artist to connect directly with the consumer. No committees of skittish marketing experts fresh from their latest fifty lashes because of a big advance that didn't pay off making their timid decisions based almost entirely on "could this endanger my bonus?" can keep a book from seeing the light of day. And once it's out there, if there is an audience, and that audience has an opportunity to hear about that book, then they make the decision regarding its worth.
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