MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - In the E-Reader Era, a Book a Year Is Slacking

ProfCrash · 05-28-2012, 10:26 AM

What is good and what is lacking is always subjective. There are plenty of books that are deemed classics that I find to be boring or just plain bad.

I tend to find with series, no matter how quickly they are written, that the first two or three books will be good and then the quality lips. I found that with every series written by Orson Scott Card and Asimov. Jim butcher, in my opinion has done better. His Codex Alera was solid. If anything, the first book was the weakest. Dresden kept me entertained for the first 10 books and I read the others hoping that he would change his mind and wrap things up early. I won't be buying the new book. I would not have finished Wheel of Time if I had started it when it first came out. Starting it three years ago let me read at a reasonable rate, even the middle books which were repetitive.

I guess the book a year does not bother me dependent on the authors ability to actually achieve that goal. I enjoy series but don't like authors who do not stick to schedules. Set one that makes sense for your pace and style and be honest about it.

But just because I think Dresden should have ended three books ago does not mean that I am right because I am an all knowing whatever. It means Butcher has not developed the story in a way that makes me want to continue. I read the entire Foundation series and enjoyed it greatly. I think Asimov could have ended it sooner, the last books did not match the quality of the first books but I still enjoyed them.

To return to topic, I don't think an established author has to publish a book a year in the e- book era. I do think that an independent author trying to make money probably needs to publish more frequently in order to keep the attention of the folks who have read what they have published. I think that is because their audience is smaller and they don't have the marketing machine behind them reminding folks that there is a new book out there.

05-28-2012, 10:26 AM	#98
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	What is good and what is lacking is always subjective. There are plenty of books that are deemed classics that I find to be boring or just plain bad. I tend to find with series, no matter how quickly they are written, that the first two or three books will be good and then the quality lips. I found that with every series written by Orson Scott Card and Asimov. Jim butcher, in my opinion has done better. His Codex Alera was solid. If anything, the first book was the weakest. Dresden kept me entertained for the first 10 books and I read the others hoping that he would change his mind and wrap things up early. I won't be buying the new book. I would not have finished Wheel of Time if I had started it when it first came out. Starting it three years ago let me read at a reasonable rate, even the middle books which were repetitive. I guess the book a year does not bother me dependent on the authors ability to actually achieve that goal. I enjoy series but don't like authors who do not stick to schedules. Set one that makes sense for your pace and style and be honest about it. But just because I think Dresden should have ended three books ago does not mean that I am right because I am an all knowing whatever. It means Butcher has not developed the story in a way that makes me want to continue. I read the entire Foundation series and enjoyed it greatly. I think Asimov could have ended it sooner, the last books did not match the quality of the first books but I still enjoyed them. To return to topic, I don't think an established author has to publish a book a year in the e- book era. I do think that an independent author trying to make money probably needs to publish more frequently in order to keep the attention of the folks who have read what they have published. I think that is because their audience is smaller and they don't have the marketing machine behind them reminding folks that there is a new book out there.