Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
I find it amusing when people gnash their teeth over the "sheer amount of drivel" out there when it comes to self-published authors. As if there is no hope at all to find their way through to some gems. As if they have to navigate it at all.
Unless you're in the habit of blindly grabbing traditionally published books/authors on a whim, navigating the slushpile of indies is no different than how people have always populated their TBR lists: word of mouth, recommendations from friends/associates, online reviews/blogs, online reading communities, etc. And now sample chapters. Cream still rises. It's not like you're stranded in a jungle of books with no options other than "poke and hope" (any more than you've ever been, anyway).
And if you are in the habit of buying traditionally published books at complete and utter random... well then you're no stranger to the occasional piece of garbage anyway.
The idea that there's an endless morrass of indie books with absolutely no means of separating the wheat from the chaff is quite tired, and needs to be put to rest.
And hey... if you don't feel you should have to do even the slightest bit of research before trying an unknown author, then you still likely have enough traditionally vetted material to last you a lifetime anyway.
If it's "bad writing," it'll show up in the sample.
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"Teeth gnasher" here. Your point is valid...but only to a certain degree. Of course there are ways to get a line on a book you may enjoy, and then to check out the sample to make certain. I am of course well versed in how to use the internet, friends and others to get recommendations. As are, I'm guessing, most participants in this forum.
But, yes, there is
absolutely an "endless morass [sic]" of self published books that have no business being published, self or otherwise. Throw paid reviews, and other ways authors and their cronies game the system into the mix, and the self-published world really does seem impenetrable, and I concluded after dipping my toes in at smashwords and elsewhere, simply not worth my time. It would help if there was some sort of minimum standard, but there isn't and even if there was, who gets to decide?
"To each his or her own" is the applicable cliche here. We all have our own criteria for what is entertaining and worthwhile, and what is garbage. I would classify myself as having middlebrow tastes. I happen to think Stephanie Meyer and James Joyce are equally horrible as writers. And if you put a gun to my head, I'd chose "Twilight" over "Ulysses" any day.