Quote:
Originally Posted by tompe
I meant that the filtering process with finding a really good books which includes checking reviews, checking award nominations and listening to friends filter out a lot of books including the ones that sampling would filter out. People proposing here that sampling is useful must end up reading mediocre books mostly.
I really hope that mistakes are fixed by making a new edition. I would really hate it if I cannot know which edition I have read or if friends I discus books with have read the same edition or not.
The bad thing with self publishing is that it seems to bypass the process were an author develops and gets better.
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Some authors are lucky and get to to work with editors who do help them develop--but largely, improvements are something we have to strive for on our own. That is not to say that I am not helped by my editors. However, I am the one who went to the trouble to seek out people who were critical of my work. I looked for people who had a special talent for storyline. People who go traditional either get lucky (their editor spends time with their project) or they don't. A few agents act in the capacity of editors and make suggestions, but by and large, most don't. Developmental editing is a talent like any other and not all editors are good at it. Some don't even know what it is.
There are a number of series I can think of that are appear to be just shoved out the door with little thought for plot. The characters are well-loved and the authors are left to do the best they can.
There are a number of series where the main character is never allowed to grow (say, pick a guy and get married. Janet Evanovich I'm looking at you) because for MARKETING reasons, they want the books to continue to be churned out and keep all the fans "happy" in that the main never picks a man.
Character growth can be the choice of the author or it can be manipulated by the author or the publisher. Same with plots. I know authors who have moved to write romance because the plots are easier to write. Authors make choices like this all the time and it doesn't matter whether they are trad or not.
Growth as an author isn't black and white. You aren't automatically going to get "Developmental" editing because you go traditional. In fact, it's less likely these days than in the past. It's a dying art.
I do storyline editing on the side. There are authors who are interested in paying for it, and there are a lot of authors who are not. Most authors--trad or not, don't think they need it. We as authors ASSUME that is our strength.
But storyline/developmental editing is Not a give in the industry and is becoming more and more rare.
It's there and when you recognize it as an author, you either find a way to get it or you don't. I HOPE that the last book I put out is better than the FIRST book. That was the goal with every book. And talent plays a part. No matter how much I write, I will reach a point where I can't get better. I think it's that way in sport, business and writing. Being exposed to different genres is a learning tool. Working with different editors is a learning tool. Traditional publishing is not the only way to learn or grow.