Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
Of course it can't. But it can certainly be used (and rather quickly at that) to determine if someone can't spell or doesn't have a firm grasp of grammar or syntax. Which -- if this thread is anything to go by -- seems to be far and away the main complaint with regard to indies being declared "rubbish." Maybe I'm just missing them, but I haven't exactly seen a lot of "indies are just OK where I'm partial to extraordinary" complaints flying around (your posts not withstanding, of course).
I don't think anybody ever claimed samples could differentiate between "really good" or "just OK." Only that they could be used to quickly eliminate marginally-literate spew and/or to help someone decide whether or not they might take a chance on something when the sample didn't do anything to discourage their curiosity about a particular work.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tompe
But the point was why do you need to use that method at all if you look for really good books? To find the really good books (independent or not) you use other methods.
So it surprised me here that people thought that samples was a useful method to find books to read and my conclusion was that people that find it useful are happy with just OK books or medicore books.
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So the term "Rubbish" is just in reference to the spelling, grammar, and coherency of the book. Nothing to do with the story? Because, for me, a really good story is what I look for first. A good story can override most imperfections. (Of course if things are bad enough to effect my ability to follow the story, then I guess it would be "rubbish".)
I look to the cover, blurbs, and reader reviews for hints as to the nature of the story, not so much for some measure of the quality of the writing. If I were to have some suspicion/concern about how the author writes, I would indeed want to review a sample.
As to "OK or mediocre books"; I still get the feeling that you aren't interested in a book that is simply standard English vernacular, and must have some stilted High Prose, to make it a book you will consider reading. A good interesting story told in simple English IS fine with me.
Luck;
Ken