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Originally Posted by Mivo
My workaround is to focus on self-publishing authors who also have, or have had, books published in the traditional way. This is working fairly well for me ("Havenstar" by Glenda Larke turned out to be excellent fantasy, to name an example). With some genres, like flash fiction, there is usually no alternative to indie/self-publishing authors anyway, as is often the case with even short stories.
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I have followed authors when they moved to self-publishing and I have enjoyed their previous books. A proven track record and good word of mouth is one of the best ways to get my moneys worth from a book.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mivo
There's the vicious circle of editors deciding what is sold, and editors buying what sells. I understand why editors do that, and I understand the desire to buy manuscripts from established authors. It's not just for the actual or supposed quality, or the writer being familiar with procedures (certainly a plus: in my job I also prefer to hire folks who have experience and I don't need to drag them through the professional basics), it's also because of customers not wanting to experiment.
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It is a gamble on unproven authors but one that needs to be done if you want to last in the business. And yes, it's hard to sell a newer author to someone who is looking for more of the same.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mivo
I do feel more comfortable buying a novel published by a "professional" publisher, but half of the novels I sample-read (iBooks lets you read the first 50-200 pages) I discard, because they don't appeal to me, so just having been edited professionally doesn't necessarily make a book enjoyable.
(Sometimes I think I should stick to old stuff from the 60s through 80s, which seems to generally appeal the most to me!)
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I like publisher's such as Baen where they make the first part of a book available to read on line. I've bought quite a few books after previewing them. However, I've also found many books that did not grab me in those first chapters so never did buy them.
The problem with most of my favourite authors from the 60 to 80's is that few of them are still alive much less writing.
Professional editing does not necessarily make a book more enjoyable but it seems to improve the chances of a good read. Do you want 99 to 1 odds or 24 to 1 odds? Still a crapshoot.
Regards,
David