Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
Lemurion, so is your problem is with his phrase "stellar manuscript"?
I guess there is an implicit statement in there that a "stellar manuscript" is one that eventually sells in big numbers, and this may not fit everyone's view of what a "stellar manuscript" is. But if you accept that implicit definition then chopping the top off the sales pyramid is a way to find them (after the fact, rather than trying to guess if they're stellar before they're published) and so his conclusion is correct - if your manuscript turns out to be stellar (one that sells very well) then it may be better off self-published.
The problem with any other definition of "stellar manuscript" (other than one that sells very well) is that no one can agree on what it is. At least sales figures represent a definite measure, even if many people will still say that some books don't deserve to sell that well.
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But that's not his meaning. He's defining a "stellar manuscript" as one that's very good. Sure he's saying that stellar manuscripts sell very well, although there's plenty of evidence that best-sellers are not necessarily stellar manuscripts, but rather the right book at the right time.
No my problem is simple.
His data doesn't support his conclusions.
It's a bad study because the numbers say one thing and the words say something else. In a good study, everything the words say is backed up by the numbers.
I happen to think that self-publishing is very good for a great many writers for a number of reasons. However, I also think those writers deserve intellectual honesty on the part of the studies that investigate it.
This is a bad study, regardless of whether you agree with his stance or not.