|
[QUOTE=Steve Jordan;316301
But the thing is, publishers already have a ratings system... it's just that it is largely hidden from the public and not centrally mediated, handled by the editors as manuscripts are submitted. They are using the publisher's profit-based submission guidelines for what to accept, advising writers on how to alter books to meet those guidelines, and assigning those books to specific labels under that publisher that specialize in a certain type of book (children's, romance, SF, horror, etc). Those labels are essentially the public "face" of the rating system... instead of "G", "PG", "R", etc, you get "Scholastic," "Baen," "Apex," "Harlequin," and you generally know based on the label what to expect.[/QUOTE]
I see that more as categorisation (and sub categorisation) than rating. Film and game ratings are about controlling what age groups can see what content. Book categorisation simply makes it easier to go into a bookshop and go to the section you're interested in. Although with some authors, like Alexander McCall Smith, it pays to check both Crime and General sections as he gets filed in both. (Crime in UK bookshops is a sub-section of fiction. True Crime is the real life stuff.).
|