Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
For me personally, the traditional publisher's role of "gatekeeper" is something that's worth paying for. Others may of course feel differently, and that's fine. I, for example, buy Baen's monthly ebook bundle every month. Often it contains authors I've never heard of, but experience has taught me that whatever Baen publish I'm likely to enjoy.
Obviously there are other ways of finding new authors, but that's one that works for me, and which I'm happy to pay the asking price for.
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What's funny about this is that I thought Baen
was an independent publisher. Their prices seem to more closely match independent publisher prices (on average $7, it appears) and many of their book covers seem kind of amateurish. And the one I've tried (it was free) seemed poorly typeset and the author seems too "on the nose" through the first couple chapters I've read. But I may have just gotten a "bad apple." Or maybe if I force myself to keep reading it will get better. I've had the book for a few years now.
Meanwhile, last month Amazon let you download all their "First Reads" books. I didn't know any of the authors. I downloaded five of them and (so far) have read three, and all three were pretty good. (I guess Amazon could also be considered a "gatekeeper?")