Quote:
Originally Posted by neilmarr
Classics, promo, ARCs and special gifts apart, I would never so much as glance at a free or $1.99 book. Their quality I have found in the past is similar to that found by the dozen in my daily and dreary slushpile of sub-standard submissions. Certainly, I will only risk my precious recreational time on something with a price tag that suggests serious editorial input and professional publishing. Sure, that's no guarantee of of a great read, but at least it lowers the odds against tripe. Sorry to sound so grumpy. Neil
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Sadly, that is the attitude that the unpublished author needs to work against, and not just for readers. There is a general assumption (sadly, there's quite a bit of truth to it) that the work is of a lesser quality.
If you've gotten to the point where you feel as though you've exhausted your search for an agent/publisher, it can't hurt to try something like Smashwords or Feedbooks. However, do some extensive self-editing first. The best way to convince people that you're worth reading is to produce something that's worth reading.
Even some of the more popular self-published works have had comments of, "It has the usual problem of self-published works with numerous typo's and poor editing." If the language is mistake-riddled, confusing, or anything else, it will affirm in most people's minds that it isn't worth checking out.
The best way to combat that is to try and make it as crisp and clean as possible.