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Originally Posted by Hitech_luddite
However reading ebook reviews of other people's work, both here and at other sites, I cannot help but feel the fundamental compact between writer and reader is breaking down. Writers are being judged not on the book they have written but on the book the reader wanted them to write.
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I agree with the others here. I think you're just seeing the impact that the internet can have on an author. Instead of dealing with one bad review from a book reviewer in a newspaper, now anyone can voice their opinions.
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Originally Posted by Hitech_luddite
There are people here that have said they will not download any Christian fiction. […] In another thread here a writer was criticized for his use of religious swearing. I haven't yet read his book but I have little doubt he chose the vocabulary that he thought his characters would use.
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I think the "no Christian fiction" thing is backlash from some of the forums being filled with free/cheap fiction in that category. It could also be that certain people have had bad experiences with that type of book (ie – bad formatting, bad writing, bad plotting, whatever). By way of example, I won't read anything that is self-published unless I hear good things word-of-mouth or through reviews because I've been burnt too many times. Since anyone can epublish it really increases the amount of dreck out there that I have to wade through to find the gems. I'm simply not willing to waste my time going through it all when there are over 150 book on my tbr list that I know I want to read and stand a good chance of liking.
As for the swearing thing, again I think it's the impact of the internet reviewing process. Anyone can loudly voice their opinion, but it's not necessarily the opinion of the masses. It's just one person being very vocal about their morals. (And is that really anything new? Think back to the "wardrobe malfunction" that happened that one Superbowl.)
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Originally Posted by Hitech_luddite
Is the craft of a writer to hold a mirror up to reality or offer an idealized version of it which has been shaped for the individual prejudices of the reader?
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The writer needs to write as he or she feels is best. Some writers challenge us and our perceptions, others are great for an afternoon escape.
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Originally Posted by Hitech_luddite
Perhaps because ebook reading software is installed on devices as personal as phones, the reader now seems to expect and demand a more personalized experience, reflecting the language and themes only of his choosing in his selected literature. If there is now a right not to be offended it is a misguided one, because literature and great writers should be able to challenge us.
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I don't think it has anything to do with being offended and the 'right' not to be offended. Some authors have been writing controversial things for eons and there's always some sort of public outrage. Ebook reading hasn't change that in the slightest.
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Originally Posted by Hitech_luddite
In dictating exactly what we want to read it seems that that we are losing faith in the skill of the writer[…]
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Oh, my how I've lost faith in the skill of the writer! As I said above, with self e-publishing being so easy, anyone can publish their awful grammar and non-stories. It's incredibly frustrating from the point of this reader. I've learned what categories to stay away from. And yes, I think categories are good: they allow individuals to make broad decisions as quickly as possible. Else I'd be frozen from decision paralysis with all the choices of books I could read.