The Big Reasons Indie Authors Aren't Taken Seriously

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by Catlady

He or she can't possibly be making a living editing books at $100-$250 a pop. I define professional more narrowly--someone whose full-time job is editing.

I know I couldn't make a living at that price. I've been a full-time freelance editor for 28 years and never charged such a low price, and would not consider doing so, especially if the project requires working directly with an author and especially if the author is a new author who either has never been published before or has self-published but never worked with a professional editor before.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

They're amateur professionals apparently.

I'm sure you are saying that tongue-in-cheek but your description is not so far off the mark. Professional editors are better defined, I think, by experience and by the resources that they own and use in their editing business. In my early years, I met a "professional" editor who didn't own a dictionary or a style guide. Not very professional in my eyes.

I own a dozen or so dictionaries and multiple style guides as well as numerous books and software resources that are focused on the areas in which I work. I own and use multiple language usage references. Few "amateur professional" editors own or use more than an outdated dictionary at best.

[usuallee]

The following is the opening paragraphs from the highest rated book on smashwords -with a perfect 5.0 user rating. As you will see, it's absolutely atrocious writing, and an example of why I avoid indie "authors" at all costs. I'm sure there are some good indie authors out there, but they are floating in an ocean of garbage that I don't have time to sift through. Again, this is the highest rated book on Smashwords.

Prologue

From Beyond Space and Time

In the vast depths of the universe a spectacular brightness appeared, with radiating beams.

A sphere of light floated out like a ghost, going through the darkness, and, again, Sandler realized that it was the telepathic recordings transmitting from the alien artifact, silver sphere – which were covering his entire sight with its vivid visions!

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

5 of the top 10 selling cars in December 2011 were Japanese. I guess millions of Americans bought those cars on a lark?

I really don't understand this line of argument.

The reasoning is this: Even though the cars were popular, American car-makers spent a lot of money trying to convince Americans that Japanese cars were bad... and belittling those who did buy them over good old American cars. The "rice-burner" stigma lasted well beyond the point when Americans had fully accepted Japanese cars, but were still urged to feel bad that they didn't buy American. Today, it's pretty much gone... but it took about 40 years to run its course.

So, today, mainstream publishers are using the same tactics to make ebooks look cheap and undesirable, and those who buy them to be "less than literary-minded." And as with cars, it will eventually wear off, but will take some time.

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

So, today, mainstream publishers are using the same tactics to make ebooks look cheap and undesirable, and those who buy them to be "less than literary-minded." And as with cars, it will eventually wear off, but will take some time.

The comparison of domestic/foreign automaker to indie/publisher isn't even relevant. Foreign automakers can establish a brand that reflects the quality of their product. Indies cannot establish a brand that reflects quality since the contributors are dynamic and there is no one there to establish standards. (Sure an individual indie author can establish a brand, but that doesn't reflect all indie authors.)

As much bickering there is over the quality of the work that publishers publish, people are forgetting that they are still gatekeepers. I'm fairly certain that most people would find that a handful of publishers dominate their bookshelves if they took the time to look. They would also discover that many publishers don't have a presence on their bookshelves. The publishers in either list will vary from person to person because quality reflects both quantitative things (e.g. appropriate use of spelling and grammar) and qualitative things (e.g. style of prose). That is to say that one person will think that a certain company publishes tripe because it lacks any intellectual insight, while another person will think that another publisher is garbage because the plots don't engage the reader. So think of the gatekeepers guarding a series of gates, each one allowing certain authors through. Some authors will be denied access through any gate, but some authors will be granted access through one of the gates. Once they pass through the gate, they will have an imprint stamped on their forehead. That imprint allows readers to decide (to some degree) what they want to read.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

The reasoning is this: Even though the cars were popular, American car-makers spent a lot of money trying to convince Americans that Japanese cars were bad... and belittling those who did buy them over good old American cars. The "rice-burner" stigma lasted well beyond the point when Americans had fully accepted Japanese cars, but were still urged to feel bad that they didn't buy American. Today, it's pretty much gone... but it took about 40 years to run its course.

So, today, mainstream publishers are using the same tactics to make ebooks look cheap and undesirable, and those who buy them to be "less than literary-minded." And as with cars, it will eventually wear off, but will take some time.

That's actually a great analogy Steve. The U.S. Car Makers spent their time and money on trying to make the competition look bad instead of working to improve their product. Look what happened to them. Hmmmm....

[Edward M. Grant]

Originally Posted by usuallee

The following is the opening paragraphs from the highest rated book on smashwords -with a perfect 5.0 user rating. As you will see, it's absolutely atrocious writing, and an example of why I avoid indie "authors" at all costs.

No, it's an example of why I avoid books with forty five-star reviews posted within a week of release and nothing since.

[DarkScribe]

Who doesn't take an imported car seriously? I would take a BMW, a Mercedes or even a VW Golf far more seriously than anything made in the US or the UK.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by DarkScribe

Who doesn't take an imported car seriously? I would take a BMW, a Mercedes or even a VW Golf far more seriously than anything made in the US or the UK.

A small group of self important pontificators, who imagine themselves to represent everyone else.

Exactly like the people who don't take indie ebooks seriously.

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by DarkScribe

Who doesn't take an imported car seriously?

I thought that stigma of imported cars was lost around 1985.

[J. Strnad]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Two indie authors I highly recommend are Shayne Parkinson (historical fiction) and Vicki Tyley (mystery). Everyone I've recommended Parkinson to and who has tried her raves about her books and the first book in her series is free (Sentence of Marriage).

I haven't heard of Vicki Tyley before now, but I downloaded the first Shayne Parkinson book for my wife since she likes that sort of thing: young woman coming of age in turn-of-the-century New Zealand, as I recall.

Well, pretty soon she was wearing her "Don't bother me, I'm reading" face. When she finished Sentence of Marriage she marched into my office and demanded the rest of the series. They were $1.99 each, so I was able to buy a first-rate, four-book series for less than $6.

I'm really surprised that Parkinson hasn't been wooed by a trad publisher before now.

[J. Strnad]

Originally Posted by Edward M. Grant

No, it's an example of why I avoid books with forty five-star reviews posted within a week of release and nothing since.

Fair enough.

On the other hand, what do you think of the quality of the top three books on the New York Times Bestseller list right now? All are published by Random House so they must be good.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by AndrewH

I thought that stigma of imported cars was lost around 1985.

In many parts of the U.S., and with many distinct groups, the stigma is still there, loud and clear. Keep in mind that a stigma doesn't have to be logical to be accepted by many people... sound familiar?

[plib]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

In many parts of the U.S., and with many distinct groups, the stigma is still there, loud and clear. Keep in mind that a stigma doesn't have to be logical to be accepted by many people... sound familiar?

I suppose they do realize that there's a very good chance that the "foreign" car they stigmatize is actually made in the US? Or would that be too logical?

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by plib

I suppose they do realize that there's a very good chance that the "foreign" car they stigmatize is actually made in the US? Or would that be too logical?

Actually, yes; it would be too logical. American cars have foreign parts, foreign-branded cars are made in American plants with American and foreign parts, cars are built overseas and slapped with American brands, etc. Cars are pretty much global products. The only real difference is in which country's corporation claims the lion's share of the profits from the sale.

And some Americans will still point at a Honda Accord, made in Tennessee, and call it a "rice-burner."

This is why the example is so appropriate to the comparison to independent authors. At its heart, it makes absolutely no sense.