Amazon for 'foreign' authors -- at a price

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

The more comments like this I see about the publishing industry, the more I love the fanfiction communities that encourage beta readers.

I've read excerpts of self-published works at Smashwords & a few other places, and I'm often appalled at them--I keep thinking, "you could've run this past *one* other person, who could've caught all those your/you're problems, and told you when you switched tenses every third paragraph, and would've chopped that long chapter into two. Oh, and someone should've told you that the Golden Gate Bridge doesn't connect to Oakland."

If anything the crowd sourced proofreading and editing of works will become a mainstay in the future. I'm convinced of this, and I'm also becoming convinced that a 'shared' creation of fictional works will come into effect. Many authors and one story. No good for me of course, because I don't play well with others.

[jaxx6166]

What I wouldn't give for a good editor. As much as everyone hates publishers...their services sure are invaluable.

Editors that I know usually get paid -BY THE WORD-

Even at $.02/word, the average 100,000 word novel would cost $2,000 (USD) to have professionally edited..

And don't even get me started on the power of the dollar when it comes to marketing.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

What I wouldn't give for a good editor. As much as everyone hates publishers...their services sure are invaluable

Of course you don't necessarily need a publisher to have a good editor.

[netseeker]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Of course you don't necessarily need a publisher to have a good editor.

You are right, though almost all good editors are employed at publishing houses...

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

What I wouldn't give for a good editor. As much as everyone hates publishers...their services sure are invaluable

Don't worry about it too much, buy the book 'Line by Line' or 'Self Editing for Fiction Writers'. It's not like editors are wizards or have supernatural powers.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by netseeker

You are right, though almost all good editors are employed at publishing houses...

It's my understanding that some of the better ones are independent contractors and also do freelance work.

[jaxx6166]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

It's not like editors are wizards or have supernatural powers.

Sure they do. The amount of patience to go line by line, word by word surely must be a superhuman trait. =)

[netseeker]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

It's my understanding that some of the better ones are independent contractors and also do freelance work.

Some of them yes and perhaps more editors are freelancers in the US than in germany. Anyway, it's hard to get a good editor at affordable costs, especially if you are an unknown author without a publisher or a big nest egg.

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

Sure they do. The amount of patience to go line by line, word by word surely must be a superhuman trait. =)

Once you've met a couple of them you start realizing that the only wizardry in what they do is that they convince so many that it's worthwhile.

[DrZoidberg]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Oh, dear. Oh deary me. With the best will in the world, chaps, some folks have no idea of a publisher's input before a book reaches the release stage (and for long afterwards). And the raw ms arriving in sweet order has absolutely nothing to do with the process. That's laughably putting the cart before the horse. Do you honestly think a serious publishing house would trust an author with layout and formatting? We can't even trust him to use good grammar, construct his story and characters properly or even spell his title without an error. The most creative author out there is just the first vital step in the publishing process -- he's not to be allowed out to play alone. Ask any author who's had the good sense and the good luck to work with a good house. Neil

This was certainly true for me My editor was cruel, honest and.... correct.

[koland]

Guess it's somewhat of a moot point - starting in June (later for the international authors that are just now getting Kindle access), you can choose a 70% net royalty option.

[neilmarr]

It seems Amazon has seen the error of its ways -- even if it did take the threat of a big Apple to make them think again. The company has just announced that it is doubling the take for content creators: http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/25271

Cheers. Neil