just because you have written a book does not make you an author

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

I have purchased ebooks from big publishing houses that had an inexcusable number of errors, including bad global replaces, words missing accent marks, hyphens not cleaned up, missing table of contents, lots of scan errors that should have been caught with basic spell checking, and other errors not found in a print edition.

When reading such comments, I think how lucky I am to be a bad proofreader. It hurts my posts, but it also means I miss such distractions.

I'd think superior fiction editing, big publishing or otherwise, results in sharper characterizations more consistent with characters's actions. I can indeed imagine that spelling isn't affected.

[LovesMacs]

The wrench in the hardcover argument is the vanity press. Anyone who is willing to pay the money can have their manuscript printed and bound in hardcover.

[bgalbrecht]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

When reading such comments, I think how lucky I am to be a bad proofreader. It hurts my posts, but it also means I miss such distractions.

I'd think superior fiction editing, big publishing or otherwise, results in sharper characterizations more consistent with characters's actions. I can indeed imagine that spelling isn't affected.

Perhaps I never should have volunteered at Distributed Proofreaders, I find that if there's a lot of errors in a book, it tends to pull me out of the story.

[latepaul]

This reminds me of a thread on GoodReads where someone wanted to agree a definition of "Hard SciFi" so that he would know he wasn't wasting his time on books he wouldn't enjoy. He didn't quite phrase it like that of course.

ISTM it's all about trying to get the rest of the world to do your first-level filtering for you based on a label. As many people have said even if you agree on the principle the results will still be subjective. Plus you're basically being lazy - if you want to read only good books you're going to have to do your own research.

[moonshot]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Asked much the same question earlier and got no answer. Don't expect one now. Starting to think that this is the creature under the bridge.

'Obtuse' Annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand. Why would I want to comment on that? Single minded comes to mind.

Maybe that demonstrates my point. Someone who is not very good with words; or was the word obtuse used as an insult because I have a different point of view to most here.

There needs to be some sort of standard so that the buyer, whether they pay £1.74 or £16 for a book, will know that at lease a minimum acceptable standard of writing has been achieved. Otherwise the industry will become swamped and the waters muddied with 'cowboy' authors. I sort of x factor for delusional 'authors'.

For now though a litmus test could be to see if the author appears in Fantastic Fiction.

If that is 'annoyingly insensitive' all I can say is that 'maybe you really do look fat in that dress.

[Gazella]

I completely disagree with your thinking. Why does it have to be in hardback form for the writer to be qualified as an author? Authors who publish their work in ebook are considered authors. Those who have only one book published are similarly also qualified to be seen as authors. That said, there are lots of popular authors who release their stories in ebook form only.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by moonshot

For now though a litmus test could be to see if the author appears in Fantastic Fiction.

Exactly.

Given that everyone would draw their line in a different bit of the sand, and given that for you it seems to be 'has been published in hardcover' or 'appears in Fantastic Fiction', then the solution seems clear: on getting a recommendation check the title against one's personal litmus test.

Graham

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by moonshot

'Obtuse' Annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand. Why would I want to comment on that? Single minded comes to mind.

Maybe that demonstrates my point. Someone who is not very good with words; or was the word obtuse used as an insult because I have a different point of view to most here.

There needs to be some sort of standard so that the buyer, whether they pay £1.74 or £16 for a book, will know that at lease a minimum acceptable standard of writing has been achieved. Otherwise the industry will become swamped and the waters muddied with 'cowboy' authors. I sort of x factor for delusional 'authors'.

For now though a litmus test could be to see if the author appears in Fantastic Fiction.

If that is 'annoyingly insensitive' all I can say is that 'maybe you really do look fat in that dress.

Yes, every reader needs to have a way to pre-screen books, if only because there are so many available that it's impossible to examine every one of them.

Some readers use publisher as a starting point; choosing only to read commercially published books. Other readers consider customer reviews, while still others look at covers, samples, and even blurbs.

There is no single criterion that can magically let you separate good from bad. The bad sneaks in everywhere, and there's good everywhere, too.

Use whatever method you want: you're going to miss some very good books. You'll miss bad books too, but don't fool yourself into thinking you've found a solution that accurately reflects the quality of the books or the authors.

As for hardcover publication, as others have said, in the age of print on demand, that's no guarantee either.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by moonshot

'Obtuse' Annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand. Why would I want to comment on that? Single minded comes to mind.

Maybe that demonstrates my point. Someone who is not very good with words; or was the word obtuse used as an insult because I have a different point of view to most here.

There needs to be some sort of standard so that the buyer, whether they pay £1.74 or £16 for a book, will know that at lease a minimum acceptable standard of writing has been achieved. Otherwise the industry will become swamped and the waters muddied with 'cowboy' authors. I sort of x factor for delusional 'authors'.

For now though a litmus test could be to see if the author appears in Fantastic Fiction.

If that is 'annoyingly insensitive' all I can say is that 'maybe you really do look fat in that dress.

The problem is that your point of view is simply wrong. You're persistent, but persistently wrong. If you wrote a book, you're an author. If writing a book didn't mean you were an author, that would lead to the absurdity of a book having no author. But being an author doesn't mean your books are any good. There are plenty of litmus tests that you can apply to decide to decide whether or not you might want to read a book. No one picks up a book and says "This was written by an author, it must be good!" The world of books is NOT swamped with with the bad books because we have plenty of litmus tests we can apply to find books we might like to read. Few people read books randomly.

[cindyvine]

I agree that a person who writes books is an author, like a person who teachers is a teacher. But to play the devil's advocate, is a person who drinks an alcoholic?

[Kumabjorn]

Nope, she is a drinker.

[latepaul]

Originally Posted by cindyvine

I agree that a person who writes books is an author, like a person who teachers is a teacher. But to play the devil's advocate, is a person who drinks an alcoholic?

No a person who drinks is a drinker. That "drinker" can mean "one who drinks [[too much] alcohol]" confuses things slightly but usually context will make it clear. Which helpfully highlights why language is a slippery thing and overly precise definitions are often not as helpful as they first appear.

[alanHd]

Originally Posted by moonshot

'Obtuse'
There needs to be some sort of standard so that the buyer, whether they pay £1.74 or £16 for a book, will know that at lease a minimum acceptable standard of writing has been achieved. Otherwise the industry will become swamped and the waters muddied with 'cowboy' authors. I sort of x factor for delusional 'authors'.

I'm confused, if to qualify to be an author you have to write a Book of minimum standard, what about those authors who's quality is up and down. Eg Dan Brown I enjoyed Angels and Demons but Digital Fortress was a pile of ......

[DiapDealer]

This thread topic falls short of the minimum standards required for intelligent discussion. We regret that it can no longer be referred to as a "thread." Sorry.

[QuantumIguana]

Even if we were to throw the definition of author out the window, and agree to the incorrect proposition that writing a book doesn't make you an author, it wouldn't help you in the slightest to find a good book. What you want is a method to find a book that you will like. No non-standard definition of "author" will help you with that. There isn't going to be some "certified author" certificate on the cover of the book.

The same techniques for finding good books that were used before self-published books became widely available still work today. One is to buy books from authors you have already read and enjoyed. When Terry Pratchett or C.J. Cherryh put out a new book, I'm very likely to enjoy it. No need to sample, I just buy it. There are also professional reviewers. Some can be shills, but some provide good reviews. You will have to figure out the shills from the good reviewers, but that has always been the case. Then there are reader reviewers. That's no sure thing, but it does show that a number of people liked the book. Truly awful books tend to have no reviews, and nearly no sales. Then there's word of mouth from people you know personally, whose tastes in books you understand. Sometimes, a recommendation can be a good indication you might enjoy the book, and sometimes, if certain people recommend a book, it's a good reason not to read it. It's up to you to figure out which is which.

Eliminating books isn't going to help you get the books that you want. It might well be that you aren't the one making the decisions, and books that you like might be the ones consigned to the bonfire. There's nothing wrong with a book having a niche market. It may not be a large enough market for a publisher, but for those who are in that niche, it's a good read.