Man! I hate self promoted books!

[GlenBarrington]

With a great premise and a well written promotional post. Only to discover the book isn't anywhere close to what it could/should have been.

I'm not going to embarass anyone, but doggone! If you can SELL a damned old book on MR, you ought to be at least able to write the thing to a minimal level of quality.

This isn't the first time I've wasted money and TIME on some junk. Sorry folks, but I'm going to assume all self promoted books are crap until the overwhelming evidence indicates otherwise. We are talking about my sanity here. My hobby isn't finding great new authors in a crowd of hacks, it's reading good books.

(i know, I know, someone will write in and claim they have found some real gems in this forum. But they never say just how many frogs they had to kiss till they found the prince!)

[carld]

I really enjoyed Martin Parish's 2184, and I found out about it right here on MR. It does pay to read the sample first, assuming there is one.

[BexBits]

Originally Posted by carld

I really enjoyed Martin Parish's 2184, and I found out about it right here on MR. It does pay to read the sample first, assuming there is one.

I have found several I really enjoyed but I do insist on a sample. To be honest, I prefer to have the first thing I read be an entire work and free. If the author doesn't offer the book itself for free I'll read a short story or novella to get a sense of how well they write.

I don't feel badly about that because it is how I've operated for years. Money is tight in my life and I almost never actually *buy* a book from someone I haven't read before (that's what libraries are for.) I'm a bit more willing to take a chance at Smashwords when the price is low but, hey, a buck's a buck. Give me a reason to give it to you instead of to 7-11 for a cup of coffee.

[Worldwalker]

There are certain words in self-promotion that turn me off instantly.

'Compelling' is one of them. 'Powerful' is another. Those words are routinely used by reviewers to mean "I got emotional about this book, but I can't say for sure why." When someone's saying it about their own book, that rings false. Tell me what your book is about, don't make me look for an estimate of its wattage!

[plumboz]

Well then, I won't even try to entice you to read my compelling, enthralling, engrossing, chilling, hilarious, spine tingling, mind boggling, soon to be classic debut novel Kill Me, Kill Me, No, Not That Way! .

Why should such a literary pearl be wasted on such an unappreciative audience?

For the rest of you, however, please check out KM, KM, N, NTW at any of the finer online book emporiums. Regularly priced at $19.93 (that number has special significance that will become apparent to those who reach page 672), it is available for a short yet unspecified time for just $18.26 with coupon code LOVECRAFTLOVECHILD1993 (yep, there's that significant number again.)

But not you, Manheim Pike. No, no, not you.

[ardeegee]

Instant turn off? When authors write about themselves in the third person-- and it is obvious that they are writing it themselves, not a blurb from someone else. Like, for instance, this recent example. Might be a good book-- the author isn't a "one and done" hit and run poster. But the 3rd person self-description does noting to make me want to give the book a chance.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

'Compelling' is one of them. 'Powerful' is another. Those words are routinely used by reviewers to mean "I got emotional about this book, but I can't say for sure why." When someone's saying it about their own book, that rings false.

How about "unique"?

[ficbot]

But wait! MY unpublished novel from ten years ago has a very similar title. AND the number 1993 in it as well! You have clearly stolen my intellectual property. This is theft, and piiiiiracy. Perhaps I should sue you for emotional distress (and for piiiiiracy). That is surely a more secure path to instant millions than *writing*, no?

:P

[GraceKrispy]

I have bought mostly good reads for low prices and been fine. I recently bought a book, however, that was at the low price of $.99, and I'm wishing I had my money back. Like you said, this book is nothing like what the blurb promised. I hate when the blurb is more interesting than that book.

For the most part, though, I've been very pleased with my other purchases. I may go back to sampling free books and buying others by that author if I liked them.

[littleredplanet]

I'm fairly new around here but have made few impulse buys on self promoted books. Before purchasing, I've ensured that others on mobileread have given it positive reviews. I've read two of my four impulse purchases so far and I am impressed. I really like the idea of independent publishing, to me it means that a book, story, plot etc has not been massaged by corporate giants to achieve maximum audience appeal. It also means that the editing can be a bit rough at times but I really enjoy knowing that I am 'hearing' the author's true voice in the story.

So, sometimes I know I will be taking a punt, but for a buck or two, I'm cool with that.

Hats of to all you self publishing authors.

cheers
dale

[MartinParish]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Sorry folks, but I'm going to assume all self promoted books are crap until the overwhelming evidence indicates otherwise. We are talking about my sanity here. My hobby isn't finding great new authors in a crowd of hacks, it's reading good books.

Unfortunately, I can't say I blame you on that one. The whole question of self-publishing online is interesting but problematic for a number of reasons.

The publishing industry has never done a very good job of choosing books. Many of the books they choose don't make money; many of the ones they reject again and again eventually become bestsellers. A lot of what they do publish isn't stuff I personally care for (more vampire novels, anyone?). Despite its defects, however, the publishing system does ensure a certain minimal standard of quality, largely because all authors, in order to become published, have to survive frequent rejection. Rejection forces authors to review, revise and rewrite, and the quality of the end product can only improve in the process.

The publishing industry is now in serious trouble, of course; their profits are sliding and I suspect the future will see them fade into a well-deserved obsolescence. Online publishing or some variant thereof is the wave of the future. The problem is that without the rejection process, authors have far less incentive to spend all that painstaking time rewriting, revising and revisiting - it's so easy to just throw that first draft on Kindle and get it out there. Moreover, there's an awful lot of stuff that should never have left the drawer but now ends up on Smashwords instead. So how will readers figure out what's worth reading and what isn't?

The answer to that question will emerge over the next 5-6 years - in some form is probably emerging already. I think we'll see a kind of crowdsourcing develop here over time, and eventually we'll get to the point where we wonder why we ever needed the publishing industry anyway. Right now, however, there's a sea of questionable-quality material floating around out there (just check out the Smashwords main page sometime if you doubt me) and a lot of readers probably think Indie books just aren't worth their time unless a creditable source can vouch for their quality. Again, I can't say I blame them.

I guess I should add that none of this is really a problem for me. I used to spend way too much time reading fiction (especially sci-fi) but these days I find I only ever read nonfiction instead. Truth tends to be stranger than fiction, and certainly more believable. Besides, if I'm going to spend a few dozen hours with a book, it might as well be information I can use somewhere down the line. I might have a tough time sticking to my word, though, if I spend too long in a library...

[plumboz]

Originally Posted by ficbot

But wait! MY unpublished novel from ten years ago has a very similar title. AND the number 1993 in it as well! You have clearly stolen my intellectual property. This is theft, and piiiiiracy. Perhaps I should sue you for emotional distress (and for piiiiiracy). That is surely a more secure path to instant millions than *writing*, no?

:P

Piiiiiiiiiarcy? Ye dare accuse me of piiiiiiiiarcy?!!!


Tell you what, let's meet for coffee and talk about this 1993 connection we have. Maybe collaborate on a sequel?

Self published of course First draft Maybe economize on punctuation Yeah th at sounds
like a gre at idea

[Vintage Season]

Originally Posted by BexBits

I have found several I really enjoyed but I do insist on a sample. To be honest, I prefer to have the first thing I read be an entire work and free. If the author doesn't offer the book itself for free I'll read a short story or novella to get a sense of how well they write.

Speaking as both a reader and an author, I agree. Realistically, I want people to enjoy my stories enough to willingly spend money acquiring them... but how can I expect anyone to decide my words are worth purchasing, sight-unseen?

If you encounter one of my stories, on Smashwords, or in a magazine, or somewhere in the dark, unspoken corners of the interweb, or standing in a bookstore, I give you permission to sample at your leisure, and enjoy the words, so that you can decide for yourself whether to follow my career.

- M.

[corona]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Sorry folks, but I'm going to assume all self promoted books are crap until the overwhelming evidence indicates otherwise.

But wait... This is the self-promotion forum!

[banjobama]

I am also becoming more selective about what I read. If the synopsis has any grammar, spelling, or usage errors whatsoever, I won't buy the book and I probably won't download it even if it's free.