Have you noticed them? The eggshells all over the floor. They’re everywhere—hard to miss. They make an awful crunching sound and stick to the bottoms of the shoe something fierce. But we really need to keep moving. So maybe we shouldn’t worry so much about avoiding them, you know? Perhaps we should just walk where we must—eggshells (and those creepy sacred cows) be damned.
I know we’d all like to live in a perfect world where every movie that gets made is Oscar-worthy; every pizza deserves to be as famous as Ray’s; every Presidential candidate is honest, swarthy, capable, and worthy; and we’d most like to live in a world where every book published is a bestseller.
Or at least readable.
I’m here to burst the bubble. We don’t live in that world.
Especially the one where every book published is readable.
I talked a couple of Phreakish Fridays back about Amazon potentially charging to publish and I posited that perhaps such a reality might act as a gate or filter of sorts; that maybe if it weren’t free, some authors would think twice before placing their wares on the market shelves. Some authors agreed. A goodly number were vehemently opposed to any writer paying to be published. And, as usual, a few were incredulous that someone suggested there were substandard works littering the marketplace.
The [writer] doth protest too much, methinks.
Tell me, is there a neighborhood, community, town, municipality, city, metropolis, or kingdom that does not have both good and bad inhabitants? How about products and services? Aren’t there better cars, worse cars, and some that are downright undesirable? What if they were no safety regulation? Might you even be too afraid to drive your family in some cars?
I watched a special the other night about the Russian airline that used old, failing, substandard planes along with untrained pilots and the result was a crash just after takeoff and the deaths of an entire professional hockey team.
We understand quality control almost everywhere we see it. Admittedly, the quality of books flooding the marketplace is not necessarily a life and death matter (you’d have to take up that issue with my Good Taste). But QC isn’t always about safety.
As a writer, I’d like my work to have a chance to be read. I’m sure that’s the case with every writer. But let me tell you, Virginia, there isn’t any Santa Claus, only a fraction of the wannabes that show up for American Idol tryouts can actually sing, and not every person who has a story in their head can write.
I can almost hear the gasping out there. The indignation. WHAT? Is he talking about ME?? No, I’m not. Or, rather, I have no idea if I’m talking about you. Don’t take my announcement personally. Seriously. I have no clue whether your book is any good or if you can write your way out of a wet paper sack.
(And remember, Shakespeare was right, you really dothen’t want to protest too much.)
Singers who can’t tell their voices sound like a hound dog on mescaline are sometimes referred to as “tone deaf”. What do you call a writer who cannot fathom that their literary abilities are on par with a spider monkey going through crack withdrawal?
Prose blind?
There was a post today on the Amazon Kindle Facebook Page by a writer who claimed if a reader gets a book for free, or even for 99 cents, that they should not post a negative review. What? This is exactly the kind of thing that worries me. Indie books are already being driven to a low price point (in many cases writers feel they must set the price at 99 cents to compete) yet since it is the lowest price Amazon allows, some view this as “you get what you pay for”. I personally think reviews should have nothing to do with price—it’s the other way around: if a product becomes popular, the price may rise. Reviews should reflect worth not price.
There is also a common practice in the writer community for writers to judge their own reviews and in some cases to ask others to vote negatively on some (or all) of their one-star reviews because said reviews are an attempt to disparage the writer rather than a reflection of the quality of the book. I hate this practice. I actually participated in it once.
ONCE.
After I posted a blog similar to this one I received a ranting comment about “how dare I” think I was so elitist to suggest there were poor writers out there, etc, etc. Then less than an hour later my book had it’s first 1-star review. Oh, did I mention that the reviewer quoted my blog in his review and that the words he quoted were some of those he complained about in the blog comment?
I admit, it pissed me off. I immediately told a bunch of my writer friends and they marked “no” on the review. And then I proceeded to feel sick about it for the next week. It wasn’t that I felt any more legitimacy toward the review. I just couldn’t believe I had stooped as low as the shameless chowderhead.
The point is, if our work is out there we have to be prepared to take the heat for it. We shouldn’t plug our ears, shield our eyes, and claim no one has any idea what they are talking about. As an artist, you take the criticism; even that which has been delivered unscrupulously.
You can’t help but respect the American Idol hopeful who takes the judges’ criticism, nods their head, and goes off to continue perfecting their craft. Who’s to say what artist will improve over time? I’m not advocating anyone stop writing—only that writing should have to meet some kind of standard before it’s clogging up the pipes in the marketplace.
And I’m not alone. Here’s a quote from this month’s Esquire about uber-blog The Huffington Post:
There are two types of articles on HuffPo: articles by people who shouldn’t be writing and articles that are too good to be given away.
Amen.
Sort of.
Personally I’d be inclined to be more forgiving. I would throw an [on HuffPo] after “shouldn’t be writing”. To suggest someone shouldn’t be writing at all is absurd. Still, there really should be a standard to the constitution of articles in publication. Quality matters. To say it doesn’t is to go against every element of aesthetics in our bones. But how do we establish the standards, who enforces them, and how?
What about an American Idol-like competition for writers? I thought Project Greenlight was a step in the right direction. It was for screenwriters AND directors, but it was intriguing—the first opportunity I’d seen for writers to showcase their wares and be judged. I’m not suggesting that the fodder would make for good television; I think a televised writing competition might be a little boring. Then again we’re currently inundated with Cajuns catching catfish with their hands, people addicted to drinking nail polish, hoarders who haven’t thrown out a piece of garbage in twenty-eight years, and patients with tumors that weigh more than the average human.
Maybe watching writers write might not be the strangest thing on the boob tube.
Whatever the solution, there eventually needs to be some sort of gatekeeper. There are free websites for writers who simply want to put their works out there to be read. Once a writer starts charging for their work there should be an expectation of quality for the consumer. A department store isn’t going to accept my homegrown hair-dryer contraption just because I made it and want people to buy it. There are flea markets for such uncontrolled products.
There’s also the trash bin but no one wants to hear that suggestion. I get it. It’s painful. No writer wants to see their hard work lying amongst the rest of the garbage.
And eggshells.
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The blank page is dead…long live the blank page.
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Author known to use spontaneous satire, sarcasm, and unannounced injections of pith or witticisms which may not be suitable for humorless or otherwise jest-challenged individuals. (Witticisms not guaranteed to be witty, funny, comical, hilarious, clever, scintillating, whimsical, wise, endearing, keen, savvy, sagacious, penetrating, fanciful, or otherwise enjoyable. The Surgeon General has determined through laboratory testing that sarcasm can be dangerous, even in small amounts, and should not be ingested by those who are serious, somber, pensive, weighty, funereal, unsmiling, poker-faced, sober, or pregnant.)
Bravo! I agree with every single thing you said. I, too, believe there should be some kind of quality control in the market for books. I have a draft blog post mouldering somewhere about how we might achieve that – mouldering, because I can’t make my idea work well enough in my head to know if it might work in practice.
Thanks, Ciara! I’d love to hear your idea… 🙂
How could anyone who loves writing and the pleasure of a well written piece of work ever protest the suggestion that improvement is a requirement for all artists at any level of capability? Honing one’s art is where the true pleasure comes from. Those protesting may be attempting to communicate, but they are not nurturing the art of writing.
I agree wholeheartedly, Christina. Had any of us decided twenty years ago our writing was a good as it would get and we stopped taking criticism or honing the craft? Devastating. The craft can always be improved. Always. For anyone. 🙂
Well put, my friend. This is a good, healthy serving of reality pie. Though I’m willing to put up with the free market that includes a little(OK, a lot) of bad writing. If the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, I suppose the price of free expression is that not every expression is worth hearing. A fair trade for the occasional gems that do emerge…
Nice post here. I got slammed for writing a blog titled “Indie Authors Are Killing Great Writing” for many of the reasons you list. The problem is how do you judge what’s good or not? Too many authors will say “he’s not talking about me” (as you point out) when in fact you are talking about them. I’ve read stuff by indie authors that’s terrible but try telling them that. It’s “oh everybody has an opinion” etc. They don’t typically even ask “how so?” or try to examine their own work. It’s too bad because the first person that needs distance from his work is the author himself. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out…
HI, Renee! Thanks for the comment…I really appreciate it. I agree: an author needs to be his/her biggest critic. I once suggested that authors need to set their work down, wait a period of time, and then pick up their work, fresh, and read it like a reader, not the author. I half-jested about the existence of “prose blindness”. However, like tone deafness, it’s a real problem. You just can’t convince some people they’re terrible writers. I’ve attended many writing workshops and sometimes the most stubborn “writers”…those least willing to listen to any criticism whatsoever…are the least talented. What can you do? 🙂
Great post Rob. Your article about paying to publish was in the back of my mind when I posted a response to a question on the blog of Dawn Torrens http://goo.gl/WPonz (suggested read).
The gate/filter suggestion is a good one, and I believe that it could possibly be the thing to save the traditional publishing industry; provided they would be willing to change their business model of course. 😉
If not them, then some authority with a literary pedigree that can sort the exceptional from the redonkulous might be able to erase the stigma of indie books. Reviews are nice, but they are what they are. A professional stamp of approval could elevate the cream to the top.
–Rush
Thanks, KD. As always, you and I are simpatico. There’s a need for a lot to be done—I wish I (or anyone) had the answers. One thing is certain: the market will morph again. And again. 🙂
A fantastic post, one of which I totally agree with, I have had a recent debate on my website about the subject of indie pricing, where KD Rush above made some valid points! A gate keeper of sorts, or maybe a grading system! Yes this makes perfect sense. 🙂
Were I so hung up on the need for perfection in my next read, I would likely miss out on a brilliant story. There is no lack of those now. For most of my lifetime traditional publishing has been strangling the hell out of decent books. (And revealing damned few new ones.)
So, look around and have fun, or give up and whine. The choice is yours.
Thanks much for the comment, Joel. 🙂
“not every person who has a story in their head can write.”
Strangely enough I find the opposite at least as true. Not everyone who can write has a decent story in their head. Not very many of them actually.
I see no real reason to limit who can attempt to sell their writing. The “gatekeepers” in the form of traditional publishers never did that good a job anyway. This is evidenced by the number of good books out there, most of which would have never seen the light of day with traditional publishers. At one point a few weeks ago every book in Amazons top ten sellers in the horror category was independently published. Steven King’s latest was #24.
Yes, 90% of it is still crap, just like everything else. I wouldn’t pay $.99 for an eBook on the simple expectation that it is probably worth just that. I certainly don’t price my own books that low.
It is a period of transition. What method will surface to help consumers separate the wheat from the chaff is probably as yet unknown to us, but you can bet something will surface. Currently reviews don’t seem to be doing the trick. At least for the Kindle the sales rank seems to be a major factor in the buying decision, (go figure, a bestseller list).
Charging to simply publish? I think you assume that only those with money can write well and those without it can’t? How much money do I need to have to prove I’m good enough? $20? $100? $1000? I think you’d only eliminate the poor bad writers.
Ezzy Black
Hi, Ezzy…thanks for the comment! Just wanted to say one thing: of course I don’t assume that only those with money can write. One has nothing to do with the other. My only thought is that when something is free, you don’t have to be dedicated to the craft. There’s no risk, no investment. So at least some of those who publish do so simply because it’s free and there’s no reason not to. The theory could be right or wrong as far as how much impact it would have but it nowhere near implies that you need to prove your talent with money. Just a nominal fee to filter out the less serious, but not a large enough one to prohibit writers who believe in their work from submitting. Thanks again for the great comment. 🙂
I don’t think a simple charge will do it. You assume that bad writers know or even think they are bad.
Remember your American Idol analogy. I’m sure the vast majority of those seemingly awful singers truly believed they were good.
What’s it going to take? I’m not sure, something will fill the vacuum left by the gatekeepers. I imagine if you and I (and another few thousand) independent writers were smart we’d form some kind of standards group. It wouldn’t be easy, and it would cost money, but I can see a professional group that would provide consumers with a “seal of approval” for works that met minimum quality standards.
Yes it’s a very, very, slippery slope. and it would require authors to pay to have their works reviewed. It would also take a while to establish itself. In the end, it would give consumers some confidence that they aren’t buying absolute junk.
It’s certainly true that the idea has many more questions than answers at this point.
Ezzy Black
If someone had a specific critcism of my work I would be glad to hear it. These blanket statements prey on the insecurities that pretty much all authors suffer from. There is little doubt that not all self-published books are created equal. By previewing the book, and reading about three lines, you can usually get a pretty good idea of whether it’s worth reading it or not, no matter what the price is set at. What is truly annoying is to see a badly-written book do well in the sales numbers. That’s marketing, not writing skills.
Hi, Louis. Thanks for the response. I agree 100% about marketing skills versus talent as well as reading the excerpt giving a decent indication of the worth of the book. My concern is that there are more and more consumers who will move right past a low-priced book because they’ve been burned too many times. There are a lot of them out there, I’m afraid, and it doesn’t matter whether that makes sense or not…if it’s a market trend, we writers have to deal with it on its existence, not its merits. Cheers and thank again. 🙂
I find it interesting that the thread of comments seems to be drifting a bit toward the gatekeeper/pay-to-play motif we discussed last week.
This makes sense, I suppose, given that quality and price are typically intertwined. This is not to say that there aren’t still smokin’ deals at the dollar store, though; I’m pretty sure the toothpaste and aluminum foil they sell there is identical to the stuff you get at Target or WalMart for five bucks.
But the point you’re making, Rob, is about talent. Of course there are bad writers. Virtually every field has people who stink at said activity. I began to write that we can mostly exclude professions such as surgeon or airline pilot, but I can think of examples in those fields as well, just as you mentioned the Russian pilots and the hockey team.
In virtually any/every field of endeavor there are people who either ought not be there or who simply are new and are still developing.
The train wreck that is the first several weeks of American Idol is a good example. But there are people who have some innate ability which has yet to be fully developed. They usually make it to Hollywood but are cut relatively early.
Similarly, there are writers putting out stories/books which aren’t as good as they can be. That some of them are virtually unreadable is perhaps a matter of opinion and taste. I guess I must be some sort of grammar snob, because a sloppy story bugs the crap out of me. Can a good story be told despite this sloppy grammar? Maybe. But I think more often than not, the shoddy grammar is a symptom of a poorly-told tale as well. And I believe that anyone interested in telling a story via the written word damn well ought to take the time to proofread it until their eyes bleed.
Now, a typo here and there is, if not expected or excusable, at least something I can look past. After all, I find typos in plenty of “professional” novels published by Big 6 publishers. But if I find more than 3 or 4 in a book, the fictive trance begins to fade, the magic of the story begins to fall apart, and I start to get pissed.
Because it’s an insult to the profession.
Ultimately the writer is to blame. I know of writers who’ve had their manuscript proofread by the publisher and the writer must then go back and fix the so-called “edits” because the grammar was correct the first time, and the person who did the proofreading screwed it all up.
But it’s the writer’s name on the cover of the book, not the poor sap chained to the boiler down in the basement, engrossed in American Idol whilst they’re SUPPOSED to be proofreading.
This speaks to what you said about the cooling off period. I’ve always considered it SOP to finish the manuscript, put it away for at least a week, and then come back and read it fresh, in order to see it for what it truly is, as a reader will do, just as you said. This can be a disturbing process sometimes, because we find mistakes and think, “I wrote THAT? Yikes.” But it happens. It happens to all writers. This is the very reason why they say writing is re-writing.
In his book ON WRITING, for example, Stephen King talks about how he loves the thrill of the initial creation during the first couple of drafts of the story. But then it’s all about editing, tightening, paring down, cleaning up. And by the time he’s done with it and it’s ready to go to the publisher, he’s been through it 25 times and can hardly look at it any more.
This is the correct method of writing a novel/story. Make it as good as you can possibly make it, and THEN show it to someone (wife, husband, fellow writer, editor, agent). And not before.
When I was in college, I had a professor of English who explained it thus: it is a matter of form versus content. If the form is bad (grammer, punctation, speling), then it is impossible to even GET to the content (that which you are attempting to say).
Every occupation has standards which must be met. Writing included. If there weren’t crummy writers, there’d be no such thing as talent. I believe writers are born, but then they must cultivate that talent, hone it, polish it.
Look at it this way, what you are is God’s gift to you; what you become is your gift to God.
As always, Ryan, a comment worthy of a blog post. Thanks for adding your astute head to the discussion. I agree that a typo here or there is forgivable (as Russell pointed out, even a team of proofreaders will miss one or two items—I’ve seen many traditionally published books with errors, but not many (and certainly not enough to call the quality of the writing into question). I also feel King’s pain. That’s one of the reasons I use beta readers; by the time I am “done” with my book I hate it. Can’t stand the sight of it. And I can’t imagine it’s any good. Then I know I am done—when I can’t stand my own work. (What a messed up art form, eh?). Seriously, though, I know directors and actors go through the same thing with the making of a movie. By the end, all the minutia of shots, retakes, etc. has them wondering if the movie is going to come together at all and then they see it in the theater and are relieved to see all the work paid off. Thanks again for the great comment. 🙂
AMEN
Most writing will fall in the middle of the bell curve. By definition, most will be average. There will be standouts on both ends – the truly dreadful and the remarkably brilliant. But most will be neither. That’s just how things work.
The problem, I believe, is mainly one of editing. Most indie authors think they can edit their own work. They can’t. Nobody can. John Grisham can’t. Neither can you.
But nobody wants to hear that. They want to believe they can save the money on hiring a competent editor, copy editor and proofreader. I’ve written numerous blogs on the folly of doing so. If you want to sit on the shelf next to Ludlum, your work better have gone through the same mill. Period. Imagine releasing products into the world with no quality control. No qualified checks and balances in place. That’s what most of these writers do, and it’s incredibly short sighted.
I have clocked my 10K hours of writing. I trashed many volumes before I published my first book last June. In 2011 I wrote about one million words. I will write about 600K to 800K in 2012. Every one of those words will see an editor for story, plot and phrasing/word choice, a copy editor for grammar, and a proofreader to catch the nits. On every book, the proofreader catches some, even though I have been through it, the editor has, and the proofreader has. Even a team approach won’t catch everything. But the point is I operated my self-publishing business like a real business, and quality control is what keeps bad work from making its way onto the shelves.
I have noticed a sort of vociferous movement among the self-published that we should “support self-pubbed authors.” I agree, but only to a point, and with a caveat. I’d say support talented, hard working self pubbed authors who take our time seriously, and invest in ensuring what they pubbed is of reasonable quality. I see no reason to support any race, creed, orientation, gender, religion or vocation simply because it falls into a category.
Having said that, I can say that I’ve seen a unique phenomenon in the US (I don’t live there), which is the attack of the one hit wonders – exclusively after a book has gone free. That doesn’t happen in the UK or other markets. It’s uniquely American, and seems to be frustrated or twisted writers who savor a chance to trash a book – any book. Their opinion is always negative and venomous, and never balanced or fair. That’s in my mind every bit as bad as the gushing five star reviews for books I can spot 50 problems with in the first three chapters.
In the end, my belief is that quality will win out. But this is a business driven by luck, and if your work isn’t at peak when Lady Luck smiles at you, your shot at the brass ring will land flat and you’ll fail.
Rewrite, polish, then edit, edit, edit. Then put it out and let God sort em out…
You’re right about the problem with people not taking their writing seriously enough to hire editors, proofreaders, etc. My fear after seeing the number of writers claiming a few hundred dollars is too much money to invest (i.e. “we’re poor, we can’t afford that”) is that I doubt these writers are willing to shell out the $$ to pay even an inexpensive editor. Most editors don’t come cheap (1-2 cents / word) and this feeds into my concern (same as yours) that these people who are authoring books don’t take the profession seriously. In fact I am afraid too many don’t view it as a profession at all. Thanks for the excellent commentary, Russell. Cheers to you. 🙂
Methinks (the writer) doth protest too much, also doth have fragile writing and egoth. (sorry for the spray) I am just as insecure as the next writer, but if I put my writing out into the public to be read, I am ready for any mis/interpretation and the accompanying comments. Anyone who doesn’t want to improve will just stand still anyway.
As for price, books are like any other product, and the supply and demand will take over the economics. Unfortunately, our society is already in the ‘cheap’ mindset with the Walmarts and Targets of the world, so I don’t see a sudden show for the price of quality.
If Amazon charges for publishing, depending on the price, I probably won’t publish with them. I’m a starving artist, you know, and my husband will only support my habit so long…
Thanks for another great read!
Thanks, Mary! But yes, say it don’t spray it!! 😀 You bring up a good point about the “cheap” mindset. It really does permeate our society in places other than Amazon. I have to tell you, every time I buy a Starbucks Americano and the barista says “Three eighty-nine please” I think “this coffee is four times as much as the novel I sweated over for a year”. Puts it in perspective, I think. 🙁
This was a very well written blog and it brings to the forefront several issues. I’m not sure there is any kind of filter or screening process a writer could go through to establish whether he writes well or not since it’s all a matter of taste to the public. The public? Wow, where did that come from? That’s those people that buy the books, right? I’m being sarcastic, I know, but I’m trying to make a point. The public should be the screening process but how do you get it there?
In my perfect world of indie writing and publishing there would be several websites in which to publish your book. You would have a couple of well-known sites where you could publish for free and readers could go and read for free. If the writer wanted to establish a nominal fee for viewing, that would of course be their choice. Then, you would have a powerhouse website that sold millions of books, paperback and ebooks. To sell through this powerhouse, you would have to pay a nominal upload fee. Why? You have more at stake than just a wish to publish with a financial investment because, face it, it’s much easier to throw anything up for sale when it doesn’t cost you anything. Even at a flea market you have to pay for a booth to display your items.
But that’s only the beginning to publish through this powerhouse. The author would then put their first chapter on display for the public to view for free. Then they, the public, can decide if they want to buy it. Any author querying their book to an agent or publisher would have to send them at least one, but more than likely, three of their chapters for review and acceptance so why not query your first chapter to the public. Of course, this wouldn’t be a requirement made by the powerhouse website – more of an established practice of serious indie authors.
Finally, because of your financial investment and because you have whetted the appetite of the reader to want to see the rest of your book, you have priced your book at a reasonable price. The minimum would be $2.99.
All of this involves the public. They will determine whether your book is good enough to purchase.
This leads us back to the question of how do we put the screening process in the public’s hands? It all falls on us, indie authors, to move it there by first establishing a minimum pricing. Once we have made a clear indication of the difference between a 99 cent book and a $2.99 book, the public will take it from there.
Thanks again, Rob, for the blog and creating a forum for discussion on such an important topic.
I think integration is a better solution, your model still doesn’t address hosting, and various other production costs of which do exist (although low) in services such as Amazon.
I think Amazon should charge for publishing unless it gets past the gatekeepers, but WAIT Amazon doesn’t have gatekeepers does it? AH HA welcome to the new age where you submit your manuscript to a indie publishing service, (like Amazon) & it immediately gets sent via email to; say 100 real Amazon premium customers that are chosen randomly each month to rate books, if your book gets the green light from enough people you get FREE publishing; this is a no cost (for any party) solution that gives the author and publisher peace of mind that they won’t be wasting their time and money, and that there will be sales!
Thanks, Autum….I like it. I really do! 🙂
Thanks, Trish. As always your thoughts are deep and offer yet another feast for the mind! I agree wholehearted that the public will play a huge part in “filtering” the works of writers but as you point out, the big challenge is getting your work in their hands to be judged. You’ve offered up an intriguing solution. I like it! 😀
now just to get the big companies to do it lol!
I definitely agree that there should be quality control and charging for publishing would do that. However, my problem is that I’m poor. I’m sure I sound exactly like the trash but personal pride aside I know my work is unique and worth selling, I just can’t afford to pay to have it published until I sell some of it! It’s a vicious cycle; the writer’s life is full of vicious cycles.
Fine opening post Rob, which has ignited an excellent discussion with many thought provoking and thoughtful points and responses! It seems this topic is set to run and run. As has been said, price doesn’t always equate to quality and there are many good products found in bargain stores. As long as criticism is constructive, not destructive, writers should be able to build on advice and decide which is the best route for them. However, professionalism is paramount, why cut corners on your own work, just to get it ‘out there’? If you have pride in what you do, as you should, then a little extra investment in editing/proof reading etc is worth it. You reap what you sow!