tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post8679569259573607258..comments2024-03-18T06:16:18.802-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: The Tsunami of CrapJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger307125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-12223519196975907452014-03-14T17:18:38.516-05:002014-03-14T17:18:38.516-05:00Bill,
But it was rather predictable.
Oh, HORROR...<br />Bill,<br /><br />But it was rather predictable. <br /><br />Oh, HORROR, the World is Changing and I don't like it!<br /><br />Basically that's all they said. Yes, they fancied it up a bit, but that is all they said.<br /><br />Wayne<br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18354974465136846413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-73833926204154430292014-03-14T12:07:08.445-05:002014-03-14T12:07:08.445-05:00Wow, Joe wrote his rebuttal to Thad McIllroy's...Wow, Joe wrote his rebuttal to Thad McIllroy's rant against amazon three years before it appeared. <br /><br />http://www.thepassivevoice.com/03/2014/how-amazon-destroyed-the-publishing-ecosystem/<br /><br />Why didn't you tell us you developed superpowers?Bill Peschelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257587479467531187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-91279659869211862732012-04-24T08:10:42.443-05:002012-04-24T08:10:42.443-05:00So true !
Kudos to you my friend?So true !<br />Kudos to you my friend?Hakan Guzhanhttp://www.inscribink.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-52210760066201597232012-04-23T17:56:18.461-05:002012-04-23T17:56:18.461-05:00I'll put my books up against any, indie or tra...I'll put my books up against any, indie or traditional publisher. <br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Jason-Christie/e/B006P7E0K8/<br /><br />But not based on covers and blurbs...Jason Z. Christiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17662433953036042624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-89990974867163781542011-10-07T08:38:32.423-05:002011-10-07T08:38:32.423-05:00Here is the thing:
Legacy Published Books have th...Here is the thing:<br /><br />Legacy Published Books have their fair share of crap, though I will say though they probably have less books out there that are full of grammar and spelling errors.<br /><br />Self published have their fair of crap, probably more right now but I think that will change in time.<br /><br />I get a strong feeling that many self-published authors are skipping the editing stage and are just getting it out there to try an earn a buck. But they will be kicking themselves in the ass as with each purchase they make, if people think the story is crap and the grammar and spelling is even worse. THey are going to lose readership<br /><br />And ultimately...the key to making it as an author is not how many books can you sell to new authors, its gaining a loyal group of readers who will buy everything you put out.<br /><br />In this day and age a persons career can be ruined over night from crap<br /><br />SURE self-published authors will just switch to a new pen name, but people are quite clever and most people hiding behind a pen name are found out in the end <br /><br />Moral of the story is<br /><br />Yes self publishing is increasing in popularity and it probably is full of about 90% total crap right now, but that will change in time as more people jump the legacy bandwagon and move to self publishing<br /><br />The only way I would go with a legacy is if they offered a contract that was like 2 million dollarsdavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-20505964034422154192011-10-04T15:04:45.170-05:002011-10-04T15:04:45.170-05:00This is so liberating and inspiring - thanks for p...This is so liberating and inspiring - thanks for posting! Throughout my early years writing I was made to believe in the myth of rejections and catering to publishers and their editors, when in fact, communication mediums were opening up all along to connect me directly with the readers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-24994420464128797142011-08-16T18:07:17.395-05:002011-08-16T18:07:17.395-05:00@The Darling Novelist: Yes, I believe we should de...@The Darling Novelist: Yes, I believe we should develop a 'Boogers the Love Story' anthology. It will be epic. leaving the world sneezing for more.<br /><br />I don't believe that readers care where a book is published. Sure, they can get a hint that it's an indie book if it's $1. But look on Amazon; even quite a few traditionally published books don't mention their publisher on their Amazon page. If they do, it's a single line. If they don't, it's a smaller line on the first page of the preview. <br /><br />In most cases, readers aren't looking for the publisher's name. If anything, they're looking for a writer they recognize. They just want a good story.S. M. Boycehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12355354118071442968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-87565106666805499722011-08-02T20:36:16.116-05:002011-08-02T20:36:16.116-05:00Finally...something brutally honest about self-pub...Finally...something brutally honest about self-publishing. I have recently barreled into the world of writing and noticed that some authors are generous, considerate, and welcoming of new authors while some act superior and have no intention of trying to help others or build a sense of community with other authors. You know which category the ebook haters fall into.Shawndra Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00642496015404291018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-45639557513389135302011-07-28T12:48:38.607-05:002011-07-28T12:48:38.607-05:00A wise man once said, "90% of EVERYTHING is c...A wise man once said, "90% of EVERYTHING is crap." Sure a lot of the self-pub e-books are crap. But you find the same thing in your local dead-tree bookstore. Many times before leaving on an international trip, I'd buy 2-3 books, just hoping ONE of them might be worth reading! When I used to frequent the library, I'd often check out 10 books at a time for the same reason.<br />The advantage of self-pub e-books is that...<br />1. You can read reviews online before you buy.<br />2. You can download a sample for free... and usually find out in a few pages if it's worth a read.<br />3. When you DO buy a book, you've invested $.99, or maybe $2.99, not the traditionally published price of $15-$25! <br />The e-pub revolution is the BEST thing that's happened for readers since the Gutenberg press!Robert David MacNeilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02150628219068516254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-81908824713797826412011-07-26T13:29:58.262-05:002011-07-26T13:29:58.262-05:00Thank you @KianaDavenport!
I've heard a lot ...Thank you @KianaDavenport! <br /><br />I've heard a lot of people put down FanFic @epobirs, while ignoring the skills that writers can develop. A lot of our current generation of writers got their start with FanFic.<br /><br />One more post and Joe will hit 300 comments. Who's going to jump in and make to 301, and start the article onto it's third comment page :)<br /><br />WayneAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18354974465136846413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-81218651309305870212011-07-25T07:20:41.006-05:002011-07-25T07:20:41.006-05:00Tom Lewis,
That was one of the sillier things I&#...Tom Lewis,<br /><br />That was one of the sillier things I've read in a good while. <br /><br />Go to certain sections at a big store like a Barnes & Noble and you'll find a massive volume of material from the Big6 that is nothing more than fan fiction. Star Trek novels have been little more than a fan fiction industry unto themselves for decades. There are some standouts. Peter David's Star Trek work is worth reading because it's Peter David being Peter David. (He wrote a storyline for DC Comics that would have been a far better fourth movie than what we got. The Enterprise series lifted heavily from it for one of its better storylines.) Another writer given the same synopsis to work from has far less chance of scoring a hit. Likewise, the John Ford TOS novel, 'How Much For Just The Planet' could easily been fanfic in shorter form. It was hilarious but most really funny fanfic goes too far with killing main characters or some other offense to get officially published. Although there were some officially published anthologies of Star Trek stories from fans in the late 70s. some of those people became pros.<br /><br />But every big media license that wasn't based on books in the first place gets print additions and spin-offs. Joss Whedon couldn't get the network to let him do a feature film revolving around a supporting character the Buffy the Vampire Slayer setting but handing it off to a competent writer to produce purely fan indulgence? No problem! And quite profitable, too.<br /><br />Fanfiction went pro a long time ago. There have been print tie-ins to poular TV shows since the 1960s. Things like Man From Uncle and Get Smart novels. Sometimes they were ideas too elaborate and costly to do on TV or sometimes they just crap. But this all came out of the major publishers without a moment of shame.<br /><br />A lot of this stuff is pretty good and a place for younger writers to hone their skills or experienced writers to make a quick buck for a flat fee. The best stuff indulges those who know the material well. The worst tends to be generic stuff that could be done without the license but would be very forgettable.<br /><br />One of the best fanfic stories I ever read was not kept from conventional publishing for lack of quality but due to a copyright nightmare. It placed the X-Files, Highlander, Forever Knight, and some other genre shows all in the same world for a massive crossover adventure. It was incredibly self-indulgent but held together quite well. I'm told the writing staffs of two of the shows were impressed enough to slip in some jokes referencing the story.<br /><br />The gatekeepers have done a lousy job of maintaining quality whenever a chance to make a quick buck came their way. They have no basis to claim a moral high ground.<br /><br />The world will adapt and quality will be rewarded, more or less. It has ever been thus.epobirshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15584564334924010440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-61591997140829856062011-07-25T06:37:11.798-05:002011-07-25T06:37:11.798-05:00I wanted to draw parallels between the publishing ...I wanted to draw parallels between the publishing worlds of books and video games but it kind of got away from me. The good news is I've finally found a use for that blog account I started months ago!<br /><br />http://epobirs.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/you-dont-need-gatekeepers-you-need-talent/<br /><br />I don't buy the Sturgeon's Law on Overdrive theory. When I was a kind in the 70s you could go to the SF section of the bookstore and realize you'd read nearly everything there except the newest releases. What wasn't so obvious was that vast number of unmemorable books from years ago had never seen a second printing. <br /><br />After Star Wars the number of SF and Fantasy novels published yearly grew an order of magnitude, at least. There was a lot more crap than ever before but there was also a far steadier supply of good new things to read. Enough that I was far less likely to read the same book multiple time for lack of anything new to compete for my attention. Somehow, the good ones manage to float above the stream of sewage. I don't see that changing.<br /><br />Now to get back to work on that booger romance.epobirshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15584564334924010440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-46515779184307701552011-07-21T03:23:57.716-05:002011-07-21T03:23:57.716-05:00THe slushpile and its rejects have always existed....THe slushpile and its rejects have always existed. An article like 'Tsunami of Crap' feeds into the fear of being sidelined and overlooked.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-49055085646794679442011-07-20T15:55:49.291-05:002011-07-20T15:55:49.291-05:00@Wayne Borean. Amen! And Amen. Star-ratings cha...@Wayne Borean. Amen! And Amen. Star-ratings change. Opinions change. Good writing lasts forever.<br />Kiana Davenport, AuthorKiana Davenporthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18006822100662057905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-67100599143796633162011-07-20T15:16:04.500-05:002011-07-20T15:16:04.500-05:00@Rolandixor
Ignore those idiots, and keep writing...@Rolandixor<br /><br />Ignore those idiots, and keep writing. Because the only way any of us ever get any better is by practicing. And the only way we can practice is by doing.<br /><br />It takes time and effort to develop talent. Anyone who is trying to discourage you is no friend of yours.<br /><br />WayneAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18354974465136846413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-91338666524790784232011-07-20T09:38:04.362-05:002011-07-20T09:38:04.362-05:00MAN! I must thank God for you, and this post :D! I...MAN! I must thank God for you, and this post :D! I was feeling like writing was a pointless move for me, but you have changed my perspective. So many authors out there are trying to discourage others, and getting offended when you point that out to them (that they are guilty of pointlessly discouraging others)... and it was putting me off completing anything.<br /><br />This has changed my perspective, and I also would like to say someone recommended me to your blog, and I'm grateful. God bless!Roland Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14903739845812085989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-81965691799839588442011-07-17T15:54:40.609-05:002011-07-17T15:54:40.609-05:00@Mark
I agree that's how readers shop when t...@Mark <br /><br />I agree that's how readers shop when they are there.<br /><br />I was referring to the reason they have in mind when they first decide to go there. They usually have a purchase (or several) they already want to make. Then the Also Boughts come into play. <br /><br />They don't wander in the endless virtual aisles of Amazon with virtual bookshelves towering over them, fearful that they will never find anything amongst these millions of titles.<br /><br />People are worried about a massive increase of self-published titles. But the fact is, the real "tsunami" of titles has already happened.<br /><br />As I said, there were already millions of books on Amazon before KDP. People still had no problem finding books they enjoyed.<br /><br />Now we have a million items in the Kindle store, and worried that it might rise to several million.<br /><br />So what. It's been like that for print books for some time. No big deal.David Gaughranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13236692339928690142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-42355591750334541182011-07-17T15:47:32.287-05:002011-07-17T15:47:32.287-05:00@David:
"But that's not how people actua...@David:<br /><br />"But that's not how people actually shop at Amazon.<br /><br />"Most go there with a book purchase in mind already."<br /><br />I'll differ. Amazon sells a lot of books by recommending them. They recommend books based on a lot of things, but sales rank is an important part of their algorithms. If you reach a certain sales rank, Amazon begins to sell your book for you. If you don't get to that rank, they don't work nearly as hard on your behalf.<br /><br />Here's an example of how important visibility is, and how dependent that can be on sales rank. A number of erotica writers on Kindleboards had their B&N sales ranks artificially dropped by a thousand places one week. Their sales plummeted. <br /><br />Same books that had been selling very well, some in the top 100 overall. The only thing that changed was their sales rank, and this had a freezing effect on sales because it meant B&N wasn't displaying their books to customers with as much frequency in the past.Mark Asherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13758940020912520294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-35596724564286883762011-07-17T11:53:59.020-05:002011-07-17T11:53:59.020-05:00@Mark
But that's not how people actually shop...@Mark<br /><br />But that's not how people actually shop at Amazon.<br /><br />Most go there with a book purchase in mind already.<br /><br />And, if you think back, there were millions of titles on Amazon before KDP. People still had no problem finding books.<br /><br />Just like they don't have a problem today, and they won't in the future.David Gaughranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13236692339928690142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-5676513175850163552011-07-17T11:37:59.831-05:002011-07-17T11:37:59.831-05:00I don't see it being a tsunami of crap being a...I don't see it being a tsunami of crap being a problem, but a tsunami of books may be problematic for writers. <br /><br />If you think of the way Amazon displays books, it's like they have a table at the front of the store. It's already hard to be on that table. How much harder will it be to make it on that table when there are five times as many books for sale? <br /><br />The more books for sale, the percentage of books that get premium exposure becomes smaller and smaller. It's easier to be one out of a hundred than it is to be one out of ten thousand.Mark Asherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13758940020912520294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-19751908998658969242011-07-15T19:20:32.776-05:002011-07-15T19:20:32.776-05:00I agree that this isn't an issue. I mean, yes...I agree that this isn't an issue. I mean, yes, there will be more crap because there will be more books. But there also will be more wondeful books that wouldn't have existed if it were only up to legacy publishers. I too believe cream will rise to the top (I'm praying mine is one of these). As in traditional publishing there may still be some great books that don't do well and some awful ones that do, but that's just the way it is--self-publishing or not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-88382688876159654812011-07-14T22:25:31.256-05:002011-07-14T22:25:31.256-05:00Bwah! That's actually kind of cool in a gross ...Bwah! That's actually kind of cool in a gross sort of way :)Selena Kitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-87891504016925480092011-07-14T22:24:56.586-05:002011-07-14T22:24:56.586-05:00Bwah! That's actually kind of cool in a gross ...Bwah! That's actually kind of cool in a gross sort of way :)Selena Kitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17783685215421352626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-47196403961461930712011-07-14T19:25:54.842-05:002011-07-14T19:25:54.842-05:00Finally a cover that makes J.A. Konrath proud!Finally <a href="http://segordon.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-gag-novel-cover-art.html" rel="nofollow">a cover</a> that makes J.A. Konrath proud!Scott Gordonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11276077650234517880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-19542277787280916782011-07-14T18:19:39.031-05:002011-07-14T18:19:39.031-05:00I agree about this fact: readers will STILL find w...I agree about this fact: readers will STILL find what they want to read. The Internet is a tremendous ally to us writers, and it can help readers just as much. The trouble is the competition -- but honestly, hasn't competition ALWAYS been the problem? There's ten thousand other books in the bookstore. Why would a reader pick yours over anyone else's? What are the chances?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-More-Day-ebook/dp/B004P1IZY8" rel="nofollow"><i>One More Day</i></a> is still selling pretty decent and it's been five months since I released it on Kindle. My short story collection <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Three-Before-Dark-Collection-ebook/dp/B004XZUYJK" rel="nofollow"><i>Three Before Dark</i></a> has only sold a handful in the few months it has been out. My new novel, a big dark fantasy piece called <i>No Sunrise</i> will see release next month, and I'm curious to see how well it does.<br /><br />How do readers keep finding my books? I don't know, but they do, and that tells me that this crazy Internet is still working. If you want to read about something, you can do it. <br /><br />Thank you Kindle.<br /><br />And thank you Joe for another awesome post.<br /><br /><a href="http://nicholaslasalla.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Nick</a>Nicholas La Sallahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00672628766188470171noreply@blogger.com