We have all been trained

How can you know if a book is good before you read it? How do you know if that money you are about to spend is worth it? When you meet an author, how do you know if they are impressive? What is the “thing” that clues you in?

For generations now, we’ve been taught that it’s the big name publishers. We’ve been carefully socialized to accept that someone with a contract with a big money press is better than the “starving artist” who tries to make it even when the world is against them. We just “...