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Right there with you John, writing makes mu head spin, but I have read many books and the best ones have been a few Louis L'Amour books, a few others in different topics, and the books members of tbis group have written.
Thanks John. Books are our life -- I think I say that on behalf of the majority of authors. Paid or unpaid, published or unpublished, we live to write. On the publishing issue.
There are indies who just have independent sentiments, cannot stand the thought of a publishing house fiddling with their creative work. I'm among these. Whether sensible or not, once I learnt about indie, I was a lost cause. You mean I don't have to pimp my book to the commercial outfits and wave ta-ta to my artistic integrity? I think I'll be an indie.
The other aspect is, I hear again and again how conservative publishing is 'in the climate of the times'. I hear that unusual books, unusual settings are genuinely hard to sell to a publisher these days. That's not about quality, that's about what's commercial -- or thought commercial by businessheads.
I too have found indies that wipe the floor with 99% of what I see on the shop shelves. I don't know which of the above reasons made them go indie. Or other reasons.
Bryn wrote: "Thanks John. Books are our life -- I think I say that on behalf of the majority of authors. Paid or unpaid, published or unpublished, we live to write. On the publishing issue.
There are indies ..."
Here! Here!
Pauline's book one of those I mean. I wonder whether she'd have had trouble with a publisher?
I did try valiantly with my first book, but got the usual bland replies. But even harder than finding a publisher is finding an agent. As for Not Wisely, I didn't even bother trying and went straight to press myself. What angers me most about publishing, both commercial and independent, is that while the whole industry would not exist without us writers, we are relegated to the bottom of the heap and treated like dirt. We have to beg (or pay) for crumbs from agents, publishers, reviewers, and now, even from readers who will gladly read your books for free but balk at paying less than they would pay for a cup of coffee.
What C.P. said!A lot of indies reading this are feeling a warm glow.
Thank you, John
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I'm very much with you on the fact that some books (I will not mention any particular ones) just really aren't that good and shouldn't become as famous as *some* do.
There's bad and good in both traditional publishing and indie publishing. I mean some people write rubbish and self-publish it just for kicks, but most of us indies really do try to write good books and a lot of times without the resources of promotional help and someone to edit/format for us. Even if I wasn't an indie, I would still admire what they do.
Pauline wrote: "Bryn wrote: "Thanks John. Books are our life -- I think I say that on behalf of the majority of authors. Paid or unpaid, published or unpublished, we live to write. On the publishing issue.
Ther..."
or hear, hear!
Finding this thread and the wonderful post from John actually made my day much better even though it's almost over (11:12 PM here)LOL. Had an awful day, but this was worth staying up past my bedtime. It is a rare and refreshing thing for someone to actually say something nice to authors in general. Sometimes it seems like people want us to drop off the face of the other after we publish a book. :) Thanks, John!
Thank you for the kind words Brendan. I have just finished my third book written by a member of this group.They were three awesome books, the research alone was amazing, the flow and people were so well written.
I consider myself very, very lucky to have stumbled across this page and be introduced to so many fine authors.
First of all l have so much admiration for all of you, you are the future of books, reading is such a huge part of my life. Please keep it up, you are wanted and very much needed, just can't put into words how important what you are doing is.
Second l am a bit confused, just paid a few dollars for my first book here and darned if it is not better written, better researched, and a whole lot more interesting than the Lee Child book l paid $18 for a few weeks ago.
What l am trying to say is that l guess its down to pure luck on getting published, being in the right place at the right time or getting your foot in the door. So much stuff here is superior to the bestsellers list.
Anyway, just wanted you to know that your are all very much appreciated, keep those books coming and good luck.