Reviews of Indie/Self-Published Books

[Donna]

Philip, I agree with your ideas. Putting the had not and hadn't (etc) in the correct places made a big difference to my narrative non-fiction book.

And I like your comment that the contractions when used in course of narration causes the reader to come to a thudding halt.

[Judy]

Stephen King wrote in his book "On Writing" the #1 thing is to be true to yourself and to your characters. If your characters would say "hadn't", then write "hadn't". If they are more formal and would say "had not", write had not. (He used a similar argument for slang terms and curse words).

Even in non-fiction, it has to do with the tone. If you want academic, formal English, then take out the contractions. If you want an informal, intimate and chatty tone, leave them in.

[Donna]

Yes, that too Judy. Conclusion - there's never any hard and fast rule!

[Judy]

And I'm a technical writer by trade. So when I write a report on health care, there are no pronouns, no contractions, no slang, and all sources are footnoted. But if I am writing a How To book for a general commercial audience, I might want something far less formal.

[R.E.]

When I edit my own stuff, I read it on a computer screen then print it out if i thinks its typo free. Or try amazon preview..although its still on a computer screen its just looks different and i catch typos that way.

[Peter]

So the people doing all the bagging reviews are editors looking for work?

I think good editors are wonderful, but the economics of their business model sucks. There's no incentive for authors because there's no tie to sales.

I reckon editors should form a guild. Set standards, moderate them and put a brand on professionally edited work. Then there is an incentive.

[Hannah]

I think such a guild exists in NZ.

[Hannah]

R.E. wrote: "When I edit my own stuff, I read it on a computer screen then print it out if i thinks its typo free. Or try amazon preview..although its still on a computer screen its just looks different and i..."

I was mentored when I wrote my book. Passed the NZ Writers' College course with distinction, which I thought deemed it publication standard. I proof read it God knows how many times. Thinking it was ready to publish, I sent it to the Oceanbooks editorial team only to have it ripped apart and put back together. Then I had to proof read it another six times before having it professionally checked before it went to press. Pheww!!!