Editing in Goodreads posts by author

[Jim]

Does how well an author edits his or her posts on Goodreads affect whether or not you want to read said author's work? I have to say it does me, but i don't care at all about occasional mistakes, I make them too. I just get turned off when I see that the author's posts are a pain to read. I don't want perfection. I just want to see that a writer cares about his or her writing.

[Patrick]

I tend to agree. Like you, I don't mind minor typos (this is just social media, after all), but large amounts of them would turn me off.

[Eric]

In any public display of writing I try to put my best foot forward. Sure, I figure an audience will forgive some errors in a Facebook/Goodreads/forum post...it's organic after all, and no editor is weighing in. It's first-draft shit.

However, authors who post totally incomprehensible screeds of colloquial nonsense shouldn't be surprised when people read that shit and decide not to buy their books. I mean really; if you need an editor to make your thoughts even comprehensible by the rules of English then your thoughts are probably not worth paying money to read. I know that's harsh, but I view it as a truth.

"Write as best you can anytime you do" is in my opinion pretty good advice for authors.

[Lily]

To each their own. We have many folders in this group designed to help authors clean up. It comes down to free will. Authors have to want to clean up after themselves. If they don't want to, well, too bad.

[Melissa]

Edit button. Godsend. I've edited older posts of my own, but I'm somewhat of a grammar snob. Team Oxford Comma. Is that a thing? I'm gonna make that a thing.

Back on topic... It very much affects my decision. I haven't had an author on Goodreads--that I've personally read--slaughter the English language so badly that I'd shoot them down. Yet.

However, I've rejected books to review based solely on the editing in the first chapter. And stream of thought isn't an excuse to forego basics.

[Ed]

I left a group because the moderator couldn't write. Every time I got message from her I cringed at the grammar mistakes and spelling errors. You would think after reading so many books she would pick up on her mistakes...

[Sara]

The reality is that everything we say and do online and in person create an image which would affect whatever endeavor we pursue. As authors who wish to sell a book, it is vital that most things written should reflect back to your sales pitch. That doesn't mean that you should solely pitch your book with every comment and post - what that means is that you present yourself and your writing in the light that best represents your style and genre. Excessive rants and poor writing will turn away potential readers, unless it is what your book is about.
I know I often judge someone's story writing by how they write on their blog or on social media. I judge an editor by how well their site or blog is put together. I can overlook some but consistent errors starts to make me dislike the author. There are some, even here, that I'm not sure I would pick up their book because their grammar and spelling on social media is so poor. They may have written a novel I love but I've already decided I won't like it.
It's one of the reasons I am very selective about indie books. I've read far too many that lacked editing that I just don't have time to waste on them.

[Jim]

@Melissa. I like it when people know about archaic rules like the Oxford comma, split infinitive, no sentence-ending prepositions, etc.

I don't believe these rules need to be followed, but the fact that someone has taken the time to find out and make his or her own decision warms my heart.

I absolutely do not mind errors and don’t judge people for slip-ups. I just want to see a little love for your craft. I might be going too far when I write my reviews in Word and re-read them twice before posting, but even this doesn’t catch every mistake.

Eric’s "Write as best you can anytime you do" is great advice.

I have to say I'm really afraid of the mistakes I'm going to be making now that I've got the Goodreads app...

[Melissa]

Jim wrote: "@Melissa. I like it when people know about archaic rules like the Oxford comma, split infinitive, no sentence-ending prepositions, etc.

I don't believe these rules need to be followed, but the fa..."

Don't you be callin' my baby archaic. Heheh.

[Renee E]

@Eric, post #4:

Double bonus points for " incomprehensible screeds of colloquial nonsense" and "read that shit" in the same sentence. :D

[Justin]

Another peeve of mine, I'm beginning to act like Courtney listing all of hers lol. I hate when people jump on me and call me out and say I'm a bad author and they won't check out my books just because I make mistakes in some of my comments on here. First off, If I'm trying to make a point and I have a lot to say and I make a good amount of mistakes then by all means judge me, but when I'm just making a two sentence comment and I'm on my phone and I accidentally use a lower-case letter over capitalizing a letter and my phone has auto-correct? Don't flip out! Some people are just way too touchy and judgmental on GR.

[Eric]

Renee wrote: "@Eric, post #4:

Double bonus points for " incomprehensible screeds of colloquial nonsense" and "read that shit" in the same sentence. :D"

That is what happens when a construction worker reads a lot and decides to become a writer. ;)

[Lily]

I really, really, don't think a forum post is the same thing as showing your craft. Sometimes people just want to hang out, take off the writer hat, step outside of the office, and just chat.

My writing style is very different from my everday conversation skills. It might seem like a split personality, and in a way it is, but it's just the different sides of me. If I used my author's voice 100% all the time, every single little word, I would go completely insane and never finish a story again.