do you think authors and publishers are getting lazy?

[shreya]

you're not being cynical lol it's true. authors are writing certain books with similar patterns so tge book can be tropified and get a hit on booktok or bookstagram. technically it's a success because the books are doing well too. I just wish we had more variety and not every would be just another cheap version of hunger games or cruel prince

[Bella(✨❤️Hopeful Romantic❤️✨)]

They choose quantity over quality. And that’s the kind of stuff that makes me, as a writer and a fervent reader, feel like vomiting myself into a coma.

[becs]

absolutely, for sure. there is no doubt in mind, like just by looking at some of the stuff that gets published nowadays bwhaha... but seriously. but to each their own!!

[[deleted user]]

all things use to be good at one time not anymore :(

[Ethan]

Books have been impacted by the same factors influencing other creative spheres. Quality is often sacrificed for marketability.

But that doesn't mean everything new is bad. You may just have to work a bit to find people whose writing you connect with. Some authors publishing right now that I think are doing a good job in fiction are:

Matt Haig
Naomi Alderman
Amor Towles
R.F. Kuang

And I could probably think of more with just a bit of time. Some people who I think are doing excellent nonfiction writing are:

Amy Tan
Anne Lamott
Daniel Nayeri
Harrison Scott Key

(And the first three of these also write fiction)

Maybe you don't connect with any of these authors, but I bet you could find some that you like. I think talking about authors that are doing excellent work and reading their books is a great way to boost their visibility and encourage authors and publishers to find more stuff like theirs.

[Nat]

I do agree that there seems to be something going on in the editing industry. Over the last few years I’ve seen more errors in books than ever before. Is it just coincidence with whatever copies I pick up or is no one doing their job. Continuity errors too, not just grammatical. It’s disheartening to see.

[Laura]

Hummm, are you reading self-published books on Amazon? I have been sorely disappointed in those. Even some famous authors have taken the shortcut past editors and straight to ebooks and those books have left me cold. There is something about social media that just screams "no need to proofread or spell correctly" that seems to have come into the self publishing "genres." (One well-known author used the word step and its congregations 3 times in a single paragraph and 7 times on a page. You cannot convince me she proofread that page!)
Before you buy another book, try looking for a publisher's imprint.

[Lisa]

Honestly, I've found proofreading errors in books for years. Paper books. Brand new. Back in the day, like the 1990s, not so much. IMHO so many books out there and more every day I prefer giving many older books a try.

[Ayden]

Hmm, I believe yes, with all these Ai Generated books that they put no effort into (like plagiarism for stealing and not even taking the time to write the books) Also there is alot of unoriginal books (Honesty game and Hunger games for example) some good authors take the time to actually write and publish their books from heart. i believe we should keep out old ways and take out laziness and plagiarism (not saying stealing a book is a bore). I understand you still have to go through the publishing system. But I believe yes, the lack of effort is increasing and we need more OG writers!!!

[Liz luv]

authors yes, publishers-also yes.

[Cassondra]

Robin (Ganon's Version) wrote: "So, I'm about 90 pages into , and I have got to say that it's so mid right now. I don't hate it or I would have already put it down by now, but I don't like it eno..."
I wouldn't say lazy, but it's certainly more consumerist. Publishers are pushing out books at such as fast pace that the author don't have proper time to write/edit. Not unless you are a major name or self publish.

[♤Lizzy♤]

Some authors, but usually the books I read have already been published (series complete) but as a wof and Tui only making 1 graphic novel a year I het really impatient. so yes. they do slack off. (btw the graphic novels have so many flaws [messed up drawings, wrong lines] it's so annoying)

[Emma]

I think books right now are too focused on being marketable and widely appealing. The hyperfixation on tropes, the samey covers, the underwhelming end product... it feels like publishers are no longer looking for authors who actually have something to say because that's not what's popular.

I struggle to read some contemporary books now because I get too caught up finding problems or things that bug me while I'm reading it. Or the writing style is just so plain that it becomes a bore. I wish I could get the feeling reading all contemporary books as I get reading The Bell Jar or Emma. There are some exceptions, I really liked Everything I Never Told You, but they seem few and far between.

[The Cozy Cat]

I felt that they were lazy with Iron Flame first editions... they were really poorly done. Many of the first editions were riddled with errors on release, the sprayed edges weren't well done either; they didn't bother with stenciling and the edging ink came off on your fingers as you're reading. They really could have done a better job with the Iron Flame release IMO. Pre-orders also should have had priority over in-store releases I think. People who pre-ordered should have got their copies before everyone else. ‍

[♤Lizzy♤]

I agree Cozy Cat! I have a friend who read Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, she sent me pics of all the mistakes and places where it didn't make sense. (After a hour long explanation of Fourth Wing lore) I was disappointed because the first book sounded so good!

[Malissa]

What I think is that we are over saturated with specific tropes because they are popular. It happens in all the generations of book reading, various different tropes over the decades have taken the lead. There are still great writers, you just have to weed through the saturation for authors you like and enjoy.

[Mayhem-RW]

You can blame a lot of it on Grammarly and the person running the program. I've used it for a couple of years now and can tell when the operator agrees with all of the suggestions and doesn't comprehend what they are agreeing to.

[Henna_UwU]

I think a lot of it has to do with risk VS reward. Most publishers would rather publish a tropey romance novel than something more unusual because the romance novel is likely to sell better, especially if it features elements that are already in other popular books. Because of that, we end up with hundreds of books that have slight variations of the same core idea.

There are still good modern books being published, of course, but I'd say they are quite a lot rarer.

[ali]

i don't really think authors themselves are getting lazy, i just thing the publishing industry just keeps promoting the same books that they know will do well, which makes us as readers start to feel like things are getting redundant

[Ari]

totally agree with everything! it feels like a lot of books are made just to fit into a trend, at the moment it is especially the hockey romance trend, it feels like every time i'm on here i'll see a sports romance on my goodreads feed. maybe some are good but it just feels really overdone, and all the synopsis sound so similar! idk if it's laziness or not but i think tiktok has caused an over reliance on trends, especially in the modern romance genre.