The last several months I have been setting up a book review blog for indie authors. As such my fellow blogger Sue Owen and I have been reading a wide selection of indie books. I have come to wonder if some of these authors even read their books after finishing the first draft. Many of the books are well done, the stories are fantastic and they do a wonderful job of creating worlds and characters that draw you in. All of this fantastic hard work is ruined by horrid sentence structure, gaping plot holes, and totally confusing dialogue.
I am an indie author and I know that there are mistakes in my own books but nothing like what I have been seeing. I would like to see the indie market expand and for more people to explore and find great indie authors. Seeing so many published works that seem like they have never met an editor I cringe at the effect it is going to have on the indie community as a whole.
So speaking to fellow indie authors, your work is fantastic and I will continue to promote it and the community but I urge you, for the love of Mike, EDIT YOUR BOOKS! I know first hand how horrendous this process is but if you are serious about seeing your books succeed hire an editor, its worth every penny.
And to the readers of indie books; I thank you for your support of the community and I hope that you will bear in mind that some of us are going to stumble along the way and hope you will be patient with us.
Hi Sharon!
ReplyDeleteJust stopped by to look at your trailer and found this post. It made me laugh. I know we all will miss some things from time to time in our indie works. Like I'm horrible with commas. I forget them or add them where they don't belong, and I have to keep working on that weakness. Most of my "editors" miss them, too. But there is a HUGE difference in missing a typo, and just having bad grammar. I hope readers become more picky, so those who use grammar don't become the exception in indie books, and bad grammar the norm.
Good luck in your reviewing endeavors, and btw...I think your network blog link is creating a hiccup on this blog. The cursor keeps jumping, making it hard to type a comment, but I'm pushing through it.
The page just keeps reloading a java script gadget.
I think what worries me the most is that I have read some indie books lately that are very very popular but they are horribly edited, and its basic things like proper dialogue format and using adverbs and pronouns properly. I am the first to admit that I am horrid at grammar and spelling but sometimes its like writers are just spewing this stuff out without even looking at the keyboard or screen to make sure their fingers are on the proper keys.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up about the network blog thing I'll look into it. :)
I often work with genuinely intelligent (and even well-read) college undergrads who were simply never taught basic rules about using commas, avoiding run-on sentences, and avoiding fragments. Also, they usually believe that what they've written communicates what they intended to say when it doesn't at all. This is so normal that it doesn't faze me anymore. But I still have higher expectations for something that's been published. The word's getting out this week, though, about the value of getting professional help. . . (And no, I don't provide any!)
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