As many who avidly follow indie authors' blogs have likely seen, there has been a lot of commentary on new authors and the seemingly thrown-together nature of many recently successful e-books. Established authors, authors that I cyberstalk, authors whose books I drool over have been essentially condemning those who write a story, don't have it professionally edited and then sell it on Amazon just because they can. It's become simple to sell e-books online. Well, at least simpler than traditional publishing.
Overall, I agree. It takes work and dedication to write a story and authors owe it to readers who spend their hard-earned money on books to give them the best story they can, and that includes having the story professionally edited. As a reader, I've wanted to throw my Kindle countless times after reading a book that is a clusterfuck of grammar mistakes or a book that is essentially a ripoff of something else. In fact, in the last week, I've put down two books that had scenes entirely too similar to two books I love. Too similar to be coincidental. Just today, I went on a huge rant to my family about a book that took a line almost verbatim from a book that's blown up in the past year.
Why are these books so highly ranked on Amazon? How do the good ones get overshadowed by stories we've read seven thousand times?
As a reader, I get it.
But one thing has been woefully ignored in this whole conversation.
How do I interpret this as an aspiring author?
Are other authors, authors who I've grown to admire and respect, going to condemn me for writing a book that might not be as good as theirs and trying to compete with them? Am I going to be included in the unspecified subject of one of these blog posts someday? Is this something I will be paranoid about until an author I look up to reads one of my books and gives me their blessing?
I understand that authors work hard on their books. It takes time and sacrifice to get a final product you're proud of and it takes money to make that product suitable for readers. But if someone doesn't think my book is as good as theirs, does that mean I worked less hard on it? I'd say fuck no.
These authors have a point, and it's a valid one. But what's the solution? How do authors figure out if their book is worthy to sell through a channel as accessible as Amazon? How do we articulate the hierarchy of indie books? Relying on readers to find the best books amongst an infinite supply doesn't seem to be working. But how do you tell someone who has a story to tell that they shouldn't sell their book?
I feel like I should say that this is just my opinion. This is how I've interpreted this whole onslaught of blogs. This may not hold true for everyone. Maybe there are people who are just looking to make a quick buck and think writing a book and selling it is an easy way to do it.
As someone who dreams of breaking into this industry, though, it's been discouraging to see the multitude of comments about some authors not living up to standards set by established ones. I feel like I'm trying to join a community that doesn't want me there. Shouldn't we be encouraging people to tell their stories? To make sure their voices are heard?
Maybe I'm just naive.
All I can say is that four beautiful souls have been talking in my head. Clamoring to get out. Begging to be heard.
We're coming, like it or not.
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