There are differences of opinion among book bloggers as to the value of self-published novels. Some specifically note in their review policy that they do not accept self-published books for review. Others, like myself, are wary but do not rule them out entirely. And I'm sure there are some bloggers out there who swear by them!
Personally, I'd like to suggest the following: there is nothing inherently bad about self-published novels. Just because the book is not under the label of a traditional publisher does not mean unequivocally that the book is of any lesser quality. It doesn't necessarily mean that the book "wasn't good enough" to be accepted by a standard publishing house. Sure, it may have a rather unsightly cover, but we all know that covers do not translate to the material within. And traditional publishers have been known to come out with some cover eyesores as well.
Like really awkward kissing covers.
Or the re-designed Nightshade series covers. (Seriously, what were they thinking?)
But books that go through traditional publishers come with one decided advantage:
THEY HAVE BEEN EDITED.
As in, they have gone through several readings by another pair of eyes, looking at the story from a structural perspective, looking at the story line-by-line stylistically, and then finally copyediting for consistency and proofreading for errors.
I don't pretend to have loads of editing expertise, but I've taken enough courses and read enough books to know how essential this is in making a story readable. Authors are too close to their material to objectively see where the plot holes lie or the world-building falls apart. Sure, there are ways to achieve a better distance from your story (if you're interested in the process of self-editing, you might want to check out Susan Bell's The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself), but the best way, in my opinion? Get someone else to look it over.
Of course, it can be argued that some self-published novels do very well, commercially speaking. There seem to be other readers out there who don't mind the grammatical errors and substantive inconsistencies that drive me crazy. Perhaps there are two different breeds of readers: those who can shrug off the errors and whiz through books that read like the first draft of a manuscript...and those who can't.
Honestly, I'm not sure I can really understand the perspective of a self-published author who does not bother to get someone else to edit their work. Do you truly believe your story is the best it can possibly be when you're the only person to have set eyes on it? Do you only care about the money that's coming in, not the quality of your book? I can understand where financially there might be an issue, but if you can't afford an editor, at least try to get writer friends or beta-readers to point out the problems. Because you can be J. K. Rowling and your work will STILL need to be edited.It's nothing that should be taken personally. Writing is a craft. So is editing. An editor can only do so much with the writing they are given — and a writer can only accomplish so much without an editor. It's a symbiotic relationship that, when it works smoothly, results in something greater than the sum of its parts: a truly worthwhile story.
Yes! I won't read self-published books for this reason. The few I've read have been awful in the editing department. If I want to read that kind of thing (which I don't), I could go and find some fan fiction...
ReplyDeleteI actually wanted to go over the last few Harry Potter books with a red pen, so editing isn't a problem just with self-published writing. Although, I wonder how many people actually read those later HP novels before they were published (due to the secrecy issue)... They may have been edited less than the earlier books. In any case, it's still an argument for more/better editing!
Very interesting point you make about the later Harry Potter books! I suspect you're right that fewer and fewer people were reading them before publication as the series grew in popularity.
DeleteI usually read a sample before I purchase a self-pub to see how the editing is. Sometimes, care is paid and the result is good. I can think of a couple shining examples of books good enough to be traditionally published! I hate the sour apples who think their book is the best ever with no help and start flaming at the first hint that their baby isn't as perfect as they think, though. It's a fine line!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to read a sample first - that will certainly help to give you a sense of what the writing is like! I completely agree about the "sour apples" too, LOL :D
DeleteI read a lot of self-published books and some of them have the worst gam mar/punctuation or whatever. I don't mind the little errors or typos, but once they become regular I get pretty annoyed. I think getting writing edited by someone else is extremely helpful.
ReplyDeleteYeah, a couple of errors/typos don't bother me either - those are pretty much inevitable even in traditionally published books. Proofreaders don't catch everything! But constant mistakes do get on my nerves too.
DeleteThumbs up!
ReplyDeleteAnd getting edited by someone else does not mean a family member or best friend - you need someone who will not be afraid to critique.
Great point, Ricki! You don't want the only other eyes to look over your work to be ones that are extremely biased in your favor. That won't help your book get the critique it needs!
DeleteGood post! Indie authors too clueless/arrogant to not get professional editing are hurting themselves, but more important, they're wrecking the field for those of us who ARE careful to produce the best possible book. For any indie seeking help that's good yet affordable, check out www.elance.com I found my cover designer, editor and proofreader there, and the value was great. Backwords Story--what were some of the self-published books that impressed you?
ReplyDeleteI definitely see what you mean about certain authors ruining the field for others — I'm sure it must be really frustrating for those indie/self-published authors who *have* tried hard to ensure good writing quality!
DeleteI decided to stop accepting self-published books for review because of spelling and grammar mistakes. The occasional typo is fine but when there's way too much ... it's so hard to enjoy the story.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Happy Easter, Danya!
Thanks! :) I agree, it can be very distracting to immerse yourself in a story when there's an error every few sentences.
DeleteI've read a few self publishing stories that were very well edited and I've read many traditional published books and was like "WTF, who edited this?" The advantage of publishers is that they have budgets for these kinds of things. Some self publishers, while they may be clueless and/or arrogant to seek editing, they might just be flat out broke. However, that's not really an excuse anymore given all the crowd funding sources such as indie gogo or rockethub or kickstarter.
ReplyDeleteWhat Indie books did you read and love?
Such a great post, Danya! This is so true. Some of the time, I think the only difference between a self-pubbed and traditionally pubbed book is a good editor.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I speak to a creative writing class,someone always asks, "How can you bear having an editor change your words?" They're usually shocked when I say that I love my editors! They want the same thing I do: the best book possible. And even though I read everything aloud at least once, and sometimes record it and play it back – I still miss things, because I'm too close to see what doesn't make sense. Or what made sense in draft 5, and doesn't now because I took out a paragraph in draft 8 and added another change in draft 12.
ReplyDelete(And of course the editor doesn't change my words. She points out what doesn't work and might make a suggestion, but it's my job to fix it.)
I read your title and thought Amen! This is a hot button of mine. I spent quite a while as a community relations coordinator for a Borders store and, trust me, there's a reason why self-published books get hammered. Editing, editing, editing.
ReplyDeleteThanks you.