Into the scrap bin.
I’ve been doing a lot of research on publishing and promoting and am getting my foot into a lot of doors. I read a lot of blogs by other writers, some with sour-grapes, and some with more of a business attitude. I hear a lot of comments about the success of authors such as Amanda Hawking’s; some good, some bad, some plain jealous.
Lucky Duck!
The thing about Amanda Hawking is that she hit the market at the exact right time, with an insane price to her books—and congratulations to her, it worked! But what nobody talks about his that she also worked her ass off to promote herself. And what worked for her then, may not work for everyone now, though many are following in her footsteps and in my opinion, degrading the integrity of the industry, expecting riches, without putting in the hard work. People are starting to feel entitled to an author’s hard work for pennies. (I call them scrap biners).
I work hard at what I do. I’m looking to make a career of writing. Maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t, but I’m not about to throw my work into the dollar bin for scraps. I’m going to continue to work hard, write like a maniac, and produce the highest quality writing I’m capable of, and if the scrap biners don’t like it they can go buy someone else’s book.
Entitlement breeds bad reviews
People like the scrap biners centers are usually the type of people who get a bargain and then complain about it, or demand more. Their reviews are usually more negative than people who actually want to read, rather than just looking for a great deal. I don’t usually buy books set at 99 cents because if it’s not good enough for a higher price, then why should I waste my time reading it?
As an author who knows all the time and effort that goes into any piece of writing, I don’t mind paying for something I think is worth my time. I try to give reviews when I find a book to my liking. If I don’t like a book, I might give it a low star rating, but I won’t offer up a reason. I want to show my opinion but I don’t want to get into the whys of it. It’s just that, for whatever reason, that particular book didn’t interest me and my reasons are my own.
To each their own
Some writers won’t review other peoples stuff, especially if they’re afraid they won’t like it, and I understand their reasoning. You’re judging others as you don’t want to be judged yourself. I also realize that people will be doing the same to me. Although my book has done well so far in the review aspect, I know there are people out there who are going to read my book and think “Eh” or give me a bad review. It’s inevitable when you put your stuff out there for others to judge. Not everything we write is going to appeal to everyone, and we just have to brush it off and keep working.
