Tag: quality

Poor Misunderstood Sturgeon and BigAl’s Rebuttal

I’ve never been a big science fiction reader, so the name Theodore Sturgeon meant nothing to me. But he’s been inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, so I guess as an author he might be a big deal. Regardless of whether you’re familiar with his books, you’ve probably heard or read his words.

Often paraphrased as “90% of everything is crap,” Sturgeon’s Revelation (sometimes called Sturgeon’s Law) is one you’ll see bandied about in various contexts. In my experience the most common situation will be coming from the mouth of an elitist of some kind, one of those people who look down on everyone and everything. Needless to say, I’ve read or heard this many times in reference to indie publishing  from both sides of the discussion. Continue reading “Poor Misunderstood Sturgeon and BigAl’s Rebuttal”

Some Advice On Getting Advice

Before I took that first step into the Indie Publishing world, I vowed to myself that I would always do everything in my power to produce the best work I possibly could. I wanted to be considered a professional author who delivered the goods.

When I am working on any writing project, I always keep that goal in mind.

For me, one way of achieving this goal is to ask for feedback on my work. Once I have written and edited my first draft I send it out to my critique partners. I also do this with cover design. Once my graphic designer has drafted something for me, I send it out to a few key people and see what they have to say. Continue reading “Some Advice On Getting Advice”

My Way Or the Highway!

A guest post
by Dick Waters

My way or the highway! You’ve most likely heard that expression, but hopefully you will see that my way is the highway.  Have you ever learned from someone else’s mistake? I have, and I’ve also learned from my own. I’m writing this to help at least one person not make the same mistake I did publishing my first novel.

As I write this I think of Route 66; a great road for a scenic drive, but not the one to take to get where you’re going in an expeditious manner. Super highways were built to provide a more direct route. Publishing is experiencing the same scenario – ‘traditional publishing’ versus ‘independent publishing,’ or self publishing. Continue reading “My Way Or the Highway!”

Quality/Control

Quality has suddenly become a buzzword in the Indie Community, whether it’s Indie books, gaming, movies, etc.

Imagine that!  (All of you should know by now that this is my personal bugaboo.)

It’s certainly become a topic on the readers forums on Amazon and elsewhere, as someone commented.  “All these freebies which we use as promo for sales seem to be creating an environment where some readers only go free because they toss it after one chapter if it’s rubbish and only pay for a “real” author.”  One response to the Indie title on one site was  “That’s good support for why attaching a label like “Indie” and trying to make it be a badge of quality might be more trouble than it’s worth. After all, eventually, the work defines the label, not the other way around.” As to that last, he’s right. The work does define the label, and for too many Indie writers that doesn’t seem to mean much. The gentleman in question added later  that there’s not much value for an author to call themselves Indie.  One author recently proposed that – lacking an editor – you should just post to the marketplace and wait for the readers to comment, then revise and repost.

That has to change or the perception that Indie writing is rubbish is one that will stick and all of our hard work will be for nothing. And the traditional publishers will be proven right, that this Wild West Indie publishing thing was just a flash in the pan, a global slush pile from which a rare few gems emerged. Continue reading “Quality/Control”