I've read (or, rather, attempted to slog through) some pretty lousy books published by big, New York houses. You know, the type you want to fling across the room? The type you'd throw away if you hadn't plunked down cash to buy them?
I've seen some hideously lame and/or puerile movies released by major studios where the only thing keeping me from stomping out of the theater was the fact that I paid money for the seat.
Name your entertainment industry, and I can give a comparable experience. In no instance, however, have I painted the entire publishing house or movie studio with the awfulness of one of its author's/actor's performances or editor's/director's skills. Have you? Are you even AWARE who published that book you hated? Who released that movie you hated? Who directed it?
Why, then, do consumers tend to do so with ebooks? An epublisher farts, and suddenly the entire house is judged by one book, its stable of authors blog-tarred and Twitter-feathered. WTF?
The latest debacle is a fine example. I've never read a book from Siren-BookStrand, but I'd bet money they're not all examples of poor judgment or lax editing. Hell, even if no editing was done at all, some books will be better than others simply because some authors submit cleaner work.
Instead, online communities treat epublishers like most people treat restaurants. Bad meal? Don't go back. It's all the chef's fault, after all, and nothing on the menu can be trusted.
Right?
The latest debacle is a fine example. I've never read a book from Siren-BookStrand, but I'd bet money they're not all examples of poor judgment or lax editing. Hell, even if no editing was done at all, some books will be better than others simply because some authors submit cleaner work.
Instead, online communities treat epublishers like most people treat restaurants. Bad meal? Don't go back. It's all the chef's fault, after all, and nothing on the menu can be trusted.
Right?
peace & passion,
~ Alessia
1 comment:
Yep, that's pretty much it. My own publisher is still being periodically tarred and feathered for one (admittedly huge) editing mistake from a few years ago, by a handful of folks who apparently have a major stick up their ass with said publisher's name on it. I used to argue but now I just eyeroll and move on.
And I remember reading about a kerfuffle centered around a prominent reviewer who didn't care for some personal info a few of one publisher's writers had posted online, so she decided that all that publisher's writers were icky-disgusting people and bad writers too and whatever else. I mean, seriously? o_O
It's ridiculous. I honestly don't think very many people have this point of view, though; it's just that the ones who do are really loud about it.
Angie
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