We’re all readers here, right? And I think it is safe to say that we’re all willing to read new-to-us authors. But let’s pretend for just a few minutes that we pick up a story, start reading, and find errors. Oh, no! What do we do?
We can choose from a range of options. We could:
1. Notify Amazon’s quality control.
2. Send emails or messages with screenshots directly to the author.
3. Write a negative review from an anonymous username complaining about the lack of editing.
4. Stop reading and pick up something we’d enjoy more.
Which is your natural inclination? Which do you think helps the author more? (Is being helpful your goal?)
Friends, you may not be aware of what’s happening in authors’ worlds right now. I’m in quite a number of author groups on Facebook. Some are full of Christian authors, some are secular. Some of these authors are newbies with one or two books out, and some are New York Times bestsellers with dozens of titles… and incomes I can’t even dream of.
But more and more, I’m hearing about authors being bullied. Yes, I know that’s a strong word.
Authors are receiving more and more AND MORE notifications, either from Amazon or directly from readers about perceived errors. I cannot tell you the percentage of those that are not errors, but it’s way, way more than half. Some readers are basically saying, “I don’t like the way you wrote that sentence. You should write it like this instead.” Friends, we don’t write by committee.
Once upon a time, not that long ago, I would have been the first to tell all readers, everywhere: “If you find an error or typo in one of my stories, please let me know directly. I want to know so I can fix it.”
It’s gotten way out of hand.
Now, it seems as though there are many wannabe writers and wannabe editors who delight in tearing an author’s work to shreds. Please don’t. Ask yourself if you’re reading for pleasure or to be nitpicky. If you’re reading for pleasure, please relax into the story. If you’re reading to nitpick, please stop. If you think you’re doing an author a favor by reading every book she wrote and sending her reports of every possible error you find… stop. It’s not a favor. It comes across as harassment. Maybe even passive bullying, whether you mean it that way or not. Or… active bullying.
Are my stories perfect? Nope. I do try. I go over them multiple times myself. I ask several beta readers for any and all feedback. I pay an editor and take her advice. I ask my review team to message me with any spotted typos. At that stage, from those people, I definitely want to know. After that? Not quite so much.
The four possibilities I gave at the top? Let’s break those down.
1. Notify Amazon’s quality control. This is the worst possible choice. I have no idea why Amazon thinks it is a good idea to provide this “service.” Authors have checked their email to discover dozens or even hundreds of notifications. They are required to address each one, individually. If they don’t, the book may be blacklisted or even removed from sale. No one checks the validity of these notifications before they are forwarded to the author. This is resulting in hours, days, and weeks of derailed writing time as authors are forced to address each complaint. Please, please, friends, don’t do this.
2. Send emails or messages with screenshots directly to the author. This sounds much better, and it is. But generally speaking, these emails aren’t as appreciated as you might hope. True, ignoring them doesn’t result in a book being literally blacklisted. I’ve received well-meant notices about the use of a specific word. The word, as written, is absolutely correct. The would-be editor gave inaccurate advice. Don’t be that person. Just don’t.
3. Write a negative review from an anonymous username complaining about the lack of editing. Honestly? This is a better option than either of the above. It pains me to say that. It’s not because authors don’t care. We do care. A LOT. But the harassment is beyond belief these days.
4. Stop reading and pick up something you’d enjoy more. This. If all you see is an error or a typo or a sentence you don’t like when you read my books, then please go read someone else’s. Stop buying mine. Stop borrowing them.
But may I suggest that if EVERY book you read brings out the inner editor in you, the problem might be with you, not the author? Grab a cup of tea. Head out to the hammock. Read for enjoyment. If you don’t enjoy a book, simply set it aside. Find one you will enjoy. Or take up crocheting instead.
Wow, I never thought I’d be THAT author. The one who gripes about reader feedback! But this is a problem that’s exploded in the past few months, and I’m seeing it in my own inbox as well as hearing about it from dozens and dozens of authors I know and respect.
Let’s be readers who read to be taken away to another place, time, or experience. Who post positive reviews. Who send encouraging notes to authors we love. Who are generally kind and thoughtful to everyone we meet, authors or anyone else.
In the immortal words of moms through the ages: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”
Here’s the Canadian in me coming out: I’m sorry to be the author posting this. I love readers. I really, really do. But someone needed to say this. Out loud. In public. As the owner and chief admin of this website, I decided to do it myself.
Do you have questions about how to offer legitimate criticism? Comments? Scenarios? Today’s your day! Let’s talk and clear the air!
I’m offering a $5 Amazon gift card to someone who comments before. Friday May 15. To qualify, you need to have a .com or a .ca account. Winner will be notified by email and posted on the next Sunday Edition.
“Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.”
Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.
I have found errors/typos in books that would have been edited to the nth degree. It happens. It’s not the end of the world. As a reader it may give me pause for a split second, but that’s all.
The story is all.
Oh Valerie, it’s not just errors or perceived errors or vernacular or different versions of English. I beta read for an author friend and I hate to miss anything because it leaves her open to criticism and her work doesn’t deserve that. I have always had the curse of the error jumps off the page at me and finally it is useful for beta reading. I love reading her books and that I can assist her but there are things I mark as ? because I have since discovered they are Southern American colloquialisms.
As a reader I am saddened when I find words spelt incorrectly that are valid words in the dictionary and always wonder what process the author used that they weren’t caught. Some authors this never happens and others where it is a lot I choose whether to keep reading their books or not. Only one book was so bad that I sent an email suggesting they use an English editor because chapters were consistently repeated and muddled up before re-releasing.
I am ashamed to admit that as well my friend has been bullied and harassed to give her books away for free or receive bad reviews too.
Reading to me is a platform to engage and launch my imagination positively and the books are the author’s babies and only an idiot is insensitive to someone’s baby so I say unsubscribe them, though I have no idea how to have amazon implement sensible business rules.
I am a reader and I read fluent typo. Unless its glaring I don’t often notice it. I also tend to have some issues where I invert words so will read something like “then they” as They Then it will sometimes make me reread a sentence and get it right. So often errors are my own making. It’s more if a name is wrong (one book I read I had to read the page again cos the wrong character was named).
If the book was full of errors I am more likely to stop reading and may not buy the author again depending if its self published or by a publisher. If its by a publisher I would question if other books would be the same. I don’t like to leave bad reviews the lowest I normally give is 3 and its not normally for typo’s. Unless an author has said if you see an error let me know (more likely to be from someone who I am a influencer for).
Bullying an author is not right.
Hi Valerie! Thanks for this informative blog. This retired teacher learns so much. I was not aware that Amazon had a Quality Control “Service.” As a beta reader, I have noticed unusual anonymous negative reviews. I think the reviewers are trolls. When I click on their name to find their Amazon profile, they have no profile. I only put worth in reviewers that have a profile – picture, background and HOW many reviews written. While I use a nickname on Amazon, my profile is complete with 680 reviews. Last week I spotted a negative review for an author. The reviewer only two negative reviews and no info on the profile page. Suspicious.
As Dianne stated above and as a German American, who reads international authors, does translation work, and taught American regionalism in her American Lit classes, many Americans are not aware of British, Australian, and American English; plus regional dialects. Marion Ueckermann has many discussion with her review team about the difference between British / South African / American English. The Oxford Dictionary states the differences. Use it often.
As a journalism teacher, I am also aware how easy it is to miss typos, etc. Since the entire high school received the school paper, I as advisor dealt with the criticism when students found typos. This was after my editors, myself, the high school assistant principal and principal read the proof copy. Now with auto correct the situation is worse. Last night while reading responses to yesterday’s Inspy Romance blog, I noticed typos in my response.
As a reader, I can skip some typos. I have contacted authors with major problems – double chapters / pages / paragraphs, or table of contents chapters / different than book chapters, or problems with wrong character’s name, or repeated typos. I am more forgiving with Indie authors and an eBook under $5. I am not so forgiving for traditional published books where the eBook costs more than a paperback.
Keep up the good work. Thanks for the thought provoking blog. Best wishes to all.
I don’t do anything if I’m reading a book and find an error. It’s rare I find any and if I do, it’s usually just one or two. To me it’s no big deal although it would prevent me from giving a 5 star review even if I loved the book.
Some people have too much time on their hands. If I see errors, it might affect how I rate a book, but nothing to the extent of writing scathing reviews and harassing authors. I would hate to have readers do that to me, and so I don’t do it. I definitely adhere to the “If you have nothing good to say, don’t say anything at all.”
I read the book for pleasure and not to edit. If there is a typo, so what? It does not detract from the story. I do notice it and go on to enjoy the book. I think there are people with too much time on their hands and an ugliness that is permeating our society.
I’m currently re-editing my first novel. It was published eight years ago before I realised a professional editor was obligatory.
In order to re-release my books, I’ve gone back to fix the typos and other errors I (and readers) have picked up.
There’s a review of this book on Amazon and the person mentioned typos bit still gave it a good review because they enjoyed the story. Phew!
It was a kind way of acknowledging the errors while endorsing the positives.
I’m much more careful now but there are still errors in my books. I employ a professional editor and have them reviewed by beta readers but this doesn’t guarantee an error-free book.
Thank for highlighting this issue. Kindness
Valerie, thank you for writing this post.
I have been fortunate, so far, not to have received any quality-control complaints from Amazon. I’m sure it’s a only matter of time. I’ve certainly had negative comments in reviews.
The thing that bothers me about these “quality-control” criticisms is the emotional toll I know it must take on authors.
Writing is a very personal creative process. It is not easy. It is not something that most authors do because they make lots of money. Many times, especially for beginning authors, they make less (way less) than minimum wage with the hours they pour into books. If you’re not making any money and people attack your work, it’s pretty easy to think you should find something else to do. And that’s just sad because that author might develop into a superstar, the person who writes books that readers adore.
The skills take time to learn. Having worked as a journalist, I can tell you for sure that it takes a lot longer to learn how to write a book if each book takes six months to write compared with how long it takes to learn to write a news story when you write a new one every day.
If you don’t like an author’s work or you find errors in it, perhaps put it aside, say nothing, and read one of her books in a few years. She may surprise you.
I’ve read books that have one or two typos and some that have more, and more glaring, errors such as using the wrong character name more than once. I note it to myself and may mention it to someone but I don’t tell the author. I very rarely stop reading books but if a book is not very well written or full of errors I probably won’t read another book by that author.
I’m a BETA and ARC reader for quite a few authors. When I find errors (and I usually do, and often others don’t find them at all) I let the author know. Some have been “major,” like a character’s name being spelled wrong throughout the book. When I told one author, she discovered it had been wrong 64 out of 65 times, and I was about the 10th person who read the book before it was published. However, when I leave reviews, I NEVER mention the spelling errors. The errors don’t effect the joy I get out of the books. I even point out to the authors where I left reviews and the name(s) I left them under. Because of some of the authors I’ve done this for, I’ve started my own proofreading business, and I have repeat authors coming to me for my services. I didn’t even know Amazon had a “quality control” for something like this. To me, “quality control” is NOT the spelling in a book, it would be that a paperback fell apart or something like that, not the content. So, I’d definitely never take something like “errors” to them. I think it also depends on the “tone” you use when finding errors, and how you let the author know. I don’t point them out in a group, even in a BETA or ARC group. I PM or email the author directly, tell them how I enjoyed the book, but found a few things they might want to check out. I read books for fun long before becoming a BETA or ARC, and it was because I let the authors know of errors that I was asked to be a BETA and/or ARC reader.
As a writer who plans to self-publish, your post is an eye opener! I agree with the others who don’t let typos or other errors dampen my enjoyment of the story. It happens. Fortunately I’ve never made comments about any perceived mistakes. I had no idea these reporting issues have become a large problem. Thanks for the information.
Hi Sally! Great analogy between a journalist and an author. I taught both in high school – journalism and creative writing. News articles are short compared to a novella or novel. The writer has daily chances to correct their writing process and style. Best wishes.
Thank you. :)
Thanks for your reply. I am 100% certain authors VALUE their beta readers. I know I depend on mine. They have a manuscript of mine at this very minute, and I hope they catch All The Things!!!
I’m taking about people who weren’t asked for their feedback, and especially those who are nasty and malicious about sending it. I’ve heard many more horror stories than ones I’ve included here, but the authors preferred I not share the words.
Sadly, Amazon doesn’t implement sensible business rules. In this case, they are shoving it all directly on the authors.
Hahaha, in Messenger where we tap words quickly and hit send… and autocorrect plays havoc!!!… I’ve been known to say I read Typo fluently, too.
Yeah, my personal modus operandi is to not read an author again is the story needed a lot of editing. Although I’ve been known to pick up another book two or three years later to see if things have improved, and sometimes they have :)
680 reviews!!!! Thank you, Renate, from Christian authors everywhere.
Good advice on checking with a good dictionary. Most authors I know do that. I have a thesaurus and a dictionary open in two tabs while I’m writing (and no tab open to Facebook LOL!)
The uninvited beta readers probably don’t check a dictionary, especially when they flag something for an error (like the “they’re there their” example above) when it’s actually correct. I was amazed to hear how often that happened.
Even most traditionally published books, where they have much deeper pockets to pay editors, have one or two (or more) typos!
Your first and last sentences nailed it, Barbara! Thank you.
It seems so easy to hide behind anonymity in nastiness online, I think. Thanks for reading and enjoying :)
Yes, quite a few indie authors have gone back and had their earlier books re-edited when they could afford to pay a professional. And you’re right, even several paid reviewers plus volunteers can miss things!
Yes, kindness.
Thanks, Sally. I have read a few beginner novels where the best thing I could say (in my head, not to the author and not in a review) was: Wow, this person stuck it out, wrote an entire novel which many people say they want to do yet never get around to, figured out how to get it published, and followed through! That kind of sticktoitiveness is a fabulous personality trait.
And the only way to get better at something is practice! That’s why, yes, I have sometimes picked up another novel a couple of years later and found the author had matured in his or her craft.
I vote with my pocketbook, too. I am perfectly willing to spend money on ebooks that I believe or know I will enjoy. It’s rare for me to DNF (did not finish) but it happens. More likely, I just won’t buy another book by that author, at least for a few years.
Having the wrong character name in one of my manuscripts is a fear that has kept me awake at night LOL. So easy to have that happen! But ouch.
Hi Trudy! I completely depend on my beta and ARC readers to let me know of errors. They are a vital part of my process, and I value them highly. I was more thinking of “after market” readers in this piece. I’m sure the authors you read for value your comments highly. :)
Thanks, Sherida! Best wishes as you work toward publication, and thanks for the encouragement you give other authors. :)
I’ve read some of those reviews that mention all the typos and poor editing, but don’t seem to comment at all on the story. Those kind of comments are not why I read reviews of a book I’m thinking of purchasing! I enjoy being on a launch team so I can help the author find those pesky typos, but I’d never mention them in a review. So sorry you all have to deal with that problem.
When I find typos I’m tempted to contact the author and ask if they would like me to proofread their work before it’s published. I’m sure I wouldn’t find everything, but I think it would be a fun job. :-)
Those types of reviews are a bummer, but understandable. The real problem is with notifying Amazon or the author with Every.Single.Perceived.Error. That’s where the harassment starts to show! Sometimes the reader is genuinely trying to help, but it doesn’t come across that way. Other times it is obvious bullying.
And again, I ask my beta readers and ARC reviewers to let me know of errors. It’s the unsolicited advice that’s the big problem we’re facing!
Hi Jan! May I suggest you don’t contact the author? LOL
Sometimes authors post openings on beta reading teams or review teams. If you get the chance to join a team like that, you’ve received the invitation for that advice. Otherwise, I hate to say it, but… not so much.
Said gently and apologetically like a good Canadian! :)
I’m glad you had a chance to post. I’m sorry people are harassing authors. I am so thankful to InspyRomance authors who take the time and energy to write so I can have something to read. I read to relax , so if I see typos I ignore them. Occasionally I have to reread a sentence. Sometimes it’s worded awkwardly, sometimes I just read it incorrectly. I think there has only been one book , some years ago, that had so many mistakes I gave up reading it. If I can’t give a good review, I don’t leave a review. I am trying to leave reviews more often, but it’s tricky for me technologically sometimes. God bless all y’all, as you write! Thanks so much for writing!
Thank YOU, Diana! We value you as a reader and reviewer for sure :)
That’s very interesting, thank you for sharing. Usually if I don’t like a book I just stop reading and move on. I always hate it when I read reviews for books and people are being super nitpicky or just plain mean. If one were to notice a big error of some sort, would you as an author appreciate being told, or no? I’m thinking more along the lines of a character’s name mistakenly being applied to a different character in a conversation. I’ve run into that in a couple books, but it doesn’t really bother me because you know what the author meant if you read the context of the sentence.
It is sad that so often readers are cruel to authors!
Personally, I’d want to know about the character name because it happened to me! I’m not sure if you read my books, but in early 2016 I published Berry on Top. In it, the heroine is thinking about the hero… but the text used her brother’s name instead of the hero’s in that scene! So she was dreaming of kissing her brother, who was a major secondary character. Not good LOL.
That error went unreported for a couple of years. I was mortified and wondered how many people had caught it and said nothing.
Generally though? Especially if you bought the book a while ago and are just now reading it, chances are high it’s already been caught and corrected in an updated version. In 2020 with the spate of harassment, I’d probably just not mention it these days. Again, unless you’re a beta reader or ARC reviewer and have been specifically asked! :)
Hi Abigail! This is still a relatively rare occurrence, but when it hits, it can hit big, especially when a well-meaning (or perhaps not) reader goes through entire series with multiple reports in each book!
But I’m hearing more and more about this, including from Christian author friends, and that’s why I decided this topic was timely.
Most readers are lovely and would never dream of being cruel! We value our readers and are so thankful for you.
I’ve contacted authors with “after market” finds. It was the first time I’d read their books, found a few major things, and contacted them. They were all very gracious, and it’s got to be “big” for me to contact them. And, more than one, too!
Sometimes more. At least with indie published books you can go back and change the typo. When I received my traditionally published books and found typos, I always cringed because I couldn’t do anything about it. Eventually I didn’t read my author copies because there was nothing I could do about those mistakes. I always marveled at how typos could slip by when I had read the book numerous times. My editor read it. A line editor read it. A copy editor read it. And finally a proofreader read it. How did everyone miss it?
It sounds like the Covid-19 lockdown has brought out the cupboard critics with nothing better to do! So sorry that they are contacting Amazon directly and causing such problems. The only time I complained (and it was iTunes) was when I bought a book and the actual book wasn’t the one on the cover!!
I ignore reviews that mention typo’s. :)
I find errors quite often but I just read on and never mention it.
Thanks, Valerie, for this post. Bad reviews can certainly be hurtful, and I wonder how two people can read the same book and one of them give the book a 5-star glowing review and another one give it a 1-star review. I know not everyone has the same taste, but if you don’t like a book, why trash it? Just don’t buy another book by that author. Obviously this author’s writing isn’t to your liking. Here is a quote from my only 1-star review on Amazon. This was for a traditionally published book that I have subsequently reissued after I got the rights back, and I didn’t change the dialogue that this person hated. “My advice to the author is to take a good vacation where she can listen to how people talk to each other. Then come back and try again. My advice to her editor is to do your job and keep such unpolished, unrealistic writing from being published.” This person not only dumped on me but dumped on my editor as well.
I’m so sorry this has become a magnified problem, especially during these last few months. I sometimes send spelling errors in if it’s an ebook only. Otherwise, I’m on many street teams and try and catch typos in those, before release.
Sometimes it’s poor document management that means corrected errors are reintroduced. That was my experience with IT documentation, I imagine it may occur in all industries that use documents, whether a manual, submission or a book.
Definitely keep it at a minimum :)
Oh yeah, we’d like to know if we uploaded the completely wrong book! Yikes! I heard of that happening to two traditionally published authors, where the entire print run of both their books had the other author’s cover on it. Now THAT is a big mistake!
Thank you so much for reading and forgiving :)
A bad review is unpleasant, but everyone is (apparently) entitled to their opinion :) But the point of this article goes beyond reviews to personal attacks either by email or through the Amazon system. Those are harder to let go of than a negative review.
Before release or early on, especially for a review copy, are definitely welcome. And even sparingly and politely for a while after. It’s a hard line to draw, but I guess authors now are generally asking for forgiveness. We’re doing the best we can. :)
I don’t usually look at the follow up comments but was interested in this topic as I think it is broader and more endemic than Valerie indicated. Seems like it may arise from a culture of entitlement. Whilst most countries have free speech, kindness,
compassion and responsibilty seem lacking in some readers. Sad that they take that out on authors and now there is a trend for bully romances, why enshrine in words actions that are supposedly not acceptable in the real world. Abusing anyone, authors or readers is not okay! My great-grandmother used to say think before you speak, you may need that breath one day (no computers in her day but I am certain she would’ve applied it to typing too).
I’m very sorry any of you authors have been bullied. I am blessed by reading these books. Some people just enjoy being mean to others. They should be ashamed.
Yes, I think a spirit of entitlement sums it up. Plus it is so easy to be mean hiding behind a mask when no one knows who you are! Although those who email are giving their names…
Thank you, Mary! It’s a very small minority, but they’re persistent like hornets! LOL
I’ve given books bad reviews because of lack of editing, but only in cases where the issues were so rampant and bad that I kept getting forced out of the story by confusion in trying to figure out what a sentence said. Repeatedly. LOL
Usually, such authors go into my “never read again” list, but occasionally I’ll see a glimmer that makes me think they’ll be worth trying again a bit down the road. If they’re traditionally published, I may never check back on them unless they change publishers. If they’re indies, I check back at some point to see if they’ve started getting edits and/or have learned to turn that glimmer into a great story.
I just finished reading a couple of traditionally published books that contained more errors than I see in many indie books. They were mild enough that I just interpreted them on the fly and kept reading. That said, the only issue that actually jarred me constantly was a lack of scene breaks. Hopping from the mind of one character to that of another in another universe (literally) took head hopping to the extreme. LOL
Regardless of how I rate a book, if it contains more than an occasional editing oversight, I do tend to mention it in the review, even if it doesn’t affect my rating. I know readers who check reviews for that because they get really torqued over such oversights. I hope to save other authors from that group of readers. ;)
I am an avid reader of many genres. Unless I am reading as a beta reader I usually have no problem with typos or some awkward sentences. About the only time I want to notify and correct the writing is when the incorrect character is named. Mostly because it makes me go back and reread parts of the book to verify the error. Usually I just ignore the error and continue reading. I read for enjoyment not to nitpick the book.
Thank you for this post! I love to write reviews and would never ever write a negative review for spelling or grammatical errors unless the book was full of them. In ARC reading i have let an author know if there are errors. I would never contact amazon complaining of something so petty. I read for enjoyment and don’t worry about stuff like that unless it makes the book incomprehensible. I enjoy reading your and the other authors that are part of this group and hope I am never a stumbling block to any of the writing you all do. Thank you so much for all you do to keep us entertained.
Valerie,
Wow. I love hearing authors perspectives. We don’t know what we don’t know! Right? (Don’t hit the Amazon complaint button & don’t email!). Check. :D. I haven’t done either, lol. But good to know!
Is there some way to tell if a author is an Indy author from just their book? Typos, grammar, etc don’t bother me much – I just love to read. But occasionally a book will have more than the usually problems & I wonder. I think either “new” author or “Indy.” In either case, my feeling is “good for you! You are actually living your dream!” but I have wondered. I have also wondered if Kindle/digital copies might have more formatting issues (typos, sentence structuring, etc) then paper copies? Not that I really care, just curious.
I read both book blurbs & reviews to help me choose books that might suit my taste best, but ignore the trolls/unreasonably negative ones. If it’s a matter of taste, that is entirely personal (although I do appreciate a constructive review). And 10 typos, etc aren’t going to kill my read. ;D
Thank you authors! for continuing to write in the face of this negativity. Many readers are very happy; they’re just not that awful squeaky wheel. <3
Reviews are fair game. It’s a once-n-done, basically! (Not that I love negative reviews, of course.) I’m talking more about harassment and bullying from readers who think the author should write to his or her specifications :)
Thank you! That’s the key — enjoy the book. And if you can’t, put it down. :)
Thank you so much, Pam. It sounds like you know where great boundaries lie! I definitely want everyone to know how much I value readers and reader reviews. I love writing :)
Great questions, Penelope! You might be able to tell if a book is indie if you are familiar with the names of the big publishing houses and the book isn’t published by one of them. But there are lots of smaller presses, too, plus many authors have a business name. Mine is GreenWords Media. It’s a registered business in British Columbia, Canada, where I live, and I’m the only author that GWM publishes. But you might not know that at a glance!
Many previously traditionally published authors are now indie. Some previously indie authors now write for traditional houses. Other indie authors have never tried for a trad deal while others have turned them down! I have had one traditional deal (in 2012) and I am so happy being an indie (since 2014) that I’m not looking or interested in an offer from a larger house. You’ll find the complete range of possibilities.
What I mean by that is: whether an author is traditionally published or indie published is actually not a measuring stick for the quality of their book. Indie authors generally strive for the same high standards, and the difference is often indiscernible!
There have been times where formatting errors have been added by the Kindle (and other) platforms. Technology glitches at times for sure.
For a new-to-me author, I always open the Look Inside and read the first few paragraphs or pages. That immediately tells me the quality of the writing and also whether the story is one that is of interest. I find that more reliable than the reviews… but of course there has to be a cover and blurb that hook me to get that far!
You’re so right about the squeaky wheel. Or, what our teacher said in school, that one kid misbehaving can result in everyone losing privileges!
I think it’s just best to read, and if there’s and error, ignore it and move on. Books are usually edited by several people–even indie authors hire editors. Sometimes things are missed, sometimes the reader is wrong.
You summed it up perfectly! Thank you, Denise. :)
Valerie, Thank you!
Father, may your peace overflow in the hearts of our beloved author friends. May the fallen hearts of trolls and manipulators be changed to hearts of praise for you. May our hearts overflow with words of encouragement and life in every area of our lives. And may unjust criticism and any unjust system of criticism be silenced that we may all live in peace to Your glory, in the name of Jesus, by the power of your Spirit. Amen.
Amen… and thank you.
I would just read through them. Anyone can miss something in editing. My focus is on the story.
If the storytelling is solid, a lot can be forgiven! I agree! I try to give as much grace as I’d like to receive… while offering readers the best story with the best editing that I can!