Self Published Books

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 10:24 pm

I thought we'd get a little discussion going on this. Having been recently burned by unknowingly buying a self published book, I thought I'd see how others felt about this, and also hear from self published authors as well.

Is there some way to flag a book on Amazon so that one knows it's self published, so I can make an educated decision? Blowing $20 an an unknown entity that I cannot get from the library is not something I want to do, especially in our current economic situation. In my case the book had glowing reviews (although closer scrutiny leads me to believe some of those were friends/family), a blurb from Kirkus, an author's blog and more. The only catch would have been the name of the publisher IUniverse.

Soooo, understanding that author's have to do what they have to do (we know they want to sell their book), shouldn't the customer have enough information on the book seller page that lets us know what we're getting into?

annis · Post by **annis** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 10:37 pm

Agrred, Misfit. Libraries won't usually buy self-published books, so you do have to buy if you want a copy of one, and often they are quite expensive.

I've had some good reading experiences with self-published books and some truly awful ones. The problem seems to lie in the lack of editing. Getting friends and family to check your work is not the answer! Firstly, they'll be biased and not want to hurt your feelings, and secondly their spelling and grammar may not be any better than yours.

I've cringed my way through several books which were actually really good stories, but I just couldn't handle the spelling and grammatical errors which really ruined my reading experience. Sometimes my fingers have just constantly itched for a red pen

I'm not sure what the answer is.
You can get clues. e.g. the book is published by iUniverse or something similar. but generally you're out there on our own.

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 10:38 pm

[QUOTE=Misfit;12635]I thought we'd get a little discussion going on this. Having been recently burned by unknowingly buying a self published book, I thought I'd see how others felt about this QUOTE]

I don't believe there is a way to flag a book on amazon as self-published, other than the way you just did: the publisher is iUniverse. That is usually a dead giveaway. However, if it had good reviews, including one from Kirkus, chances are those are legitimate. I prefer to think these things are, rather than suspect friends and family posting bogus reviews - which, as we've seen, can and is also done by "traditionally" published authors, as well.

I think a book should stand on its own merits, regardless of how it was published. I'm sure everyone here has felt they wasted $25 on occasion on a book from a major publisher that fell short of expectations. I certainly know I have! While it's unfortunate that so many self-published authors fail to get editorial advice and revision before they bring their work to the market, I don't think it would be fair to single them out because of this. I've read some very well-written self-published novels and some very bad ones, just as I have those published by the big houses.

Divia · Post by **Divia** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 10:38 pm

Ah yes I fell into the same trap once. I bought a self published book, it was quite horrid and I was not amused because it was expensive. But I think thats your first clue. If its paperback and is selling for 20.00 or so then its self published. Also if its a publisher I dont know I do a google search and find out if its self published or not.

As to if there is a way to flag it on Amazon..I dont think so.

Misfit · Post by **Misfit** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 10:46 pm

[quote=""Divia""]Ah yes I fell into the same trap once. I bought a self published book, it was quite horrid and I was not amused because it was expensive. But I think thats your first clue. If its paperback and is selling for 20.00 or so then its self published. Also if its a publisher I dont know I do a google search and find out if its self published or not.

As to if there is a way to flag it on Amazon..I dont think so.[/quote]

How did I know this was going to get moved to the debate section?

It's funny, as I've had this book kicking around on the back end of my wish list for a couple of years and the price never went down, mass market PB never came out and the purchase/ILL request at the library came to no fruit. I'm thinking that should have been a warning sign, I've learned my lesson.

I've cringed my way through several books which were actually really good stories, but I just couldn't handle the spelling and grammatical errors which really ruined my reading experience.

Editing does make quite a difference, doesn't it? There's always going to be a typo, no one is immune but when they're on every page, it does throw you off.

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 11:05 pm

Editing does make quite a difference, doesn't it? There's always going to be a typo, no one is immune but when they're on every page, it does throw you off.[/QUOTE]

IMHO, editing is 90% of whether a book is readable or not. A bad writer can be made better with good editing; a good writer can be tanked by bad or no editing.

I'm also curious now: Can you tell us the name of the book you bought?

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 11:12 pm

As to if there is a way to flag it on Amazon..I dont think so.[/QUOTE]

Actually, I just realized it can be flagged by reviewing it and stating you think it needed better editing, etc. Of course, that opens you up to possible hostilities from the author and/or their fan base, if he or she is watching their amazon page like a hawk.

I did it once on a self-published book and will never do it again. My criticism was gentle; I felt the book's premise was good and the writing as well, but the grammar and punctuation were awful. And it had this very wierd font that should never have been used as a reading typeface. Within 6 seconds of my review, the author flew at me like a banshee. She and her book eventually dropped off amazon (she must have let it go out of print) but she was rabid with me. Not an experience I'd care to repeat.

Volgadon · Post by **Volgadon** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 11:19 pm

Then there are the real nutters, like the ones passing off HF as real memoirs. OOOH BOY are they rabid if you call them out!

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 11:21 pm

[quote=""Volgadon""]Then there are the real nutters, like the ones passing off HF as real memoirs. OOOH BOY are they rabid if you call them out![/quote]

Who are they?!! HF as a real memoir? You mean, for real, not imagined, like, for example, what I write, which is basically a researched but imagined first-person account of a historical person's life?

Amanda · Post by **Amanda** » Wed November 19th, 2008, 11:27 pm

Gosh....The Traitor's Wife was originally an iUniverse, and I wouldn't not want to miss out on that! So there is some great self published stuff out there. I know I have a couple of self published books on my TBR pile, and there are some that have been self published by the author establishing their own publishing name too.