By Karen McCullough (Guest Blogger)
I
hunt for treasure in the stacks of self-published books at places
like Amazon and Smashwords.
Authors
are in an enviable position these days. There are so many options for
getting published – presses big and small, or doing it yourself.
The stigma on self-publishing has mostly disappeared, although it’s
not entirely clear to me that the average quality level of
self-published works has improved. And, yes, I’m one of those
authors, published with a New York house, with several small presses,
and self-published. More about that at the end.
Right
now, though, I want to put on my reader’s hat. I was a reader long
before my first actual attempt at writing a story. When I list my
hobbies, reading has always been at the top of the list. It still is,
though I don’t have anywhere near as much time as I’d like for
it. That means that when I do have a bit of precious reading time, I
want to use it reading something good--something I really like or
something that moves me. And, dang it, it’s harder than ever to
find those!
The
fact that authors have so many more options should mean that readers
have lots more options, too. And it’s true. They do. There are many
more books available in a wide variety of genres due to the influx of
self-published books. In fact, you can narrow your interests down by
special subject areas and likely still find something that fits your
bill. Genres that are out of fashion these days, like the traditional
Gothic romance, or books that contain subject matter others might
find offensive have seen a surge of new offerings in the last few
years.
It’s
a mixed blessing. Yes, there is a much wider range of choices. Yes,
you can get the kind of book you like even if the big gatekeeper
publishers aren’t publishing it any more—or ever have, for that
matter. But you have to sort through so much poorly written, badly
edited mush to find the things worth reading.
Now,
that’s not to say that the big publishers don’t put out bad
books. They definitely do, especially when chasing after the latest
hot trend. I judged several writing contests last year and got
saddled with an enormous pile of published novels all featuring
vampires. Every single, darned one of them. Don’t get me wrong. I
like the paranormal/urban fantasy genre. It’s why I agreed to judge
that category. I’ve even read some really damned good vampire
stories. One of that stack was just that—really good. The others
ranged from mediocre to unbearable.
But
at least they all showed signs of decent editing. They weren’t all
mistake-free, but they weren’t riddled with errors in grammar,
sentence structure and word usage.
Too
many of the self-published books I’ve read have been. Not all, by
any means. There are many authors out there who care enough about
their product to learn how to use the tools of their trade—language
mechanics and storytelling techniques—well and who understand the
worth of a professional editing job. I’ve read some self-published
books recently that were better than many of the small and large
press books of the last few years.
Of
course, not all readers are as picky about those things as I am, but
I do think that a lot are. Poor punctuation makes a story harder to
read and also tends to signal that the writer is deficient in other
areas of storytelling technique as well.
I’ve
learned from hard experience. If I’m not familiar with an author
and their work, I download the sample chapters Amazon offers. And if
the author doesn’t allow samples, I move on to the next book. I’ve
wasted too much time already trying to decipher books from “authors”
who have no idea where commas go in sentences, who don’t seem to
know the difference between “loose” and “lose,” and have no
clue how to handle point of view.
I
also read through the reviews but when I see nothing but five-star
reviews that all say “Gee, this book was grate!” I shy away. I
actually tend to look for more of a mix of reviews and read both the
highest and lowest ones. That gives me a clearer picture of the
book’s strengths and weaknesses. And a few one or two-star reviews
won’t necessarily drive me away. Not everyone likes the same things
I do, and I allow for that. I’ve seen low reviews for books I
thought were fabulous. I allow for those.
Still,
that’s a lot of work to go through for every book. I do it because
I’m hungry for new works in certain genres that don’t get a lot
of respect from publishers these days. But I know a lot of readers
who will only buy new books from authors they know they like or ones
that are recommended by friends, relatives or review sites they
trust.
And
that’s rather a shame. There are a lot of really good books by
authors you’ve never heard of waiting to be discovered. If only one
didn’t have to search a lot of haystacks full of fluff and dreck to
find those wonderful shiny needles.
Speaking
of finding buried treasure—at least I hope so—I’m giving away
an ebook copy of either A Gift for Murder or The Wizard’s
Shield to one lucky commenter. Be sure to include your email
address in the comment!
A Question of Fire by Karen McCullough
Not
the book I’m giving away, but it is ON SALE at all fine ebook
retail establishments this month for the very reasonable price of
$1.99 [for a book that’s 90,000 words long]! Come on, that’s a
huge bargain!
Blurb
When
Cathy Bennett agrees to attend an important party as a favor for her
boss, she knows she won't enjoy it. But she doesn't expect to end up
holding a dying man in her arms and becoming the recipient of his
last message. Bobby Stark has evidence that will prove his younger
brother has been framed for arson and murder. He wants that evidence
to get to his brother's lawyer, and he tries to tell Cathy where he's
hidden it. But he dies before he can give her more than a cryptic
piece of the location.
The
man who killed Bobby saw him talking to her and assumes she knows
where the evidence is hidden. He wants it back and he'll do whatever
it takes to get it, including following her and trying to kidnap her.
Cathy
enlists the aid of attorney Peter Lowell and Danny Stark, Bobby's
prickly, difficult younger brother, as well as a handsome private
detective to help her find the evidence before the killers do.
Excerpt
"Miss!"
The
word slithered from the bushes behind her, startling Catherine
Bennett out of the few wits she'd managed to recover in the peace of
the dark, quiet garden. Thready strains of violin music and the buzz
of voices drifted across the lawn from the open door to the house. In
the light spilling out from it, she could distinguish a couple of
people sitting at a table on the deck. Cathy measured the distance
with her eye. A good, heavy-duty scream would be heard, even over the
party noises.
"Please,
miss!" Tense urgency drove the voice as it called again.
She
didn't need this. The evening had been disastrous enough already and
a man hiding in the garden spelled trouble with capital letters. She
got up and backed away, while turning to face the source of the call.
"Don't
run away, please," the voice begged. "I won't hurt you. I
promise. I just want to ask you something."
A
ring of sincerity in the pleading tone kept her from sprinting
straight back to the house, an action the more cautious part of her
brain urged. Cathy strained for a look at the person in the
shrubbery. The voice was male and adult, though probably not very
old. "Come out where I can see you," she demanded.
"Shhh!"
he ordered in a fierce whisper. Leaves rustled, and a slender shape
detached itself from the bushes. In the darkness she couldn't
distinguish his features.
A
light breeze in her face set her shivering. "What do you want?"
She backed another step away. They both jumped when a particularly
loud laugh rang across the yard.
He
turned to face the house. "You been at the party?"
At
it, not of it, Cathy thought. She didn't say so; the young man
wouldn't understand the distinction. "Yes," she answered.
"You
know a guy named Peter Lowell?"
"Yes,"
Cathy admitted, wondering where this was leading.
The
young man's indrawn breath sounded almost like a sob. "He's in
there, ain't he?"
"Yes."
"Could
you ask him to come out here?"
"I
don't know. We just met tonight and I. . . I don't think he liked me
very much. He might not come."
"Please.
It's real important. You gotta try." A quiver shook the young
man's body and voice.
Tension
or fear -- or both? Whichever it was, he sounded near the breaking
point.
"All
right. Who should I tell him is here?"
The
clouds drifted apart and the moon emerged from their shadow. A sliver
of light fell across the man's cheek and glinted off the sheen of
perspiration there. "Tell him . . . Tell him it's Bobby. He'll
come, I promise."
Cathy
sighed. "All right, I'll try. Wait here." She turned toward
the house when another noise sounded behind them -- the crackle of
twigs or dried leaves underfoot.
Bobby's
head jerked around toward the bushes, then he called again, "Wait!"
There was no mistaking the sheer desperation in his voice now.
"Please. Wait." He looked from her face to the shrubbery
and back again. "I better give you the message. Tell this to Mr.
Lowell, and no one else. Promise you won't tell anyone else?"
Cathy
went back to him, found one of his arms, and pulled him back into the
shadow of a large boxwood. The arm she held was trembling. "All
right," she said. "What's the message?"
The
young man looked around the yard and took a couple of quick, shallow
breaths. "Tell him Danny was framed. I got the proof. Tell
him--"
Another
rustle shook the bushes, followed by a sudden, sharp crack which
reverberated for a few seconds afterward. Bobby groaned and
collapsed, sagging against Cathy. The abrupt burden of his weight
drove her to the ground, where she found herself half crushed by the
young man's bulk. She moved out from under him, a rush of adrenalin
sharpening her senses so that she could hear, over Bobby's ragged
breathing, the squish of a footstep in the shrubbery and the churning
of leaves and branches fading rapidly as the gunman retreated.
Buy
Links:
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-question-of-fire-karen-mccullough/1004338298?ean=2940012198129
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/au/book/a-question-of-fire/id450431562?mt=11’
Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/A-Question-of-Fire/book-UFvwtnxQ3UeEPBOnm6ynRA/page1.html
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/43245
Order trade paperback from author: http://www.kmccullough.com/order.php
About
Karen
Karen
McCullough is the author of more than a dozen published novels and
novellas, which range across the mystery, romantic suspense,
paranormal, and fantasy genres. She has won numerous awards,
including an Eppie Award for fantasy, and has also been a four-time
Eppie finalist, and a finalist in the Prism, Dream Realm, Rising
Star, Lories, Scarlett Letter, and Vixen Awards contests. Recently
she’s been collecting rights to some of her back-list books and
re-releasing them as ebooks. Among those are romantic suspense
novels, A Question of Fire and Programmed for Danger, and the
paranormal novellas, A Vampire’s Christmas Carol and Guardian of
the Grimoire.
Website:
http://www.kmccullough.com
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kgmccullough
8 comments:
Hi Karen, Great snippet!
But you've brought up a point that books can be poorly edited. Not all but some. But here's something for every author to consider, there is no perfect book and the author often doesn't realize that the book has been poorly edited because most authors write stories and depend on their editors to fix all those comma errors. Sampling pages is the only way to decide if the book meets a personal standard. I'll forgive a few errors if the story is super.
I've also noticed that the indie books lately have actually been better edited than other books. Indies are striving for high quality and they are succeeding.
I couldn't agree with you more, Karen. While self-publishing is a wonderful thing, it's also opened the door to some really hideous writing. If there are grammar mistakes in a book, I toss it immediately. Same for a bad story. Life is too short to read lousy books. Exciting excerpt! Thanks for the contest.
Nice post; I also ignore those kind of 5 star reviews
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
Great guest post. If the story is good, I can ignore some editing issues. Some.
I read an author bio the other day that said "I have always wrote poetry..." and used weather for whether. Cringe. If the bio is full of errors, what is in the book? I decided not to buy it - based solely on the bio. I felt bad about it for a minute. My to-be-read book list is so long that I couldn't take chance.
I totally agree with Naomi. Life is too short to struggle with lousy books.
Thanks for hosting the giveaway. Fingers crossed to win.
Hi, Karen,
Welcome to Beyond Romance. I'm delighted to host someone with your long history of authorship.
I couldn't agree with you more about the chilling effect of poor writing and editing. It's not limited only to self-published work, though. In the ebook gold rush, established publishers are getting egg on their face by rushing to get content - any kind of content - out there. The upfront costs are low, the risks are low - but I've written off a couple of publishers after wading through the disasters they call "books"!
It has been awhile since I read one of your books. This one sounds amazing.
debby236 at gmail dot com
good snippet. not sure what I think about self publishing except it might be nice if well done. Thanks for contest and Happy writing
starryann2000@yahoo.com
Hi All -- Thanks for the comments! I'm hopeful they'll we'll find a better way to curate indie and self-published books in the future. Amazon reviews just don't cut it. But there are some great indie books out there and I wish there was a better way to find them!
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