OT-Black Company

[sum1lost]

Hey, honeybadger, as a writer, what do you think of the community at Pagesunbound?

if you aren't familiar with the site, it has a bunch of aspiring writers who are attempting to circumvent publishers by self-publishing online.

[HoneyBadger]

Well, I love self-publishing. I'll check the site out, thanks

[Leif_-]

sum1lost said:
if you aren't familiar with the site, it has a bunch of aspiring writers who are attempting to circumvent publishers by self-publishing online.

Commenting as a reader, I'm not interested in reading anything that have "circumvented the publishers." I don't want to have to sort through the slush pile myself.

[JimMorrison]

Leif_- said:

Commenting as a reader, I'm not interested in reading anything that have "circumvented the publishers." I don't want to have to sort through the slush pile myself.

You make the assumption that the publishers' interests and your interests coincide, and that therefor they tend to make the best choices for you.

Since you are here, I would assume that you are not a slave to the Best Sellers' list, so I actually find this comment a bit odd. Well that comment, not this one, I don't find this one odd at all. >.> Okay, the last comment, yes that was odd, but the one before it wasn't, neither is this one.

Shhhh.

[Leif_-]

JimMorrison said:
You make the assumption that the publishers' interests and your interests coincide, and that therefor they tend to make the best choices for you.

Not at all; but experience has shown that publisheres overall make good choices for me, and I'm willing to pay them for that work. Plus, what I've seen of self published writing tends to suggest that practically all of it is overwritten, underedited, badly clicheed tripe.

Besides, the interests of an author's are no more convergent with my own than are those a publisher's, so why should I believe that self-publishing authors would in any way benefit me as a reader?

[Makinus]

I started reading the first book in the Dragonlance series (Dragons of Autumn Twilight) and i´m finding a very interesting book...

While the characters are very typical RPG (the book was based in a series of RPG sessions after all) they are very well portrayed, being well developed even when stereoptical (spelling?)...

The honor-bound paladin, the gruff warrior dwarf, the powerful lawful evil/physicaly weak wizard, the care-free kender thief, the charismatic half-elven ranger, the strong warrior, the barbarian warrior and barbarian warrior/cleric (i think), while easily identifiable are given a good characterization, with motives of being in the group, origins, personality traits and quirks, bringing normally two-dimensional characters to life...

ím a third throught the book and, so far, enjoying the ride...

[HoneyBadger]

Plenty of good self-publishing out there, and yes it does need sifting, but so do the things publishers put out. Trust me on this: Most of the stuff that's published in a given year could have served just as well for toilet paper. The link I posted up above is as good as anything you're likely to pick out at Barnes & Noble, without a *lot* of research, and it's self-published and free to read. If you're just reading things based on publishers and their opinions, then while the average pick might be somewhat better than a random poke in the dark, you're likely to miss the very best writing that's out there.

I spend as much time researching what to read, as I do reading, but it's always worth it. I just don't have the time in this life to waste on writing that isn't great, because there's so much great writing to be had.

If anyone wants a recommendation from me on what's worth reading, by the way, I'm more than happy to give you a good selection. Often free on the internet. Just PM me or whatever.

And the Dragonlance series wasn't too bad, atleast for TSR. I read a lot of it when I was younger, and I especially liked the book about Huma, and Kaz the Minotaur. The volumes of short stories were also fun. It's not something I would waste money and time on now, but that's as much literary snobbishness and lack of time as it is criticism.

[Renojustin]

Dragonlance is fine for prepubescent nerds-to-be if you live in an undeveloped country with no video games or good novels.

[JimMorrison]

Leif_- said:
...practically all of it is overwritten, underedited, badly clicheed tripe...

I see you prefer your cliche'd tripe underwritten and overedited.

Well, Badger beat me to it. It's true for any art form, really. Financial success is not in any way an accurate barometer of skill, talent, or expression. Is there a lot of bad self-published writing out there? Well of course there is! Bad art is everywhere you look. Just because the store has a bestseller list that will allow you to read the same few books as everyone else, which are mostly the same as the books you read before them, but with different authors - doesn't mean that the self-publishing houses won't have a competitive product.


And Reno, I am not sure what you actually hoped to accomplish with that post.

[Leif_-]

JimMorrison said:
I see you prefer your cliche'd tripe underwritten and overedited.

If that's the alternative, yes.

Just because the store has a bestseller list that will allow you to read the same few books as everyone else, which are mostly the same as the books you read before them, but with different authors - doesn't mean that the self-publishing houses won't have a competitive product.

No, of course not. The reason why self-publishing, with rare exceptions, won't have a competitive product is because they'll lack skilled editors, proofreaders and typesetters. Publishing houses doesn't just publish books -- they also make sure the book is publishable, as in worth publishing.