02-28-2013, 05:04 AM | #76 | |
Gnu
Posts: 1,222
Karma: 15625359
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Device: BeBook,JetBook Lite,PRS-300-350-505-650,+ran out of space to type
|
Quote:
sorry, please carry on |
|
02-28-2013, 05:56 AM | #77 | |
Literacy = Understanding
Posts: 4,833
Karma: 59674358
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The World of Books
Device: Nook, Nook Tablet
|
Quote:
No matter how you cut it, I think both the blame and responsibility entirely belong on the author and no one else.
|
|
Advert | |
|
02-28-2013, 06:05 AM | #78 | |
Literacy = Understanding
Posts: 4,833
Karma: 59674358
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The World of Books
Device: Nook, Nook Tablet
|
Quote:
Consequently, I do not think it proper to state bad editing = bad writing. the bad editing beign referred to is not editing at all. I would add that because the final decisions regarding editing choices (i.e., acceptance/rejection of an editor's suggestions) are the author's, bad writing skills = bad editing decisions = bad writing. |
|
02-28-2013, 06:15 AM | #79 | |
Literacy = Understanding
Posts: 4,833
Karma: 59674358
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The World of Books
Device: Nook, Nook Tablet
|
Quote:
And I know personally of hundreds of instances in which authors have rejected necessary editorial changes because their "writing is perfect" and the publisher just wants the book published. Editors do not deserve the blame in this game! |
|
02-28-2013, 08:40 AM | #80 |
Is that a sandwich?
Posts: 8,224
Karma: 101696762
Join Date: Jun 2010
Device: Nook Glowlight Plus
|
|
Advert | |
|
02-28-2013, 09:33 AM | #81 | |
Feral Underclass
Posts: 3,622
Karma: 26821535
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Yorkshire, tha noz
Device: 2nd hand paperback
|
Quote:
|
|
02-28-2013, 09:34 AM | #82 | |
Media Junkie
Posts: 278
Karma: 2039392
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Device: Kobo Libra H20, Kindle PW
|
Quote:
But, yes, there is absolutely an "endless morass [sic]" of self published books that have no business being published, self or otherwise. Throw paid reviews, and other ways authors and their cronies game the system into the mix, and the self-published world really does seem impenetrable, and I concluded after dipping my toes in at smashwords and elsewhere, simply not worth my time. It would help if there was some sort of minimum standard, but there isn't and even if there was, who gets to decide? "To each his or her own" is the applicable cliche here. We all have our own criteria for what is entertaining and worthwhile, and what is garbage. I would classify myself as having middlebrow tastes. I happen to think Stephanie Meyer and James Joyce are equally horrible as writers. And if you put a gun to my head, I'd chose "Twilight" over "Ulysses" any day. Last edited by usuallee; 02-28-2013 at 09:36 AM. |
|
02-28-2013, 09:50 AM | #83 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 45,019
Karma: 55647515
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Peru
Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One
|
I always enjoy discovering new anatomical anomalies in my reading, such as this one from a novel by Douglas Boren. This is the opening, first paragraph of the novel:
With her heart in her throat, Maggie ran down the great hallway, summoned by her master’s stern voice. Lord Myron Victor of Cheswyck brooked no tardiness, laziness, nor excuses. It's listed as Historical Fiction, but I imagine one could easily place this in science fiction. I'm presuming the heroine didn't choke to death, although one could argue that she was already dead. Or do I presume too much? Any eyeballs-in-the-armpit novels out there? Don |
02-28-2013, 09:57 AM | #84 | |
Wizard
Posts: 1,601
Karma: 9211856
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: kindle Oasis 2018, kindle 4 NT, kindle PW2, iPhone, iPad mini
|
Quote:
I would also add that the *kinds* of errors you see in poorly-edited vs. poorly-written books are different. There are books out there that no editing short of a rewrite will ever save. I have read books that had very few/no typos, but wooden prose, horrible pacing, cardboard characters...ain't nothing going to save that. Last edited by Joykins; 02-28-2013 at 09:59 AM. |
|
02-28-2013, 10:53 AM | #85 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 27,988
Karma: 199001268
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD
|
Quote:
I don't exclusively read indie stuff by any means; in fact indie books would represent a small fraction of what I read. I'm only suggesting that my (and others like me) ability to quite painlessly dip my thumb in and pull out a plumb from time to time should be enough to dispel the myth that it's "impossible" to do so. You have decided it's not worth your time/effort to do so. Not a thing wrong with that. I take umbrage with the gnashers who trumpet from on high that it can't possibly be worth anyone's time to do so. Are you that kind of gnasher? |
|
02-28-2013, 11:03 AM | #86 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,776
Karma: 30081762
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: US
Device: ALL DEVICES ARE STOCK: Kobo Clara, Tolino Shine 2, Sony PRS-T3, T1
|
Quote:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_b...sages/185.html I recently read an otherwise decent book where at one point a character sat on a sofa "with her legs tucked behind her". I was picturing some kind of Chinese acrobat..... As for the suspenders/braces thing - as an American, the first thing I would think if I read that a character was wearing braces, was that the character had orthodontic braces on their teeth. Hmm- what do Brits call those? I'm fine with reading British and Australian books, though - I don't need an Americanized version. One thing I love about my Sony PRS-T1 is that it has both American English and Oxford English dictionaries - the Oxford dictionary is very helpful to me when I read a British book. |
|
02-28-2013, 11:07 AM | #87 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 45,019
Karma: 55647515
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Peru
Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One
|
Yes, I know it's not literal; it's figurative language. In fact, it's actually a cliche.
Writing cliches in one's fiction is the result of lazy writing. ....to have this as the opening paragraph....... Don |
02-28-2013, 11:10 AM | #88 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 27,988
Karma: 199001268
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD
|
I certainly wouldn't have batted an eye at "heart in her throat." Quite a common, perfectly acceptable metaphor/colloquialism, IMO. *shrug*
|
02-28-2013, 12:10 PM | #89 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,179
Karma: 11573197
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: London, UK
Device: Voyage
|
|
02-28-2013, 12:49 PM | #90 | |
Treasure Seeker
Posts: 18,708
Karma: 26026435
Join Date: Mar 2010
Device: Kobo HD Glo, Kindles, Kindle Fires, Andriod Devices
|
Quote:
A author can't edit their own work. Their brain inserts missing words or they just don't see issues due to the way the brain works. Everyday on Facebook I read status posts from Famous authors talking about their Editors. So I am well aware what an editor does. This is the only Sourcebook I have read that had this issue. I buy all their Romance books and I am member to DANL so I am still baffled as to how it got by them for print. She has since then published 3 more books and none of them have that issue. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Do Inadequate Writing Skills Engender Bad Coding? | Prestidigitweeze | News | 81 | 11-30-2012 01:24 PM |
Free Book (Kindle/Nook) - The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing | koland | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 4 | 11-14-2011 06:32 PM |
The truth about THE TRUTH BE TOLD! (sort of) | HPOliver | Self-Promotions by Authors and Publishers | 0 | 11-29-2010 01:21 PM |
Free Book (Kindle) - The Truth About the New Rules of Business Writing | koland | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 0 | 08-16-2010 04:49 AM |
Biography Truth, Sojourner: The Narrative of Sojourner Truth, v.1, 10 Feb 2008 | vivaldirules | IMP Books | 0 | 02-21-2008 08:30 AM |