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sulcus
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I pulled the below off a self-pubbed writer advertising wares on an Amazon discussion. It's a sample offered from their book. I'm curious to know what you guys make of it as an example of self-published work, not necessarily a representative example, but an example all the same. "He had just begun to walk away from the area of the crash when the earthquake that rocked that region that night began to rumble through the ground. By the light of the quarter moon, he watched in shocked awe as the surface of the earth undulated and rippled like the surface of the sea. He saw trees crashing to the ground not far from him, and twice he was thrown to the ground himself.
When the earth stopped shaking, Tim got back on his feet and stared about him at the damage. Like many soldiers who trained extensively for night operations, Tim had superb night vision. As he stood surveying the carnage wrought by the earthquake, he wished for the first time in his life that he didn't have such excellent night vision.
Having grown up in the Tennessee Valley, Tim was accustomed to surveying storm damage from the many violent thunderstorms and tornadoes that plague that region of the United States. But the damage he surveyed that night dwarfed everything in his experience. Shaking his head in awe, he began the task of walking to the nearest city where he would hopefully find food, water, and transportation.
As he walked, he was expecting the bombs to fall at any minute. In fact, he was not sure that it had not been a bomb that had caused the earth to shake so violently. However, he did not much believe that it had been a bomb for two reasons. There had been no flash of light in the night sky and there had been no shockwave. He felt reasonably sure that if he could feel the shockwave through the earth he would have experienced the atmospheric shockwave as well. "Unless the bombs detonated below the surface," he told himself.
Walking all night long, he never saw a soul. Dawn found him on the outskirts of a small community that had been evacuated due to some of the natural disasters that had occurred two weeks prior to his arrival. He acquired some food and water there. More importantly, he acquired a motorcycle. He also found another few boxes of nine-millimeter ammunition, which he gratefully added to his meager supply."
"A,B&E", "Not In My Name" and "52FF" (flash fiction anthology) all available on Amazon Kindle"How a psychopath makes sweet love. I can get you ringside. Royal box even."
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notleyab
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Could have done with a spell getting pulled apart on YWO.
Or has he/she?
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sulcus
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Quote: notleyab, Monday, 9 Aug 2010 01:01Could have done with a spell getting pulled apart on YWO. Or has he/she? No I don't think they're on YWO
"A,B&E", "Not In My Name" and "52FF" (flash fiction anthology) all available on Amazon Kindle"How a psychopath makes sweet love. I can get you ringside. Royal box even."
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walker
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Anyone who posts work on YWO is fair game because they're looking for feedback. This writer didn't. Did you ask their permission to copy and paste their work onto the MB? If the answer's no, then they are in no position to defend themselves. There are plenty of successful authors who are tough enough to take the knocks. Don't pick on the little guy. It ain't nice. Karen.
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Turnip
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I misread your post - I thought this was a sample used in an ad by a self-publishing outfit. Now I've read again, less blurry after breakfast. What wares were being advertised?
Back to my roots.
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Cinnamon
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Quote: walker, Monday, 9 Aug 2010 08:39Anyone who posts work on YWO is fair game because they're looking for feedback. This writer didn't. Did you ask their permission to copy and paste their work onto the MB? If the answer's no, then they are in no position to defend themselves. There are plenty of successful authors who are tough enough to take the knocks. Don't pick on the little guy. It ain't nice. Karen. The writer offers that sample as an enticement to read the rest of his book, so maybe it's not completely out of order to post it. http://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/4216/1/the-birth-of-the-peacekeepersBut you make a fair point, Karen, and I agree with you.
This post was last edited by Cinnamon, 09 Aug 2010, 09:07
E-asy Peasy?
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Temperance
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I think it's a little cruel as well as unfair. But of course, when you put yourself out there... It's generally accepted, certainly in the trade, that the vast majority of self-pubbed work is a long way off being ready for publication. This is the main reason for its bad rep and booksellers reluctance to put it on their shelves.
This post was last edited by Temperance, 09 Aug 2010, 09:12
Everyone has a price - mine is chocolate Chocolate is important.
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pam123writing
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It doesn't help when people on the Amazon self-pubbing discussion sites are offering to edit books for others. One person offers her services and to be honest, I've seen a sample of her work for one of her clients, it leaves a lot to be desired. They'd be better off joining YWO and picking up ideas from reviewers. Also, the cost of the books from Lulu and Author House is horrendous, and I don't just mean the publishing costs. One such book is 120 pages, published by Lulu and the RRP is £13.87. So expensive. Unless a book is written and presented to a decent, readable standard, who is going to buy it at that price? 
"And, in the end, the love you take / Is equal to the love you make." Lennon and McCartney 1969
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dancingsue
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Sulcus, if you're trying to get publicity for your new story, just say so!
the long and the short of itTriclops: a collection of forty short stories by Avery Mathers, Susan Howe and Lee Williams.
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sulcus
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It was on an Amazon discussion board where writers were invited to tout their wares. Like many this author did so. They were quite legitimately promoting themselves. Therefore I feel no compunction in reproducing their promotion tool. It has as someone above says, been put out there for public consumption, with a view to attracting readers. They don't have to defend themselves as it is anonymous. The dedicated here could probably go and track it down if they were so minded. Cinnamon clearly is, but I couldn't get the link to open. I offered it because of the glorious argument frequently promulgated to established authors by members here, 'Could have done with being posted on YWO for review and knocking into shape' - thanks Pam for rising to that one, but as it happens I sort of agree with the sentiment behind that. As Tempy says, all us self-published writers suffer from being tarred with the same brush as this writer. I don't see there's anything that can be done about it. But this makes our battle to establish credibility all the harder. The guy says he has a seventh book in the series 'in the works' which will be published quite soon. Never mind the quality, feel the width eh?
This post was last edited by sulcus, 09 Aug 2010, 11:08
"A,B&E", "Not In My Name" and "52FF" (flash fiction anthology) all available on Amazon Kindle"How a psychopath makes sweet love. I can get you ringside. Royal box even."
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Curious to see...
09 Aug 2010, 00:47
