Monday, January 19, 2015

I Have My Standards -- Smile, You Are on Camera

When it comes to reading for entertainment purposes only, literary standards tend to slacken a bit.  However, with the trend to self-publishing being offered by mega-corporation Amazon and other companies, many writers are not treating their readers with the respect that they deserve.  Editing has almost disappeared.  Writing levels that are barely out of elementary school have also been noted.  In addition, the so-called "reviews" on many book and e-book buying sites are very questionable.  Many are almost word for word and appear to be written by a claque of followers.  The reviews I have given have ALWAYS been true reviews in that I have read the book, no one has paid me for the review, and I will honestly tell what I think.
So, in that regard, I will now re-publish my Amazon reviews here as well since I have read that authors do NOT read their Amazon reviews.  This is especially true in the Austenalia genre, which I must admit that I do on occasion enjoy.  The authors as a whole hold tight to their bulwark and do not criticize fellow authors.  I am not sure that is a good thing.  Historical novelists certainly criticize each other, especially when important facts are gotten wrong.  Today, for example, I found a series of novels about ancient Alexandria.  However, the author made Heron of Alexandria female which would have surprised HIM greatly.  Heron was also the major character.  These novels also got glowing reviews from the hoi polloi or a claque.  They were not useful at all.  I would have liked to post something to the effect that I had not read the novels but that Heron was male, so I would not waste my time since this was a primary fact.
I will be posting further on this subject as it is important to me.  

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