I’ve always loved this but it just never quite fit for the blog. Anyhoos…
My thoughts on Samhain closing it’s doors. I am sad. I’ve met some great authors through them. Even fellow reviewers that have become good friends. I even pitched a book to them at a conference. Nothing but professional and kind. Even though I was never on their preferred/review list, this blog featured their books often. In fact, my first ever review was Emma Jay’s Two Step Temptation from February 23, 2011.
I am glad that they are going out with their heads held high and a positive note. There are some that we are STILL hearing about because their bad behavior and I fear that it will happen again. Secret Cravings Publishing went out with their heads up and Samhain will do the same. Samhain is a class act through and through. From editing, covers, the “warning labels”, authors and especially the groups that I belong to that are associated with them. I feel for each and every one of you in this trying time.
Most authors, I sense are going more hybrid than anything. This saddens me and alarms me to some degree. Not that I don’t love the indie author but as a reviewer, I’ve read some really bad indie books that should have never made the light of day. From the cover to editing, to being lied to from the blurb to the overall plot of the book…I just shook my head. This is where the publisher comes in and makes the book better. I feel as if the indie author just wants the sale and the minions to follow.
In my opinion, that’s not how publishing should be. Writing is an art, not a NASCAR race. The author should learn the craft, be patient and try to NOT be the next Nora Roberts. It took her a few years before she even caught on and she was traditionally published. Readers will come to you if you put out a quality product and don’t care about the sale.
This is the problem I have with the smaller presses folding. They had the quality but not the sales. Readers want instant gratification and the next Fifty Shades book. Okay, maybe NOT that book but they want the book that everyone is talking about or that the media is trying to hype. One of my all time favorite small presses is The Wild Rose Press. Constantly putting out great books from a great company. They never disappoint, just like Samhain and Secret Cravings. I never had to worry that the book was going to be poorly written, the cover sucks or that the blurb lied to me in some way. That goes a long way with this reviewer.
So you can see why I don’t review much anymore. The quality isn’t there for me and I have a life that doesn’t revolve around publishing and trying to be the biggest and best review site on the block. I tried that, didn’t work out and it made me sick for a couple of years. I will stick with the presses that I know and love.
As for the indie writer, I will support you too and you know who you are. The quality is there for me and you don’t disappoint.
If you want to hear my thoughts as a writer, here is the link to the author site.
It is very sad. I wonder if some of the sea changes going on with Amazon didn’t help bring this about?
I don’t think so. I personally think it has everything to do with instant gratification and Fifty Shades of Gray. She was fan fic first and then the book just took off. Readers and the media want something like that. Too bad that it has backfired for readers, small presses and authors.
Harlie