Is it just me, or does no one ever talk about the art of writing anymore? The craft of writing? The quality of the stories? It seems like most author discussions are simply about how quickly we need to put out our books.
I think Kindle Unlimited has changed the landscape profoundly.
When we used to purchase each book, we had different expectations. When we used to put money down for each individual story, it went without saying the books should be well written and professionally edited. I see a ton of poorly edited books out there in KU, but I don’t get the impression readers mind. Maybe that’s because Kindle Unlimited encourages very fast reading. You want to get your money’s worth and read as many books as possible. I get it. But I can’t help but feel sad that few readers seem to savor books these days. I almost never see anyone discussing books in depth. I’m not talking about my books, by the way, I’m talking about books in general.
Authors are having to hit publish at an alarming rate to make any money at all. That’s because Kindle Unlimited only pays authors LESS THAN HALF A CENT A PAGE so it’s understandable why many authors feel pressured to pump books out at a crazy pace. Some authors publish three or four books a month. My fingers would fall off. How would anyone find time to write four books in one month, let alone get them edited? I’d need a time machine to get that done.
Even social media is different these days. Because authors are having to hit publish constantly, or fear they’ll be forgotten, Facebook and Twitter seems to be nothing but people promoting new releases every five minutes. Much of the recs and interactions feel forced. Fake. More and more I find social media to be nothing but white noise and advertising. Personal interaction is dropping, and being on social media is less and less something I want to be a part of. I have my core readers and author buddies who make life fun, but I miss the days when social media interaction felt more organic. Intimate. Do you?
I have no idea how to fix this, or if it even is something that can or should be fixed. Maybe some of you see no need to change how it is now. Maybe savoring books is a thing of the past for a vast majority of readers. I’ve always enjoyed that though, and I find myself re-reading many of the authors I’ve loved over the years, rather than taking a chance on some of the new releases by new authors. But then again, I’m someone who’ll wear my favorite flannel shirt until it literally falls off my body, before giving a new shirt a shot. So it might just be me. lol
What do you think? Please keep it civil, and be respectful of the fact that we don’t all have to think the same thing to be friends. 🙂
S.C.
