Comments on: Behold The Gatekeepers

By: Outsider Writers Collective » Outsiderish Newsesque 6/14/09

Outsider Writers Collective » Outsiderish Newsesque 6/14/09 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:51:29 +0000

[...] don’t think I’d want to smell what they’d come up with for Irvine Welsh.” | AuthorScoop has some thoughts on IndieReader - is it just another way to dupe gullible [...]

By: Henry Baum

Henry Baum — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:29:28 +0000

Thanks for linking to my piece - as I say in there, I think IR’s too expensive, or at least has to make good on the cost. Sure, you’d make more of a profit selling directly through Lulu, but you might not sell nearly as many books. If IR can get attention it’s possible - possible - that it would be a way to unload more books at a time, which is better to me than turning a profit. If you’re selling books in one place, this can lead to greater book sales in another.

By: William Haskins

William Haskins — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:26:26 +0000

thanks for the link. fun stuff.

By: Caleb J Ross

Caleb J Ross — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:58:28 +0000

(insert additional objection of IndieReader)

I like the idea of a gatekeeper for self-published books, but the the charge for such a review is crazy.

A great site that reviews self-published books is http://theselfpublishingreview.blogspot.com. Its humorous, and the editor rarely finds a good one, but still it’s worth the read.

Caleb J Rosss last blog post..Broken Clocks but a fully functioning new issue of Colored Chalk

By: William Haskins

William Haskins — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:43:33 +0000

re: the editor. i saw nothing that indicates editorial feedback. my assumption is that an editor (assuming that is who reads the work, and not the “agent, publicist or book lover”) simply indicates to the business whether or not they should list it.

By: chris bates

chris bates — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:27:17 +0000

”editors, literary agents, publicists and just plain book lovers” … all for just 149 bucks.

I don’t think you could find a ‘true’ pro editor out there to even read your book for that little, let alone provide a critique.

As for the “ever-coveted seal of approval from industry insiders” … the only thing that truly legitimizes any published work, in a business sense, is sales.

An IndieReader thumb’s up won’t do jack-shit on that front. Author Bob needs to ante up and pay for a proper edit … or pass and play out the game with a crap hand.

By: William Haskins

William Haskins — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:06:59 +0000

yeah i can’t imagine the industry insiders will work for free. they probably get some, if not all, of the $25 they keep, even as they reject you. but that’s just speculation. maybe they’re just dedicated volunteers who, after a long day at the office, enjoy reading a self-pubbed book or two before bed…

By: Jamie Mason

Jamie Mason — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:26:49 +0000

Oh boy. This setup sounds ridiculous. And who are these agents and editors doing the reading? Are they getting a cut of this pie? ‘Cause they’d almost have to be, considering they have so much work to do as it is that query turn-arounds can be weeks to months.

It really sounds like a nifty new avenue for someone to get paid for questionable output of effort.