Madame Thursday

Jul. 27, 2012 at 1:03pm with 40 notes

Reblogged from hamburgerjack

My darlings, I just need you to remember

moniquill:

wildunicornherd:

that self-publishing/”indie” means there is, by definition, no quality control.

This goes triple for vanity presses.

Side. Fucking. Eye.

With a side order of Moff’s Law.

We can and do analyze shitty shit that goes on in fandom and fanfic communities, on message boards and in advertizements, EVERYWHERE IT IS.

Right now it’s in a shitty vanity press novel that’s come to our attention.

It’s as worthy of analysis as anything else.

My tits shall not be calmed.

And I expected more from you.

Remember 50 Shades of Grey?

Self-pubbed, picked up by Random House.

Remember Twilight?

Shitty writing, shitty science, shitty racism, shitty sexism, still got pubbed, became blockbuster moneymaker.

George R. R. Martin? Grimdark rape fest. Still keeps being published, still keeps making money. Although conceivably Martin is a decent writer.

See Forgotten Realms? Shitty world-building. Beloved by geeks and continues churning out shitty books.

Quality control… is not exactly a feature in conventional publishing either =(

THANK YOU.

God, but the number of rants I could let forth on the idea that:

a) there is quality control in conventional publishing

and

b) that it’s quality control worth having in the first place

Is just endless. There was a time when I really set my heart on being conventionally published, and as I’ve become more aware, I’ve become less convinced that the publishing industry in the U.S. - especially the big name publishers - are worth working with.

(Apologies in advance, this will be US-centric!)

Because not only do you have a system that supports and publishes the kind of crap listed below, but there’s an even bigger list of really great literature that doesn’t make it. And yeah, it has to do with whiteness, straightness, etc and general privileged gatekeeping that greatly favors and selects for college educated, middle to upper class, straight, cis, able white folks and stories about and appealing to that demographic.

I can’t help thinking that those who work for and align themselves with the big name companies complain endlessly about how limited their resources are and how they’re at the mercy of falling book sales and how they have to try to only publish what will hit it big and make them money - and how they just can’t take the chances they once did.

Maybe you’d have more book sales if you didn’t tell large swaths of people with every action you take - from how you market to what you publish to even how you operate business wise - that they’re not welcome, and that these stories are not only NOT for them, but are probably going to be painful. Especially in genre fic.

I mean, shit, how many people do you get to ignore, abuse, and slap in the face before maybe it’s your own fault that your sales are falling?

[/opinion]