I wonder if it's particular to SF/F readers? (As I recall, you work at a SF/F bookstore.)
I can't think that there are more self-pubbed SF/F books out there than any other type, but maybe there's greater exposure at cons and such. And yes, the trades do tend to have glossy covers.
Maybe it's a case of enough people in the SF/F fandom being burnt by bad self-pubbed titles* (which are often trade paperbacks) and enough of them having glossy covers that you're seeing the start of the inevitable reaction.
(*I know not all self-pubbed titles are bad. But a lot are.)
I think this also shows that readers do notice quality in fiction and do steer away from bad books. (There's the democracy of the marketplace right there.) Sadly, it sounds like a marker being used for "bad book" is now "trade paperback with glossy cover."
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-12-06 11:15 pm (UTC)I can't think that there are more self-pubbed SF/F books out there than any other type, but maybe there's greater exposure at cons and such. And yes, the trades do tend to have glossy covers.
Maybe it's a case of enough people in the SF/F fandom being burnt by bad self-pubbed titles* (which are often trade paperbacks) and enough of them having glossy covers that you're seeing the start of the inevitable reaction.
(*I know not all self-pubbed titles are bad. But a lot are.)
I think this also shows that readers do notice quality in fiction and do steer away from bad books. (There's the democracy of the marketplace right there.) Sadly, it sounds like a marker being used for "bad book" is now "trade paperback with glossy cover."