Haven’t been keeping up lately because I had to read a non-baseball sports book for review. That’ll teach me.
Out of respect for the book, which was assigned to me by a publication I will similarly not name, let’s just say it falls into this category. To make matters worse, I did not do due diligence; thought this was non-fiction, but instead it was a self-published novel. I was about to give up on it and tell the editor I would not, in good conscience, be able to give the book anywhere near a positive review, but I was told that wasn’t necessary, so I plowed through, anxious to get this over with and off my plate. Like liver.
As you know, I dislike reviewing fiction. That’s usually because I was not an English major, don’t know how to properly explain grammar (my philosophy is akin to “I don’t know art, but I know what I like”), and therefore feel inadequate when it comes to critiquing the genre. But in this case, I have no such qualms. I was amazed to see it got a five-star review, the only one on the book’s Amazon page. What was this person thinking, I wondered, that he can be so glowing. Or is it that I’m so mean?
As I said, I may not grok grammar, but I know how to compose a sentence, how to use punctuation, how to create believable dialogue (he said, using air quotes). All these components were absent in great part from this book. Notice I’m not talking about spelling here; that’s for you, M.A. Sometimes I feel I have to make a few mistakes, to steal a moment from The King’s Speech:
I get it that a lot of fledgling authors are turning to self-publishing. When I began writing, I was thrilled to see my name in the byline. But each piece went through several iterations, with people looking the article over, before it was submitted as final. And even then, corrections were often made. I urge you folks, don’t be in such a rush. If you want to be taken seriously, invest the time (and money, if necessary) in finding a second pair of eyes to look over your work. It can only help.
Well, that’s done, at least. Now I can get back to the comfort food that is baseball literature.
is available on Amazon.com,
{ 1 comment }
But how is my reading this not a waste of my time?
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