Influence of Free Book Sites on Litarature

[DancingLady]

I have used several free book sites and offers like BookShout and BookBub in the last few years and I noticed the free books I got were often of very poor quality, though BookBub in particular had an enormous quantity. Not wanting to criticize any site in particular as their continued existence suggests they are serving their subscribers, but I am curious what you all think about these sites and how they might be affecting the overall quality and quality expectations of literature. I would tend to think that while this can help a new talented writer get exposure and help them make connections for future publishing opportunities, it seems like the ease of publishing in eboook form and distributing for free, or temporarily for free, might be contributing to a decline in the quality of literature. This is just my thoughts at the moment and I would love to hear opinions on both sides.

[Camille Turner]

You raise a good question...I'm not inclined to usually take free books aside from classics (where the author is no longer alive) or if I'm writing reviews on them because I feel bad if I don't pay the author. However, I can see your point about new authors selling free books in exchange for gaining exposure and I think you're right about that. I also agree with you that sometimes free books can be of a lower quality on sites like that. I don't think, however, that they are causing the standards of literature to be lowered as a whole because those books which are well-written are still going to be the ones that actually sell for money. Great question!

[KasieMiehlke]

I nly get free books of they are classics or I am reviewing them. As for them adding to lower standards, I would have to disagree. While not all of the free books are homeruns, I have read several that have became favorites because they are so well-written.

[Shrabastee Chakraborty]

I have used several free book sites and offers like BookShout and BookBub in the last few years and I noticed the free books I got were often of very poor quality, though BookBub in particular had an enormous quantity. Not wanting to criticize any site in particular as their continued existence suggests they are serving their subscribers, but I am curious what you all think about these sites and how they might be affecting the overall quality and quality expectations of literature. I would tend to think that while this can help a new talented writer get exposure and help them make connections for future publishing opportunities, it seems like the ease of publishing in eboook form and distributing for free, or temporarily for free, might be contributing to a decline in the quality of literature. This is just my thoughts at the moment and I would love to hear opinions on both sides.

I absolutely agree with you. I am glad that these sites are providing up and coming authors with a much-needed platform, helping them to promote their books, exposing them to constructive criticism. The readers also are getting a good quantity of different types of books to read. But the quality often seems to fall in these cases. I have come across several such books which were hastily written, sometimes poorly edited. In some cases the story itself could have been more polished. So in my opinion, the authors should be more careful with their writing, while the readers should be completely honest with their opinions. Only then can such book sites effectively work.

[PlanetHauth]

I use BookBub and enjoy it because I read at an alarming rate and currently don't have the income to keep up with it. However, I think the problem is the rise in self-published books. Don't get me wrong, self-publishing is a wonderful opportunity for folks who just couldn't get their book picked up by a traditional publisher. However, self-publishing also allows anyone and everyone to write and produce anything they want, but this route also leaves editing and proofreading in the hands of the writer. It seems to me most of these folks don't bother to find either an editor or proofreader, which hurts them in the end. So, most of the blame falls on the authors. The rest of the blame does fall on the websites promoting these books, though. The issue there, however, is whether the websites are reading these books before promoting them, or if they're simply promoting them. For me, part of the draw of OBC is that they take grammar and spelling so seriously. They're careful not to promote books as excellent if they aren't.