I read a lot.  Sometimes I read a new book every day, or when I’m really busy, it’s at least one new book a week.  Not all of the books I read I identify enough with in order to write a review about, but sometimes I read ones that I find absolutely fabulous or intriguing, and I can’t help but share my thoughts on them.

There is something to be said for books that are published both traditionally, and non traditionally.  I’ve read wonderful books released by both, and when it comes to what side of the fence I’m on in regards to how an author should choose, or be able to publish: whatever you’re able to do, or whatever you feel comfortable with is where my opinion lies.

That being said, if I have ever come across a book that I’ve had major problems with in regards to the ease of reading / grammar / editing – It’s not surprising that likely the book was released in a more indie publishing fashion.

Just recently I read a book like this.  I had read the authors first book – and actually quite enjoyed it in terms of the story line, plot and characterizations.  My problems with the book were more to do with the format of the writing, and the fact that it was clear not enough time had been spent ensuring that all of the major editing had been caught.

When I saw this, I found myself in a terrible situation.  I want to be frustrated that these things had not been done for a book that has been released as something that the author is asking money for, but on the other hand, I realize how difficult it can be to find good help to work on these sorts of things when you are going the indie pub route.

As a writer myself, working on my first book / series in my spare time – I know how something I write seems fine to me, but when it’s read by someone else before I’ve had a chance to go through it with a fine toothed comb, they feel the same sorts of frustration I felt while reading this person’s published book.  It can also be difficult to find people to give you an honest opinion of your work when you are going to friends / family for advice, and they care more about not wanting to hurt you feelings then wanting to make sure that you are releasing a truly wonderful piece of work.

The main difference is of course that I haven’t made anyone pay for a book that I’m not one hundred percent happy with – and I’m not sure that my anal tendencies would me allow me to.

With how easy it is now for anyone to simply put a book up on amazon or some of the other electronic book retailers, readers need to be sure that they are paying more and more careful attention to the books they purchase to ensure that they are not buying a product that isn’t up to the quality that they expect.  This – of course – is the obvious solution to not putting myself in the situation that I’ve found myself in with this particular author, and their book(s) if I don’t want to continue being frustrated with the formatting and editing, or lack there of.

The other option that I have is to send an email to the author, or submit a review to the book, giving my honest opinion of the book.

I find it to be a difficult choice to make.  On one hand, I have actually submitted a review to the author’s first book – with some of the more obvious problems I found while reading it, and then found that the second book was written with the same things occurring.  This leads me to the obvious conclusion that the author is not interested in actually changing anything.

Truly, this is a soul searching decision.  Do I enjoy the author’s works enough to see past the problems I have with the formatting / editing, or is it really too frustrating to warrant trudging through another story filled with more of the same?

It wouldn’t be the first time that I completely gave up on a book / author and found another one to occupy my time.  It’s not like there aren’t enough other books to choose from in the world, but this particular decision has me stymied.