Some of The "Critics" on Lulu Need To Keep Their Opinions To Themselves!

Question

Nothing's more annoying than logging onto Lulu and reading a crtique from some random, insensitive know-it-all about other people's work.  One person said that people need to stop publsihing so many books and start developing their characters.  Well sweetheart, not sure who specifically you were referring to, but you damn sure weren't referiing to me and you need to quit judging whoever it was you were judging.
GOD almighty gave me and everyone else who has a gift to write that gift.  YOU DID NOT!!!  When you become the gift giver, then  you get to tell the gifted how to use the gift. I let God guide the gift he gave me and that's where my inspiration and talent come from.  God's gifts are perfect and don't need any man's tweaking.  I have no problem developing my characters and I'm sure most gifted writers don't.  Sounds like you need to develop your own character a s a human being instead of criticizing how someone else develops a fictitious one.  Just saying.

Answer 1

Bolter1224 wrote:
So, you say your a professional and nobody should be allowed to sell books but you? Even if you just want to publish a book for your family it ends up on Amazon. anyway. So what would you suggest people do? Build to the best of their ability, and then, even if practicle and funtional not acceptable because it wasn't created by you? Now that's egotistical If I've ever heard it. 
http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=28661
Guess what? I'm not going to stop selling. Period...
Now whoever in the world ever said that no one else but me should be allowed to sell books? What I am saying (and let's see if I can make myself even clearer than before) is that if you are expecting people to pay as much money for your book as they would for one that was published professionally than it behooves you to offer a product that is of equal quality. For an author to expect people to make allowances for their inexperience and to overlook their mistakes while still asking them to pay full price for a book is not, in my opinion, very ethical.
"I know I am asking you to pay as much money for my book as you would for one from a bookstore, and I know my book is filled with misspellings, bad grammar and every other imaginable mistake, but please overlook all of that because I'm just a beginner and give me your money anyway."
Please re-read my analogy with the woodworker.
With POD and ebooks anyone can get "published"---but until your work is of the same quality as that being published professionally, give it away or sell it at cost. But as soon as you start asking someone to pay for your book as much as they would for a traditionally published one, it is disingenuous at best to offer a product that is of less quality than they'd get from a traditional publisher. If you would not make allowances for the inexperienced woodworker who wants to charge you as much for his chair as you would pay for one made by an experienced craftsman, then you should not expect people to do the same with books.
Every author has to begin somewhere and it is the rare first-time author---even the most famous and professional---whose first published work is their best. All authors grow and improve. But (and this brings us back to the original topic of this thread) they don't do this by working in a vacuum, convinced that every word they write is perfect. Instead, they work with knowledgeable editors who help them make their books as good as they can possibly be...and they listen to critics once their book has been published. And with all of this input each book they publish gets better. As you say, they build to the best of their ability---but they do this with help, advice and criticism. They don't just knock off a book and print the first draft.
I understand perfectly well that not every author can afford professional editing...but that doesn't really change anything. As soon as you start selling your book it takes it out of the realm of the hobbyist---no matter how talented that hobbyist might be--and into that of the professional. And you take on the responsibility of selling a product that is of a quality a reader would expect from a professional. 
And, no, a book that you might have published privately doesn't automatically wind up on Amazon (I have many books that I have put together strictly for the enjoyment of friends that are accessible only by whom I choose). For instance, if a book is strictly for friends and family, there is no need to obtain an ISBN for it.