Any Book Can Be a Learning Tool

Last night, I stayed up reading far later than I should have. Today, through the hangover like haze, I can see that it was a huge mistake, not only because I'm tired and I should be cleaning the house for a parental visit and family dinner tonight, but because the book wasn't good. At all.

So why did I keep reading a book that delivered on almost nothing it promised? Part of it was the hope that the book would pick up speed. I don't like to think that I wasted my money, even if it was only a few dollars, so I'm the type of reader who holds out hope that if it's in print, it will get better.

Unfortunately, with self-publishing being all the rage right now, you can no longer trust that every book is going to be a good one. Or even a semi-decent one. I could throw together some of the first stories I ever wrote without looking at them and have them listed online by the end of today. That doesn't mean anyone will feel satisfied after reading them, so I won't do it. To me, if I'm going to put my name on a book and sell it, there has to be value to the reader. If there's not, those first time readers will run the other way when I publish something else. Which is what I will probably do with this particular author from now on.

Once I realized it wasn't getting any better and probably wouldn't, I kept going. Why? Because I'm getting ready to write my first novel and if this book wasn't a shining example of how to structure a book, it could be a tool for me. I wound up making mental notes of everything that annoyed me about the story and the characters so I can avoid those issues like the plague in my own novel.

What annoyed me the most, yes, even more than a bad storyline with flat, unbelievable characters, is the fact that at the end of the book, she not only asked for reviews, but she is having a giveaway and the way to enter the contest is to write a review. Personally, I think it's tacky to ask for reviews IN your book, but to go one step further and hold a contest for those who share reviews, that's over a line for me. I wonder what my odds of winning would be if I wrote an honest review of the book. Is the winner going to be someone who proclaims that this is a work of literary greatness or does someone who says "an editor would be a better use  of your money" have a chance to win?

I'm not a seasoned veteran in the world of writing. After years of dabbling, I'm just now beginning to take myself seriously, so I could be completely off-base with my opinions. At the same time, I'm not putting this out there as a professional writer, I'm putting this out there as an avid reader who also happens to write. In my "other life" I help bloggers learn how to improve their sites and one of the most common pieces of advice is that if something annoys you when you're reading, it's probably a good idea to not expect others to like it when they're reading what you've written.