francene--blog. Year 2013
  • Home
  • Blog

Oct 14th

10/14/2013

 
Picture
Iceland is experiencing a book boom. This island nation of just over 300,000 people has more writers, more books published and more books read per head, than anywhere else in the world.

Around the globe, more and more people are publishing books. If a publishing house won't accept them, they self-publish. But the writers in Reykjavik differ because they sell to a demanding population.


The novels often depict events known from the early years of Icelandic history, although there is much debate as to how much of their content is factual.


Pictureen.wikipedia.org
Old Icelandic sagas tell the stories of the country's Norse settlers, who began to arrive on the island in the late 9th Century. First written down in the 13th century, the sagas contain some of the richest and most extraordinary writing of the Middle Ages.

The people of Iceland are a nation of storytellers. When it was dark and cold, they had nothing else to do. They have always been surrounded by stories. Full of heroes, feuds and outlaws, with a smattering of ghosts and trolls, the sagas inspired writers including Sir Walter Scott, William Morris and WH Auden. When Laxness won the Nobel prize in 1955 he put modern Icelandic literature on the map. Read more here.


Picturewww.britishmuseum.org
Doom-sayers predict the printed book risks going the way of the cuneiform tablet, papyrus scroll or vellum parchment. Yet, the rapid changes in technology are proving a boon to many struggling authors, disappointed by a growing pile of publishers' rejection letters.

I was lucky enough to have my work accepted by two different publishers. Solstice Publishing took on the Moonstone Series, and Double Dragon Publishing agreed to the Higher Ground futuristic series co-written with Edith Parzefall.


However, I've been disappointed by the free books I've sampled from struggling authors although I wouldn't dream of leaving a disparaging review. These writers have given every effort to produce their novel. But this raises the question of the e-book's future.

What do you think of books you've read by unknown authors?


Marika link
10/13/2013 07:53:57 pm

I love to read new books (especially if they are mysteries), however I have to admit, I've also been disappointed by some of the offerings. The writing is extremely choppy, unpolished and let's not talk about grammar and syntax. To be honest if I'm offered for review a book that I simply don't care for, I won't review it on my blog rather than leaving a negative one.

Francene Stanley link
10/14/2013 03:25:50 am

I agree with you, Marika. Better to stand back and wait for natural progression. What they say on an English antiques program is, ""Quality sells."

Bonnie Gean link
10/13/2013 08:40:30 pm

One thing I miss already is the ability to curl up with a good book. IPads and Kindles are great, but nothing is better than sitting by the fire with a good book, and that doesn't mean having it printed on an electronic device!

I believe if people are going to become serious enough to write a book, they should prepare to PAY a professional to help them write it. I generally don't read books from "unknown" people.

I get enough "bad reading" on a blog post; I don't care to pay money to read it on a Kindle. :)

Francene Stanley link
10/14/2013 03:27:35 am

That would solve the problem of inferior books on the market, Bonnie. But I doubt they'd want to pay good money for what they consider is already good writing. ;-)

Paula Eder link
10/13/2013 08:42:50 pm

This was so interesting to read, and I loved the graphic you chose - such a wealth of books! I, like you, can feel mixed about the 'book boom.' The quality of self-published books is variable, to say the least ... and I find myself checking reviews even more than I used to. It's helpful to realize that a dearth of reviews may mean that the book was not viewed highly but the reviewers didn't want to be negative.

Francene Stanley link
10/14/2013 03:29:44 am

I guess you're right, especially if the review has five stars. They're the ones usually written by friends who hope to build them up. It's recommended to read reviews with low ratings.

Adelien link
10/13/2013 09:09:35 pm

I am a book lover. Even I spend my money for books mostly until I have long waiting list books to read. I have been dreaming of writing my own book one day. Now I try to compile related postings to be made into books later. Can I? Maybe I want you to be my editor. I love going around your blog. Thank you for sharing.

Francene Stanley link
10/14/2013 03:31:24 am

Thank you for the compliment. The thing to do with writing is write. Only after you've written 100, 000 words do you begin to understand what you're doing.

Alana link
10/14/2013 10:17:36 am

I have been disappointed by a lot (not all) of the unknown writers I've sampled. Some books could have benefited from good editing. Others, I fear, were hopeless. I don't give bad books much of a chance. Life is too short,.

Amy link
10/14/2013 10:41:19 pm

Francene, the above comments are exactly what have kept me (so far) from publishing my book. I don't want my book to be mediocre, worse yet: awful. That was one thing about getting a publisher to publish your book: you knew that it would be heavily edited and hopefully it would be a better book for the editing. Now, anybody can publish a book, but I do believe that the cream will rise to the top.The mediocre books will fall to the side and not stand the test of time. As for me, I'm still reading my way through the classics: The Great Gatsby is my bedtime read right now.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Francene Stanley, author of many published novels. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books? You'll see them on the sidebar below.
    Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life.

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Catastrophe
    Creativity
    Family
    Life Experiences
    Mother
    News
    Novel Writing
    Novel-writing
    Retirement
    World

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.