Literary Hoots (Unintentional)
Because I’ve self-pubbed in the past, I read a lot of other self-published writers’ books. A few are excellent. Some are pretty good. Some are—er, um, well, you know. Some are funny, though they probably weren’t supposed to be a hoot.
Because I write the occasional kid-lit piece, I sometimes read the Shelftalker blog on Publisher’s Weekly. A story from August 23, 2007, caught my eye. It was about a self-pubbed book (through Vantage, so it had to be pricey for the author to publish it) that was probably really meant to help kids back in 1990. Somehow, a lot of people now consider it a hoot.
Take a look at the cover and the title:
Need I say more? But I will. What’s really a hoot is the plethora of glowing reviews for this book on Amazon. (If you’ve checked out Amazon reviews for self-pubbed or vanity-pubbed books, you’ll see that many of these, uh, reviews fall into the glowing category. (Remember, anyone can post a review on Amazon regardless of whether or not the reviewer has read the book. Some “reviewers” even charge clueless authors money to post reviews on Amazon. Consequently, I do not trust Amazon reviews. But I’m digressing.) Read the Amazon reviews for this book. Are they a hoot, or what?
Check out a page from the book:
You can even read the whole book on the Pixie Stix Kids Pix blog (“Thoughts, Observations, and Ideas about Children’s Books”), a blog that writers and lovers of kiddie lit should bookmark.
While you’re reading the book, I’m going to slip out to the pasture and make sure the only grass my mares are involved with is the kind that grows underfoot.
Er, underhoof.
Because I write the occasional kid-lit piece, I sometimes read the Shelftalker blog on Publisher’s Weekly. A story from August 23, 2007, caught my eye. It was about a self-pubbed book (through Vantage, so it had to be pricey for the author to publish it) that was probably really meant to help kids back in 1990. Somehow, a lot of people now consider it a hoot.
Take a look at the cover and the title:
Need I say more? But I will. What’s really a hoot is the plethora of glowing reviews for this book on Amazon. (If you’ve checked out Amazon reviews for self-pubbed or vanity-pubbed books, you’ll see that many of these, uh, reviews fall into the glowing category. (Remember, anyone can post a review on Amazon regardless of whether or not the reviewer has read the book. Some “reviewers” even charge clueless authors money to post reviews on Amazon. Consequently, I do not trust Amazon reviews. But I’m digressing.) Read the Amazon reviews for this book. Are they a hoot, or what?
Check out a page from the book:
You can even read the whole book on the Pixie Stix Kids Pix blog (“Thoughts, Observations, and Ideas about Children’s Books”), a blog that writers and lovers of kiddie lit should bookmark.
While you’re reading the book, I’m going to slip out to the pasture and make sure the only grass my mares are involved with is the kind that grows underfoot.
Er, underhoof.
~
Labels: bad writing, humor
posted by Becky Mushko | 9:59 PM
3 Comments:
Thank you for the new blog link. I like that - it has some great info listed.
Oh my goodness. I feel better about my own work when I read things like this. I have an entire file of rejection slips but I must say that after reading some excerpts from this, I will continue to KEEP TRYING.
As for your book, Patches on the Same Quilt...it has been a wonderful and welcomed stress reliever during finals. This is a side of you that I haven't seen before, and I must say, I am impressed! I already knew you were talented, but wow, this is fantastic Miss Becky!
Made me laugh again with the grass comment.
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