
This week, continuing her discussion on bl, Dr. Tanya has asked our opinion on this quote;
“The Internet destroyed most of the barriers to publication. The cost of being a publisher dropped to almost zero with two interesting immediate results: anybody can publish, and more importantly, you can publish whatever you want.”
(Dick Costolo)
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Internet, and more relevantly, the freedom to create your own website and post your content on it, was what broke the barrier to publishing. And it is true that anyone who wants to, can publish their thoughts, stories or research on the internet.
As far as blogging is concerned, I pay for the privilege to publish my blog. It’s not that I cannot blog for free but paying for a site ensures that WordPress won’t delete my site if they so feel inclined. It also means that they won’t put any corny or gruesome ads on my blog posts.
Another way we use internet to publish our content is via ebooks. Since I haven’t done this yet, I’m not very cognizant with it’s details but I’m sure it doesn’t cost the money it does to publish a real paper book.
So yes, I agree that having the facility of self-publishing our content on the web, has to some degree made it free( cheaper) for ordinary people. But whoever uses this freedom should keep in mind that their content should be well-edited and free of errors. There are too many books and posts that lose their impact because they haven’t been edited properly.
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Written for Blogging Insights NF# 32, hosted by Tanya
#Keepitalive
#BloggingInsights
I agree that self-published books and blogs need to be edited. It shows a respect for one’s own writing. Sure, mistakes slip through, but you can tell if someone took the time to make a story or article as error-free as possible.
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Thanks Priscilla, you’re absolutely right! When we want someone to pay for our writing, I should be up to the standard.
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Editing is where the magic happens. I couldn’t agree more
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Very true! Thanks
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I agree with Priscillia, self publishing is a blessings and it pays to do one’s level best to edit well.
Great share Sadje. Happy creating.
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Thanks a lot Suzette. You too my dear friend
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Always a pleasure, my friend.
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🙏🏼
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Good share! Yes, good editing is like expressing more respect for the reader. 🙌
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Very true. Both for the reader and the writer.
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Yes!
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👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
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I have to say the biggest barrier is still money. Publishing is not free! If you want to make money you need to spend a fortune on editing, publishing and promoting or you never sell a single book.
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This conversation is about ebooks. I think that can be done without spending a load of money?
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Well, you can doi it for nothing but you wont be able to have proper editing, a decent looking cover, or layout in your book. Even if you did all that yourself without spending thousands on promotion you’ll get no sales. I mean so far you are the only person who bought Stolen Treasures. Thats what happens when you cant spend money on your books.
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I see! That’s a very valid point. I do hope you sell lots of copies to your book. It a wonderful mystery.
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Thanks, maybe in time I might but for now it’ll remain pretty non-existent. I honestly just keep trying to publish my tales so I can be proud of them. Any sale is a nice bonus.
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Yup, that’s true. As soon as I finish, I’ll write a review of the book.
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I appreciate you for that.
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🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
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If you want to publish, you can, but publishing something that is worth reading is a whole different matter. You are right about the importance of editing and although you can do that yourself, it never hurts to have another pair of fresh eyes to see something that you missed.
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I agree Jim that when we edit our writing, we do miss a lot of errors. Someone else should do it. Thanks
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I agree that if you self publish, proof reading and editing should be taken seriously. A typo jars me away from the written word and meaning.
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Very true E A. Bad editing is like badly seasoned food. It may be cooked well but the flavor is not right.
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Good points, Sadje. Agree about editing and eliminating errors. Also, I pay to eliminate ads from my site. The last thing I want to see are ads about bad teeth or stomach problems! 😁
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Haha! These ads are pretty disgusting! Thanks Jane.
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I have to admit, I have never paid a penny to WordPress…but I do hope they would not delete my site after all the time I have put into it!
Most of the time, I just read posts in the WP Reader so I never see adverts. When I do visit sites, I see adverts showing me dresses and shoes. That;s because my cookies know that is what I have been googling. I cannot control what other people google, what cookies are on their electronic devices, and therefore what adverts they will see when they visit my website or any other website. I could pay so that they don’t see any adverts but I would sort of prefer for them to take responsibility for their own search engine activity.
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I pay for my domain name and to preserve my content. You’re right that via reader there are no ads. I didn’t knew about the ads being regulated by the cookies on our devices. Interesting thought.
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Wonderful post, Sadje. I completely agree. Though editing is not my favorite part of writing, it is a critical component, and time should be invested in doing it well.
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Very true Jeff. Without proper editing, the writing can lose its impact.
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Indeed, and agreed. It’s very labor intensive, yet worth it.
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Exactly.
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Editing is very important. I’ve lost interest in reading some self published books due to this. However, if any of my blog friends self publish, I’m more than willing to read or purchase it 😁
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Very true Maria, same here. I think the writer should NOT edit their own work.
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Interesting points of view.
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Thanks Rory!
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Very true Sadje. Alongwith the privilege of publishing on the internet comes the responsibility of maintaining a good standard of content.
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Exactly right Tanya. Thanks
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Welcome.
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🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
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Very informative post, dear Sadje! ❤️
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Thanks Jane
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Welcome, Sadje!
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🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
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❤️❤️
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a great post and I so agree Sadje but miss the mark sometimes which I hate but try to quickly go back and fix as fast as I can!
💖
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Thanks Cindy! I think it happens in almost every post that I write too.
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Informative post. Thank you!
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My pleasure! Thanks
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