**This is strictly a commentary on my personal experiences in publishing, either conventional or via self-published avenues.**
​
​
​As an avid reader, I am only interested in reading excellent quality copy for pleasure. What that means for me is that it MUST be grammatically correct, contain proper punctuation, make logical sense and have a decent plot/storyline to hold my interest. If there are too many mistakes, then I am inclined to leave it and never try that author again, at least for several years until they've matured as a writer. My thinking on this is that many, many authors are so busy chasing the public for readership, they seem to believe that they must have a glitzy cover and a typeface that 'pops' so much that they neglect to spend the time and money to have their work professionally edited! This is a serious​ ​mistake. As an author, you may get the people are on your email list to read your novels, but anyone with any desire for a well put together story will also expect to receive what they paid for - EXCELLENT CONTENT!
​
Unfortunately, what I see all too often is authors spending hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars for a pretty cover, but neglecting the interior of the novel: the 'meat' and the raison d’être which is the CONTENT. If something ​hasn't been​ edited​ well​, besides being well written, then I will not waste my time trying to wade through it because the author didn't care enough to take the time to present it in such a way that it's the best version of his/her work.​ ​I might buy one such type of novel to try them out, but I will be very reluctant, and to be completely honest, I'd simply be more inclined to refuse to try another by that same author fearing the same result.
​
​That's ​one​ negative thing about self-publishing, some writers are so quick to jump on the 'let's get it out to the public' stage that they do not ensure it's ready for public consumption before taking the step to publish it on a global scale. In conventional publishing, the publishing house takes care of that, and the author's agent would insist that the work was professionally edited before publishing. There are reasons they did it that way, not all the conventional ways should be thrown by the wayside when one is in self-publish mode.
​
​I understand why authors spend so much time, effort, and money on crafting an attractive cover; as the entire point of them creating the work is so that the public will buy it, and the author likely has hopes of making a living from their writing. That is a difficult goal to accomplish if you do not grab their attention first. With digital online retailers and the myriad of choices available on the market for a reader, the range of options is almost endless. How does one choose amongst them? The author, and publisher, if they used one, count on the ability of the book's attractiveness to catch the eye. That is what intrigues a person to pick the book and read the ​​blurb on the back cover, maybe read the reviews online, and then hopefully, take a chance and purchase it. The problems occur if the interior material doesn't match the hype or the glamourous cover image. At that point, the reader who is also the customer feels let down by the inconsistency between their expectations and the real thing; however, if everything matches and the blurb, cover, and interior all conform to their perceived presupposition, then the author may have a customer for life! Isn't that the goal?