I haven't checked it out yet, but I will. Almost done with my current read and will pick it up.
I wouldn't worry about the confluence of seemingly similar books. A writer's style has a lot to do with how well a book sells, and much as the content. A twist or two is often all a story needs to differentiate itself from the masses.
I do agree about the editing. It can distract. My stepmom wrote a book about when she was diagnosed with cancer right after my dad died and how she dealt with it and beat it. I read a lot of reviews of the book that criticized it for spelling and grammar mistakes. She had used an inexpensive publisher and I am guessing they skipped the editing and proofreading step to save some money.
Getting reviews is also good. I am hesitant to even look at a book unless I can get a little information about it, like what other books or authors might it compare with? What makes it interesting for others? I am not usually interested in investing my time in a book that I am completely unfamiliar with. That's actually kind of sad, but there is a DEARTH of reading material out there nowadays. I need to know in general terms what the style is so I know it fits my mood.
I've read some really terrible books and enjoyed them somewhat, and I've read some classics and couldn't get through them. I even read Fifty Shades of Grey because my wife was reading them and I saw they were getting a lot of attention. What I found was a really boring, not well written, fan fiction with a few "good parts". I could see how the story might have been written to appeal mainly to the female reader, but I've read a few good books that were considered for chicks only and enjoyed them. While I couldn't claim this one was awful, if there hadn't been sex scenes, it would have remained just another of the thousands of fan fiction stories written and up loaded onto the web. It might have been somewhat better than most, but after the first chapter, which I struggled through, I ended up skimming for flesh, so to speak. not even that could save it for me and I gave up.
My point is, that even non-professional writers can sell, and it's a VERY rare bird that can fly before it falls out of the nest. Most authors need practice, and short stories and magazine articles fit that need nicely. If you don't succeed the first time, try again.
While it's never been a burning desire for me, I have entertained the notion of writing a few short stories, and have a couple of very short humourous fantasy stories from about 8 years ago. I need more quiet time than I could possibly hope for, so maybe after the kids are gone I might pick it back up as a part-time hobby. Not sure where to go to get them out there, if I ever decide to publish, but the avenues for that are out there for not much money.
