Readers Expectation of Self Publishers Work?

Having read the reviews on some self publishers work, it's not hard to believe that many of the negative reviews are to do with poor grammar and spelling.

Writers decide to self publish there work for many reasons, such as:

• They have more control over their work,

• They get to keep more of the profits, and;

• They do not have the start up costs needed to keep looking for an agent

The last reason was the deciding factor for me realising self publishing was my way forward.

Researching books in my genre, to gage what price I should sell my books at, gave me the opportunity to read some of the reader's reviews and I decided to concentrate on Amanda Hocking's range of books.

Most of the positive reviews complimented her storyline, however many of the negative reviews mentioned the same thing, which was she needed a proof reader to look at her work before she published it, as there were too many spelling mistakes, words missing and the grammar was poor.

However, for a book of approx 65,000 words, priced at $0.99, what is the reader expecting?

Do self publishers get a little bit of a break for little mistakes like grammar, incorrect spelling and missing words due to the reader knowing that one of the reasons the writer maybe in self publishing is due to the lack of upfront funds and therefore does not have the money to pay a proof reader? Or does it ruin the read when the reader sees these mistakes?

For myself, if I found numerous spelling mistakes and bad grammar, it would put me off continuing to the read the story as I would want to get my red pen out and start making the corrections but if it was for $0.99 what more could you ask for?