It’s not about literacy. It’s about what will sell (i.e., does the author have a fanbase/platform) and cost (i.e., not enough editors to go around anymore, so nothing gets edited).

Basically, the big publishers think we’re stupid and will buy any tripe they sell so it doesn’t matter.

I wonder, though, if it’s a sign of a general decline in the literacy of this nation. I’ve read a few novels lately that made me wonder how the luminaries of NY could have put their clout behind stories that should have never made it beyond AU fanfiction. They had the same flaws you discussed in your post, but non-LDS so no religious infodump. One in particular had some potential, but didn’t even appear to be edited beyond checking for spelling and punctuation.

Also not ranting here, btw. Just dismayed at what I’ve been seeing.

BatourB was an even crappier movie than book. And that’s saying something.

MoJo’s books aren’t quite my cup of tea either. However, there’s a difference between “not captivating” and “insulting the reader’s intelligence,” which I believe is where she’s coming from in her disappointment with the LDS novel she initially referred to.

To the rest: I’m not LDS and I’m not very politically inclined so I’ve nothing else to add. I did want to step in and point out the difference between personal preferences and audience awareness, though.

“It is a series of choppy sentences strung together. There is no discernible rhythm to it. There is no ebb and flow.”

This is exactly how I would describe your writing. It is not captivating at all, and is difficult at best to follow. Just because it passes a spell test and grammar check doesn’t mean it is good writing. Throwing in as many F bombs as you can doesn’t make it exciting ether.

I never saw Baptists at our Barbecue because around here, Baptists (most often of the Southern variety) wouldn’t show up to a Mormon’s barbecue at all, so to me, the premise was flawed. And after the things I’ve heard about it… Whooo boy. This Tarantino & Kevin Smith fan isn’t going anywhere near it.

I enjoy fluff fiction on occassion, but to say _Baptists at our Barbeque_ fulfills that standard better than _The Shawshank Redemption_ due to the relative amounts of profanity, vulgarity, sexuality, theft, and violence in each story would be indefensible.

Talking with people at DB, I think there aren’t any settled answers to these questions.