Some time ago HarperCollins' UK division created a combination writing workshop/online slush pile called Authonomy. I assume the name was an attempt to marry the concepts of authors and autonomy. Anyway, HC has just announced the first three publishing contracts for folks who had posted on Authonomy. One author had self-published his serial killer mystery/thriller and then used Authonomy to get noticed. Another book was a memoirs (possibly fictionalized; it wasn't clear) by two authors. The third was a romantic comedy, and that author actually got a three-book deal.

One of the authors has reposted her book, so it's difficult to tell how well-rated the original version was, but the other two books had not done all that well in the ratings, or even been reviewed all that often, compared to some. This lends some credence to the folks who complain about the ratings being too socially-based, but I think that's beside the point. Authors are not often the best judges of their own work, so it's not all that surprising that they don't necessarily pick the most marketable books as their favorites. And besides, there is and will always be a subjective element to what an editors buys.