RE: A Steemit Future for Fiction
The problem here is the subjectivity of quality. There are plenty of big published novels that don't deserve to be out in the world, and yet they are. The most egregious example being Fifty Shades of Grey. It's no secret that plenty of critics and readers alike find the writing to be spectacularly subpar.
There's this insistence on quality but the publishing market hardly cares. It's a popularity contest. If something has a large audience, no matter how good or bad it is, it's likely it'll be published.
Another example being Beth Reekles from Wattpad. She garnered a million dollar contract with Random House to publish three YA fiction novels. If you stroll through reviews, you'll find that her writing isn't the greatest either.
Why, praytell, would she be published then? Because she had a massive following on Wattpad. And followers = dollar signs for publishers.
I agree that quality needs to be prioritized, but when publishers themselves show seriously lax standards, one can hardly blame communities like Amazon or Steemit for having droves of poorly written novels/short stories.
However, you cited two examples where something else got the writer in the door instead of quality. A lot of things are published today by "reputable" authors that would have gotten thrown in the trash if any other name were on it. Amazon is also a community frequented by authors who are in it for the money. Or who think it's okay to publish drafts--I know, I've reviewed more than one that turned out to be intended as a free beta read.
But if we authors want to prove fiction belongs in this community, we need to up our game and put our best foot forward. Otherwise a bad reputation for fiction in general will become well-deserved.