Quote:
Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
What makes you buy a book?
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Anyhow, it got me to wondering how it is that I pick up a book: For me, usually it's either word of mouth, I liked the description on the back cover, or I read something about it. I get irritated a lot lately in bookstores because they don't have internet terminals where I can look up the name of an author or a title from whatever blog or article I'd seen the book mentioned.
Do readings or hearing commentaries on the radio help? Does the blog of the author help? Is it a matter of where the book is placed in the bookstores? Is it a question of figuring out how to get yourself on the Daily Show?
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We were just discussing this last night at my neighborhood book club. We were wondering why "Peace Like a River" (Minnesota-based novel written by Minnesotan) achieved NYT bestseller status and still has a better Amazon sales rank than books written by Lorna Landvik, another Minnesota writer who writes about Minnesota and the Midwest' (though "Angry Housewives Eating BonBons" and "Oh My Stars" have been regional bestsellers).
We reached the obvious conclusion that getting mentioned on NPR (as was Peace Like a River) or a TV show is a bigger factor than how good the book actually is.
I am drawn by a book's cover design -- I picked up "BreakupBabe" (another blog-based book) purely on the basis of its comic book look cover. Good cover design plus seeing a book face up (rather than spine out) on a front table or rack at Barnes & Noble will draw me in. I also pay attention to the staff favorites at B&N.
If I were being published, I'd try to find someone who knows the national book buyer for CostCo and get an advanced readers copy into her hands. I think she picks books other than just from bestseller lists.
Now that I've read Allyson's site and the chapter of her book, she should have a ton of chits to call in for marketing help and not just cover blurbs. If Whedon and Minear don't try to get her on a couple late shows, they are complete ingrates! I'm also a sucker for a great title and hers didn't grab me, maybe because I didn't discover the series until the movie.
