If a book really appeals to me when I hear what it's about, I will want to read it.
If a book somewhat appeals to me when I hear about it, but I'm not really sure, I probably won't want to read it.
BUT, if that same book that somewhat appeals to me gets lots of GREAT reviews, OR lots of people are talking about it, saying how great it is, then I will want to read it.
If a book that somewhat appeals to me is talked about all the time by the *author* versus other people, I probably won't want to read it.
If a book doesn't really appeal to me when I hear about it, I won't want to read it.
And no matter how much people are talking about the book that doesn't really appeal to me, and no matter how much the author talks about and/or promotes the book, I still won't want to read it.
Finally, if I've read an author's other books and LOVED them, I will want to read subsequent books, no matter what.
Conclusion? Writing the very best book you can is THE most important thing you can do to sell books. And no matter how much we may wish that everyone will want to read our books, not everyone will, because not everyone's tastes are the same. C'est la vie!
What do you think? Does your list look differently from mine?
You said exactly how I look at it. I love that I'm not the only one that feels that way.
ReplyDeleteI will even read a book based on how cool I think the author is (esp. if it's a debut) and will most likely read everything else they write even if I thought book was just "meh"
You speak the truth padawan.
ReplyDeleteTaschima - hahah - made me laugh. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd Crystal - how cool the author is - oh no, must go take a class on how to be a cool author. I don't think I'm doing it right - ack!!
I'd have to agree for the most part, but if I'm not interested in a book and people whose opinions I trust say it's good, then I'll probably at least try it.
ReplyDeleteThis is dead on. Part of the problem is that there are SO many books that I want to read that it's sort of tough to pick up the ones that don't appeal to me right away.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this list completely. But I would add that if readers I trust (like you!) recommend a book to me, it will suddenly seem more appealing.
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