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| Photo credit: RLHyde on Flickr |
A short post today.
As I've been attacking my 2012 reading goal
with a vengeance and will most assuredly surpass it this year, I've been doing
a lot of reading. I’ve also read a Mount Kilimanjaro-sized flood of samples in
the past few weeks and it got me thinking.
When it comes to book buying, what’s your
deciding factor?
After devouring sample after sample and
organizing them into “must read” and “not interested” piles in my brain, I’ve
come across a rather unexpected discovery about my reading tastes.
You see, I always knew that voice was an
important factor for me, but I never realized until recently just how important
it is to me. I'd always assumed that genre would pretty much dictate what I
choose to sample (and thus, even consider reading), but I've found that if I
come across a book out of my normal reading genre with a great voice, it
doesn't matter—chances are I'll add it to my "must read" pile anyway.
And if that means I'll be reading a little
more widely from now on, well, let's just say I'm not too broken up about it.
Voice, however, isn't the only thing that
matters. I've read a sample from at least one novel I can think of off the top
of my head that had a fantastic voice and an interesting story, but the villain
was so evil and cliché that I put it down immediately and moved on to the next
sample (which is a shame, because I was about ready to buy it).
I think there's an important lesson to be learned
from our reading habits—specifically from how we decide whether or not to buy a
book. For me, the largest factor is the voice, followed closely by the depth of
the characters—are they believable and interesting or do I want to laugh at
their swirly moustaches when they're introduced?
We can apply our reading habits to our own novels
by taking a step back and examining the beginning of your book. If you weren't
the author, would you buy it based off a quick sample? If the answer isn't a
100% absolutely yes, then it might need some work.
I'm sure not everyone's book buying habits are
the same as mine, however. What factors determine whether or not you decide to
buy a book?
26 comments:
If we can find that objectivity in our writing then that's great! I don't download a lot of samples. I go by the premise first. But yeah, it's a combo of voice, tension, and just plain old good writing.
I download samples like it's nobody's business. I've downloaded a few based off Goodreads recommendations without really having a good idea as to what they were about, but I usually take a look at the premise as well. Nevertheless, there are a couple books I've added to my TBR pile that I didn't check the premise before trying them out--and I'm glad I didn't, or I might not have given them a chance.
I'm with you in that voice is a huge deal to me, but I also decide heavily based upon premise and, yeah, cover art. (Deep as a contact lens, that's me.) I would love it if I could be completely objective about my own work enough to make that determination! This is why my beta readers are worth their weight in the semi-rare precious metal of their choice.
Strangely enough, although cover art was certainly a pretty large factor before I got an e-reader, it because considerably less so because I have a NOOK Simple Touch which is in black and white. The covers don't look fantastic regardless of how gorgeous the cover art is, so that forced me to pay less attention to them.
I'll admit, however, if a book has really nice cover art I'll probably be much more tempted to buy the print version rather than the e-book.
Also, you're entirely right about beta readers. They're absolutely essential.
Voice is definitely big. I just put down a YA novel, even though the premise intrigued me, because the MC was so irritating and cliched. Thankfully, the next book I picked up had a wonderfully authentic voice and was a great read. The first title - I won't name names. The one I enjoyed was The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook.
It's a shame when an underdeveloped (or simply uninteresting) voice ruins an otherwise good read. Unfortunately it's not exactly an uncommon issue, as voice is a difficult thing to master. When done correctly though, it can really make a book incredible.
You know, oddly enough, I don't download a lot of samples. Occasionally I'll use my Nook to read a portion of the book while in Barnes and Noble, but I generally purchase books based on their brief description on the website or the cover, or by friends' recommendations.
In fact, I once purchased a novel based almost entirely on the fact that I liked the cover art. And it turned out to be a good purchase! :)
That's really interesting! I've actually never brought my NOOK to a B&N...I figured if I was at a bookstore and I wanted to look at a book, I'd find it on the shelves.
You made a purchase entirely based on cover art? Wow! Can't say I've done that before, although I have sampled books because of the cover art.
I think voice is a factor for me as well. Mostly I just want to be entertained :)
The biggest killer for me is when the story is too pokey and the protagonist farts around without a goal. Exposition is fine, but don't expect me to be fascinated by him going to school, having a nice lunch, thinking about how well his blog is doing, experiencing an unremarkable bowel movement.
Glaring grammatical errors will also lose me quickly. I don't mean the occasional stylistic choice, I mean the author needs to pick up a copy of Strunk & White RIGHT NOW.
When it comes to selecting a book to read, I'm an ogre. It's from all of the time I've spent as an editor. Sometimes that means I'm a happy creature that'll read any junk that comes my way, at least once, if curiosity strikes me. But if a book pushes my buttons, I become monstrous: contrary, easy to anger, easy to criticize.
I give time to the genres that I write in (poetry). Everything I can get my hands on affordably is in the "to read" pile until it gets kicked out. Amateurism in the work immediately drives me away. Poems that are vague, lack clarity, with poor word choice, and demonstrable unfamiliarity with good technique drive me up the wall. If a poet shows some level of stylistic control, I'll keep reading even if I'm not a fan. I read poetry like a craftsmen. I'll read any serviceable poetry. Can appreciate the fine stuff, look at the faulty stuff with an eye towards improving my own work.
For novels, I pick 'em up based on a far more nebulous criteria--"has this been recommended to me?" "Do I know/know of the author?" "Has this book been well reviewed by friends of similar taste?" "Can I afford to cram one more book into my kindle app?"
On the rare occasion that I'm just browsing, I look for books with striking covers and catchy blurbs. From there, it's a style game. Books that show an author who isn't in control of their craft? Dumped. No second thought. A rather dull voice with a poetic ear? Sure, I'll stick it out.
I have to agree--as long as the book is entertaining one way or another, chances are I'll at least read on with the sample.
If I have a character who I adore, I can believe almost anything in the plot. So if the blurb really catches my attention, I'm more likely to pick it up.
I'm a little ADD so I agree--if the protagonist goes around for too long without a real (interesting) goal, I'll put it down. Same goes for glaring grammatical errors.
I read far too little poetry to really be as discerning as it sounds like you are, but as far as novels go, I've found that a lot of people seem to pick up books based on--as you put it--nebulous criteria.
Book reviews, knowledge of the author, nice covers and catchy blurbs all play a role--the latter more so (for me) in the bookstores than when I'm browsing e-books. Do you find it differs for you?
Now that's really interesting. I can't think of a book I've read (all the way through, anyway) that I didn't like because I thought the plot was entirely unbelievable. I've found a few things here and there that irked me, but it usually wasn't enough to ruin the entire premise. As long as it's enjoyable, right? :)
I gave you an award if you want to come take a peek ;)
Thank you so much! :)
Interesting, Ava! I think it's the other way around for me. In the bookstore, I'll go directly for the genres I like to read (graphic novels, poetry, philosophy), and look for the work which I haven't seen before and seems worthwhile to try out. I'm very discerning here, and I have a general idea of what I want to read without the help of friends (since I don't have many who are into those three genres).
For ebooks, twitter & blog recommendations are topping the list for how I find a book. Even if it's just mentioned in passing, I'll check it out on Amazon.
I think the difference between you & me (and many of your commenters!) is that I'm rather new to reading contemporary novels. Or reading for pleasure, as odd as that sounds. After 7 years of being a professional student, 90% of my reading has been outside of the last 120 years; and 95% of it has been for work/class/teaching, not for pleasure; and 100% of it has been "not novels".
So I'm trying to fall in love with reading again.
And I'm trying to fall in love with novels.
Have you noticed how hard it is to find catchy covers on ebooks? I mean, even the ebooks that have "good" or "professional" covers aren't necessarily striking. So a striking cover on an ebook disproportionately snags me more.
I saw an incredible cover a couple days ago for "Brood of Bones." I don't read much fantasy, but now I can't get it out of my head. I'm going to buy it this weekend because hot damn that's a beautiful cover.
I'll admit in bookstores I do tend to go straight to whatever genre I want to read that day, but after that it's the covers, titles and blurbs that catch my interest. For e-books, I like the cover to look professional, but after that it matters significantly less as it's going to be in black and white on my NOOK anyway.
I can see why the Brood of Bones cover caught your eye--it certainly is rather striking. Regardless of what they say about not judging a book by it's cover, there's no question that the cover certainly plays a huge role in what we decide to read.
Ah, that's a good point about the black & white reader.
I should mention that I'm a graphic artist, and I LOVE designing covers. So clearly my priorities are a bit askew from the general populace.
If it makes a difference, I use the kindle web app, so I can see things in color. I've had arguments with my significant other many-a-times on how important color is to me. He's a black & white film, black & white comic, black & white reader aficionado. The world to me is significantly poorer without color. If something is done in black & white, it still needs to be visually appealing in other ways.
I'm not a huge fan of black & white with a couple exceptions, but when it comes to covers I especially love the use of color (which is what makes me sad about the black & white reader, but I've found I actually like reading on e-ink screen so...it's a trade off, I suppose). I absolutely agree with you, however, but I'd say even if it does have color, it should have other elements that are visually appealing as well, rather than simply relying the use of color.
It's all about voice for me (especially first person). Otherwise, what's the point? If the character is unlikable, cliche, or just plain annoying, I move on.
I have to agree. In my experience, a story is only as interesting as its characters.
Voice is important to me, too, now that you mention it. But it's also the level of writing, and I'm not sure I can explain this very well. The prose should have crispness to it, simplicity, but not be at a tenth-grade-level. It also should not be so pretentious and full of layers of meaning that I shake my head and say "Wuh?" Intelligence, flow, and above all, solid storytelling skill. I actually can forgive sophomoric writing if the author is telling an awesome story. Without that, I pass. Or throw it against the wall, if I've made the mistake of buying it based on a pretty cover (oooh, I'm just holding myself back from naming names here!).
Heh, I always sample books (even books with pretty covers) before buying them with very rare exceptions (namely, when it's a book from an author I trust) to avoid the throwing-the-book-against-the-wall rage. :)
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