Readers and writers alike - what makes you buy a book?

[WATTLESPALF]

Readers - what makes you buy a book?

Is it the blurb at the back? Is it the reviews the book gets? How many reviews do you read before deciding to pick it up? Is it the amount of pages the book contains? Is it a particular genre you look for? How do you identify the genre is right for you (after all, the fantasy genre is split into many different categories)? Does it have to be on TV or made into a film? Is it because you've seen a poster at your local bookshop? Have you ever bought a book and were disappointed by that book because it didn't meet your expectations? Why did you buy the book in the first place? What expectations were you given? Does the book have to be published by a traditional publishing house or have you seen the best of writing in a self published book?

Why did you buy that book?

Writers - what do you do to sell a book?

Do you focus on the front cover to draw people to look at it? How do you communicate your style of writing to your reader? What do you do to draw them in? Where do you advertise? Do you use facebook or twitter? Do you pay to advertise? What gets the message out about your book more successfully, traditional booksellers or online interaction? What are your appreciations and frustrations of trying to develop your audience? What does your publisher do that you cannot?

What do you think makes the reader buy that book?

Readers and writers alike - what makes you buy a book? I've asked a few questions, you will no doubt have more answers and I'd like to hear them all.

Regards

Oldman Brook

[JunkMonkey]

Fist I pretty much only buy second hand books. When I pick one up it is usually because:

A. I already know the author. (Though it doesn't mean I have read or liked anything by them. I have a list of 'I must get round to reading...' in my head that just gets bigger and bigger.)
B. it has a semi-naked, large-breasted woman on the cover.

I then apply the Mcluhan Test and turn to Page 69. If Page 69 is shite I put the book back. If Page 69 is readable I may flip to another page at random and read that. (I have a suspicion that authors know about Mcluhan Test and deliberately write really good page 69s.) If Page 69 is really really shite and looks like we're in the realm of ''so bad it's good". I may flip to another page at random. The words 'Hilarious' or 'Trilogy' anywhere on the front cover and the book gets put back.

I then look at the price.

Often if books are cheap enough, boot sales, 50p boxes outside book shops, or market stalls, I will buy books just from the spines alone.

Sometimes by the armful.

If this happens, books are then carefully (but quickly) stacked with the crappiest, cheapest ones on top and presented to the vendor. Occasionally, very occasionally but it does happen, the vendor will look at the pile of books in my arms, look at the price of the first three books then just count the rest and say something along the lines of, "Oh... just give us a fiver for the lot." At which point I will agree, thrust the money in his hands, and leave before he notices the book at the bottom of the pile was priced at £6.

I try not to punch the air while I am still in the shop.

[Loerwyn]

Ah, JM, that was a joy to read.

As for me, I think it's down to a few things that I look for. The following works only for bookshops, both full price and discount/second hand.

Firstly, I look at the spine of the book. Most discount shops have all genres mixed together, so it helps to know which publishers to look for. Hodder, Harper, Orbit, Pan Mcmillan, and Gollancz are pretty much the more common ones you'll see, although sometimes Tor UK and Angry Robot appear in those stores, and even rarer are Simon & Schuster genre books.
Secondly, I look at the author or the title. If it's someone I know of, like Terry Brooks or China Miéville to use two examples, I generally end up buying it if they're an author I want to read and if I have the money. If it's someone I've heard of in passing, say Gary Gibson, I'll have a quick look but generally I pass.
Thirdly, I panic, pick up two or so genre books that are the first in a series, and I'll buy them.

As for full price or genre-separated stores, it changes a little.
Firstly, I look for authors I know of and like. Modesitt, Brooks, Moon, etc., and I see what they have. Generally it'll be a fruitless exercise, but you never know what you might find.
Secondly, I scan the shelves for authors I'm interested in or want to try. That's when I'll look for Kevin J. Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, etc.
Thirdly, I panic and buy something reasonably priced, or if it's Waterstone's, check every genre book for a 3-for-2 book that seems reasonable.

Mostly, though, it's author, publisher, cover art and price. If a book has dodgy cover art, but is £2 and published by Angry Robot (Moxyland, for example), I'll likely get it. If a book has excellent cover art, a publisher I'm familiar with and an author I've heard of, I'm generally willing to pay more.

That said, though, most of my purchases are impulse ones. I don't really see something and think "I want that!" unless I'm planning to do preorders, which is why I have that Ari Marmell book on pre-order for next year. I loved the cover too much to not preorder it.

[GPMorgain]

It's just like the hiring process for me, really. And by that I mean that I like to have books recommended to me. It could be from someone I know who reads similar things. Other times it might be if I see the book has received a lot of buzz on the various forums I frequent.

Of course, as others have said, great cover art and being already familiar with the author also help.

[Taruni]

If the book is by a familiar author, I might pick it up. I'm tempted by hardcovers, but those are expensive, besides they require a lot of shelf space. Good cover art does wonders, but the blurb at the back usually gives me an idea of whether the book is a genre I'd like to read. Reviews and recommendations help too.

And sometimes, I like to flip through the book to get an idea of what it's like.

[Chuffalump]

I read a book based on the blurb on the dust jacket or back cover. I only buy a book if it's either an author I know and like, or something that has been widely recommended like Armor or A Canticle for Leibowitz.

Or, as per JM's example, it's so cheap that it's practically a disposable item. Then I might go for sultry space vixens with ray guns.

[tmso]

Readers - what makes you buy a book?

90% of the time, it was recommended by a friend or someone I know.
5% of the time, it was recommended in a review and I liked the writing style of the reviewer (I know, has nothing to do with the actual book, but there's no logic here).
5% of the time, I pick up random books at the library and read a bit. If I like it, I'll find something else by the author in a store and buy that, or that original one. Depends.

The rest of the time, I just wing it.

[tmso]

Actually, come to think of it - I can be drawn to a book by a stunning cover. I put James Barclay's Raven books on my list of books to read because of those awesome covers (US editions).

[DC1985]

1. If I've read the author before.

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2. If I don't know the author it will be the cover and the "BLURB" on the back. However, I've become very wary of new authors, but once I start reading someones books it takes a heck of a lot for me to stop.

For instance, I finished Terry Goodkinds sword of truth series and I'm still buying Laurell K Hamiltons books.

[ebusinesstutor]

For me, it is if I have read the author or even the book before (library). With my e-reader, I also get hundreds of free ebooks so it is a great way to find new authors.

Sometimes I will take a chance at a garage sale for a book under a $1, but I am really being picky with what I buy for fiction.

For non-fiction (used for work), I will thumb through the book to see if the writing resonates with me and if it offers solutions to the problem I am trying to solve.

[T_DiGiuseppi]

1 rule: Books need to entertain me and force me to think.


-Trista

[The Void]

The price! The price! The cheaper they come, the better the chance I buy it. I like to have plenty of books even if I read it just a couple pages and put them back never to read again. So I accumulated plenty of personally-not-so-enjoyable-books, some not expensive books are good though.
Horray for garrage sale.

[KatG]

Mostly, I hear about it and there's something about the description that interests me. It might be something little. I can also be drawn in by an interesting cover. If I talk with an author and find that author interesting, I may buy his or her books. Occasionally I will buy a book because it's a very big title and I'm curious, but it still needs to have something to the story that interests me.

[Window Bar]

1) It has been discussed or recommended by friends.
2) I'm just in the mood for something new, and I get downright illogical. Then most of Junk Monkey's criteria (see above) are applied--although small breasts are certainly no deal-breaker. Bodice-ripper covers, however, are always a deal-breaker.
3) I search out books by authors I respect.

[The Moye]

If i blindly go into a bookstore I find a cool cover and then i proceed to look up the reviews on my android off amazon then I decide.