What tempts you?

[Wayne Batson]

I don't really pay much attention to ads. Most of my new books do come from me browsing at bookstores. As a 6th grade reading teacher, I tend to get lots of Borders & Barnes and Nobles gift cards. I love that, but they burn a hole in my pocket, and I can hardly wait to hit the bookstore to see what loot I can score.

This happened recently as the school year here just ended. My process was to look for authors I knew--to see if there was something new out: Robert Crais, Doug Preston & Lincoln Child, Patrick Carman, Jenni Nimmo, etc. I found several of their new titles. Then, I really did just scan the shelves. And there I kind of look for packaging: if the book looks cool on the spine (silly huh?), I tend to look at the cover art. If either title or art are cool, I read the blurb on back. If the concept intrigues me, I'll read the first page or two. That's really the clincher--if the writer is skillful and creative enough to hook me in the first coupla pages, I feel pretty safe that I will enjoy the rest of the book. Most of the time that works for me.

Two books that hooked me initially but fell kind of flat for me were Nancy Farmer's Sea of Trolls and Cornelia Funke's Dragon Rider. Don't get me wrong...those are two talented writers. It's just my book selection technique didn't work. I got hooked and then lost interest big time. Alas. Best laid plans.

 

[KatG]

Ok, why dont SFF publishers have those little flyers in their paperbacks like romances do? There you can order more books by the same author, or other authors. It is so convenient and the little scratch-off games where you can win books are fun.

They do, or at least they did. Not the scratch-off games -- I think that's a romance thing -- but the ads for other books by the author or other authors on the list, they still do those. It may be though that it's harder now for publishers to fulfill direct orders from consumers, so they may be doing just ads with no order forms, and less back of the book ads overall. If they weren't getting enough orders to be worth it in sff, they would possibly junk the strategy. In trade paperbacks (the larger paperbacks,) you're less likely to see ads as they try to imitate hardcovers.

What about author efforts at publicity? Are you attracted to author book signings in stores? Are you more likely to buy a book if you encounter the author on the Web or read a blog or article by the author or an interview with the author on-line? Do you check out print and on-line magazines for author interviews and profiles?

Do you go to sff conventions ever? If you go, do you go only for the authors you know and like, or do you go to readings by new authors and are willing to interact with them? What at conventions is likely to attract your attention? Do you read short fiction in sff magazines? Are you likely to buy a novel by an author whose short story you read and liked?

Do you pay attention to posters and are likely to remember them and purchase based on a poster? Book marks and giveaways you may get about an author's books? If a bookstore is giving away ARC samples of a work by an author you don't know, will you take one?

 

[Jumbo Frendie]

First of all:

I look at the thickness of the book. I tend to purchase "meatier" novels, as i like an epic that keeps me enthralled for hours. However i will purchase a smaller length novel. Size isn't everything.

Next i'll take a look at the blurb, maybe read a page or two. If i like whats happening so far, ill take a look at the price. The latter is quite predictable so thats not to much of a factor in my final purchase...

Lastly i look at the cover art. The illustration itself wont deter me from purchasing the book, but if i see a different publication with a nicer cover, i may purchase that instead.

However this is only browsing, reviews or the continuation of a series usually make me spontaneously purchase, without following any of my "rules" above.
Surprising how people have litte guidelines, or is it just me...

 

[Dazzlinkat]

OMG, KatG has more questions!! hehe

Meeting an author who is public friendly will tempt me, whether it be in person or boards. A non-pompous sounding interview can sometimes work, too.

I only occassionally check out short stories and, if good, will look to see if there are any books by the author.

I dont do conventions.

Posters and give-aways are always nice and can send me searching but, again, its the back that has to close the deal with me.

 

[Physics Knight]

The biggest thing that tempts me is recomendations from people who have given me good advice before. I would never have read Greg Keyes if not for a recomendation. I didn't like the cover, the blurb sounded like typical fantasy, and I saw that he had written some tv-series tie-in books. All bad news in my eyes. But I gave "The Briar King" a chance, and found it to be a quite entertaining read.

I've gotten other books from different methods before. I discovered Tamora Pierce because she had a book called "The Woman who Rides as a Man" and I thought that was the book for me. I first picked up "By the Sword" by Mercedes Lackey because of the Jodi Lee coverart. She illustrated my version of the Prdydain Chornicles, and I have been a fan of her artwork ever since--she has a very distinct style. I also got "Warchild" by Karen LowleChow because I met her at a workshop and she was very nice and friendly. Although I've not read it yet. I have an ever growing pile of book in my pile

When browsing in a bookstore, first the coverart and title make me pick it up. Then I read the back and if I have time the first few pages. That is how I got "Kushiel's Dart" by J. Carey. It sounded edgy and different, and it was.

Other than that I'm in a bit of a bubble. No conventions or magazines or bookclubs. Sometimes I do see alot of people on the internet liking a book, so I *might* go for it.

 

[KatG]

If you liked Greg Keyes' work, you might want to check out "The Waterborn" which has nice twists, and the more ambitious "Newton's Cannon."

So far, promotional things don't seem to be having much effect. But cover art is coming up surprisingly often. Now, this, as many know, is one of the big debates in sff fandom. Category sf and its spin-off, category fantasy, long ago came up with a way to make sff titles standout and be distinctive in the market, so fans could find them, by using the same sort of illustrative art they had in the magazines. Overtime, this art has become an important part of the sff fan community, evolving into its own calendar and products industry, playing a role at sff conventions, etc., as well as being used on covers.

Most covers for other types of fiction, including category mysteries, tends to be on the minimal side. The title and author name are considered the important elements. Full-blown art is often regarded as more "pulp." SFF publishers now use a wide variety of cover art styles -- photographic and realistic, surreal and abstract art or symbols, mainstream non-art treatments, cartoons, and the more traditional paintings, but this variety continues to make sff a very colorful area of the bookstore.

A lot of fans, concerned about the category market's reputation, feel that traditional art covers are a big obstacle for gaining more respect for sff authors and should be largely phased out in favor of straight mainstream treatments. Others, like myself, really love the art, though I admit it plays not much of a role in my buying decisions or in attracting my attention to a book. (The title is more likely to interest me.)

But it seems at least here that a lot of people, despite being quite knowledgable about sff titles and seeking out reviews and recommendations, still also are attracted to some books because of the artwork on the cover. So what do you think, do we need to change our spots, or is this one of the most valuable promotional tools that sff has?

 

[Archren]

I figure out what to read based almost exclusively on reviews. I get Locus each month, and I know that Gary Wolfe and Tim Pratt, and often Russell Leston and Nick Gevers will steer me right. Then there's Cheryl Morgan on Emerald City and Lev Grossman in Time magazine, as well as other places. Then there's the word of mouth on the forums here, which have introduced me to some interesting things.

KatG made me think of some things as well: I have bought a few books because of ads, but the ads were always in Locus and they were always for quirky things ("The Physics of Star Trek" comes to mind ). I can't remember any other print ads affecting me.

Knowing the author either in person or online: definitely works. Knowing them makes me more likely to try their books, liking them makes me more likely to keep buying more. Neal Asher's books aren't my natural cup of tea (although they're not far off). But he's such a gosh darn nice guy online that I just keep buying them. OTOH, there are some authors online who really rub me the wrong way. I'll not name names. I usually end up buying one of their books, then if it's not my normal cup of tea, I abandon them forever.

 

[Dazzlinkat]

KatG, keep the artwork! I think going to boring mainstream covers would be terrible. As I said before, good art can help me decide which book to examine even though the backcover must win me over in the end.

 

[algernoninc]

I used to buy new authors based on covers and blurbs. Case in hand : Robin Hobb "Liveship" series, "Coldfire" by Friedman, "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" by Tad Williams, "Pyramids" by Terry Pratchett. These are the good examples. but I also got burned with Terry Brooks "Shannara" novels and "Rhapsody" by Elizabeth Haydon. I was starting to do Amazon searches for new authors, when I somehow stumbled on this forum. Since then I went "word of mouth" and I choose a new series only after I look for it on the topics. I may disagree with the views of some of the posters, but still the info here is much more reliable than on the blurbs.

 

[Muess]

I usually buy mine based on the reviews and comments of the good people at sffworld. I know it sounds like brown-nosing but it's the honest truth

I find the recommendations of the people here to be the best thing to base purchases on and it's worked for me ~8.89 times out of 10 which is a lot better success ratio then I've had picking up random titles in store.

 

[KatG]

So yes and no on covers maybe. Have you ever decided not to buy a book because of its cover art?

One of the things that Amazon and the rest of the online book stores that followed essentially did was take the publisher's catalog -- which only the booksellers and maybe some of the libraries usually saw -- and made it available for the consummer, with the add-ons of reviews, professional and word of mouth, and later on, sneak peaks of text.

While the superstores can't replicate that sort of thing, several of them have booklets -- Waldenbooks for instance -- that sort of provide a mini-catalog of various titles, many of them not the leads. Is this sort of thing effective or no? Would you pick one of the booklets or flyers up if you see it in the sff area or somewhere else in a bookstore?

What about "staff picks" shelves? While this is more common in independents than chains, both types of stores may have these shelves where the staff gets to put up what they like (the publisher doesn't pay for this feature.) Have you ever bought a book because it was on the staff recommends shelves?

Have you ever bought a book you happened to find at a non-book outlet, such as Wal-Mart, a grocery store, etc.? Have you ever bought a book through a non-bookstore website, such as SFFWorld? (EBay and charity fund-raising purchases don't count.) Why did you do so?

 

[Dazzlinkat]

KatG, where do you find all these questions?!

No, I haven't refused to buy a book because the cover art was bad ... but also technically yes. Bad covers are the last books I bother to look over.

I like that about Amazon. I haven't been in a bookstore that has these mini catalogs, but I would definately pick one up.

Only when popular SFF type movies are playing do the bookstores near me have SFF staff-picked shelves ... I always look em over before heading to the main section.

Sure, I have bought books at non-bookstores, but not too often. Why? Umm, because they were there. Only rarely do they have a book that interests me.

 

[Gkarlives]

Cover art plays a good role in my choices. If the publisher did not bother enough to put decent artwork or at least good jacket design, then I begin to question the content. Next I like to read the description to see if I want to go further. I really like when there is a dramatic excerpt just inside the book, because they usually will give me a taste of the author's writing style. Not a lot of books have that these days. I don't pay that much attention to author blurbs anymore because they are usually trite.

 

[Ecthelion]

Strange as it may sound , i prefer finding a map inside a book describing the landmarks, cities etc.If i find the sketches of the lands,the names given attractive then i move on to the back cover of the book.If there is a map, most of the times, the book gets my vote but if not, rarely do i check it more thorougly!

 

[Murrin]

What about "staff picks" shelves? While this is more common in independents than chains, both types of stores may have these shelves where the staff gets to put up what they like (the publisher doesn't pay for this feature.) Have you ever bought a book because it was on the staff recommends shelves?

The Borders here does Staff Picks, and I've had mixed reactions to them. The majority of the picks are ooks I know to be pretty good, but then interspersed among them can be some of the worst you can find. On the main shelf, they have Iain Banks, Mikhail Bulgakov, Kazuo Ishiguro; but in the fantasy section, they have Terry Goodkind shelved in between Michael Moorcock and R Scott Bakker, and Robert Jordan nearby.

 

[KatG]

I'm just searching for the magical promotional bullet for Wayne, plus I'm curious myself. How about this -- did you ever go into the bookstore to pick up a coffee at the cafe and ended up book shopping and buying stuff?

 

[Rob B]

So yes and no on covers maybe. Have you ever decided not to buy a book because of its cover art?

Unfortunately yes. This book always sounded interesting but oo-fah does that cover just hurt. Garish art has kept me away from buying a book on occasion.

What about "staff picks" shelves? While this is more common in independents than chains, both types of stores may have these shelves where the staff gets to put up what they like (the publisher doesn't pay for this feature.) Have you ever bought a book because it was on the staff recommends shelves?

More often than not, I've already read "staff picks" from the genre.

Have you ever bought a book you happened to find at a non-book outlet, such as Wal-Mart, a grocery store, etc.? Have you ever bought a book through a non-bookstore website, such as SFFWorld? (EBay and charity fund-raising purchases don't count.) Why did you do so?

We sell books here now? News to me.

 

[Bassie999]

Read the first pages

After looking at the cover and reading the back, I normally read the first two, three pages. After the first pages I usually get a 'feel' of the speed, tone and 'atmosphere' of the story. If it catches me, I buy the book.

That's why I usually don't like byuing books online (although I download a lot of e-books, and if I like them, I buy the hard-copy).

 

[grechzoo]

word of mouth and the overall opinion on a book from many proper reviews.

obviously if a book continues to get perfect marks in book reviews you would be stupid not to check it out.

also the title fo the book helps, but you need to see the title fo the book ona website somewhere or from a friend in the first place.

 

[KatG]

Unfortunately yes.

Well then you are being a silly fellow, (she says affectionately,) because the cover art is lovely. It's very retro with that pre-comics look they often used to have, and an unusual image. Why would you have objection to a giant flying fish, especially if it's in the book? And "Tinker" by Wen Spenser sounds quite cool. He's already on my book list. Besides, haven't you ever heard of using book covers if you're going to be so picky?

We sell books here now? News to me.

Technically sell, no. But we have this:

Support sffworld.com, buy your books through these Amazon links:

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.de
Amazon.ca

And a lot of sites have the same thing -- either you can buy from them directly, or you can link up to an on-line store through the website.

But I've decided that you lot are hopeless. There is not a magic promotional bullet between you all. Many would say that we are not the ideal group to be coerced anyway, since we are all knowledgable and care about books. It's the people who don't buy fiction normally who are suddenly paying attention to ads for books in newspapers they don't usually read, and walking into a bookstore even though they never usually go into one.

So, go to the people in your life who are not readers and who don't buy novels too often. What attracts their attention? Because after all, they are the important folk, not us, right?