I asked some writer/reader friends on FB what factors help them choose a book to read, and their answers have been appearing this week.
Ramona DeFelice Long - I have favorite authors I like to support, but the blurb and first page are deciding factors for me. Even if I love the blurb and am interested, the first page needs to be a winner if I'm going to lay down cash.
Ellie Mack - First genre; second title, then blurb. Author reputation does play a part if it's one of the authors I've read and like their work. I will buy books of my favorite authors - even if they are stinkers.
Dixon Rice – I used to mostly read favorite authors. Liked James Michener until his books seemed to be written by a committee of grad students. Loved John Grisham until the sloppily written The Chamber. What happened to the hit man subplot, which vanished two-thirds through? Admired Tom Clancy until he got so big he wouldn’t let anyone edit him, and now most of his books beg to shed a couple hundred pages. So I read reviews, listen to recommendations, and take a chance on online friends when I see them helping others within the writing community.
Thanks for your help, folks, and all the good insights. Let's do this again sometime.
Useful series of posts, Dixon. And I think you should do it again because I believe the oncoming prominence of e-book readers is already changing the way readers pick books--not so much emphasis on a particular writer, for example.
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