How do you choose e-books?
I’m curious what methods are most useful to readers in choosing which e-books to buy? You can’t just flip through the pages as you wander around your favorite bookstore, right?
Please answer the polls and comment if you have something specific to add. Thanks very much!
All commenters are entered to win one of my e-books. I’ll give away one book for every 3 comments left here…
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13 Responses to “How do you choose e-books?”
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I actually do browse ebookstores. It’s a different way of browsing than brick-and-mortar stores, true, but it’s browsing.
Mostly, and this isn’t really addressed in your survey, I rely on reviews/recommendations from friends on their blogs – I know which of my blog friends have reading tastes similar to mine. And they do the same with the reviewettes I post on my blog.
Re: excerpts – I’m a spoiler-phobic reader. I barely read book blurbs even. That’s why friends’ recommendations work so well for me – I can quickly see whether they liked the book or not, without picking up spoilers.
Thanks, Chris. I’ll add in that option of friends recs.
As an author I won’t put a spoiler in an excerpt, and I can’t imagine a writer who would! But as a reader, I like to know what the writer’s style is like before I buy. Don’t you want to know if you’ll like the style? Have you ever been disappointed once you start reading?
I do feel that there is a big disconnect between a good story and good writing, and poor writing can ruin even the best storyline and make me stop reading!
i usually buy ebooks from the same author. i also look at the excerpts on the site where i buy from. i only shop a few places.
I buy based on several factors. First I read the blurb and if that interests me I read the excerpt. That’s where I decide whether I will buy the book or not. If I don’t care for the style I don’t purchase.
Michael–do you generally shop at the publisher, or a distributor?
And how do find out about new releases you might want to buy? Which of these methods helps you find out. Obviously as an editor/publisher, you have different avenues than an average reader.
I really like using Goodreads. It has a great way to follow your friends’ reviews and comments, or see all the comments on a particular author. I wish more people would put their reviews and ratings there. It’s set up so much better than Amazon, since it’s designed just for books and has lots of cross linking to discussions about a particular title.
I tried to check all that applied, but it didn’t like that.
Love a review site if it’s a reviewer I trust. Amazon reviews, not so much; I don’t hang there often. Goodreads — depends on who’s saying it — some people give everything they touch (4-10 things a day) a 5, which means something different from a reviewer who comments twice a week, if that.
I always read blurbs, knowing that some authors have a terrible time picking titles. And now that I know more about blurb-writing, I look more at the bits — are they interesting? than the style, because blurb-writing is a bitch, to put it nicely. No matter how it’s written, it does show what the author considers the important part of the story. That’s what lures me further.
But the excerpt- golden. Style, subject, focus, all of it. I’ll read it every time before putting money down.
The one exception: when I hit a publisher’s website, I’ll buy one thing, usually a short story, that rings no bells at all, just to give a new-to-me author a chance. For the price of a hamburger, I can have an adventure instead. Some have worked out beautifully well.
Good points about Goodreads, PD. I don’t trust everyone there equally. I won’t give much weight to someone who rates 10 books a day, esp if they never write reviews. I give most weight to fellow authors and to people who write good reviews. I’ve seen some reviews that were much better written than the books!
I agree with ANgela about how nice it is to read comments/discussions and find out about new stuff from the groups and forums.
I used to shop at Fictionwise, but stopped because I want authors to make a bigger cut of the royalties than you get from that site. While the books tend to cost me more money, I think it’s only right to support the authors however I can. I buy direct from the publisher for that reason.
I usually browse the publisher’s site starting at the new and upcoming releases then going through the categories that interest me.
Actually, being a publisher doesn’t give me access to any more information on books coming out than readers typically get.
I still browse at ARe and Fictionwise, to see what’s new or really popular, then I’ll go to the publisher to purchase once I’ve decided what to buy. Usually I’ll see something else I like at the publisher’s site.
I usually go by recommendations from friends on various groups I’m on. If its a ‘new to me’ author, I’ll look them up and read the blurb, but my friends pretty much have the same tastes I do. I also get emails from some of the various publishers on what’s coming out. And of course there are the ‘auto-buy’ authors. 🙂
I don’t bother with reviews, personally. I have a policy that I will read anything m/m from any author, new or established. Otherwise, in mainstream stuff, there are only a few authors I’ll bother with. Mainstream, non m/m stuff, has to be really, really compelling for me to read, b/c it’s not my main interest.
Not any one thing, could be any of the following or a combination of them:
1. Blurbs
2. Covers
3. I write reviews for a site and have (recently) started own review blog – have picked up a few new authors I like that way.
4. Have picked up books based on recommendations from a couple people who know if I would like an author or not.
5. Couple authors are on auto-buy list.