Here’s a question for you. When considering a book by an author you don’t know, do you need to read an excerpt of book you buy it? Or is the blurb—or the cover—or the buzz—enough to get you to give it a try? Recently I was surprised to find out that many people never bother to read excerpts, and even more people read them only occasionally. The blurb, it seems, is more important to most folks.
See, I don’t trust blurbs. And you know what they say about covers. Excerpts are the key for me. I won’t buy a book unless I’ve read some of it. Even if a friend shoves a book in my hands and says, “You have to read this!,” I’ll still skulk off by myself and read a page or two before committing to it. For me, the author’s voice is everything. If I like the way her words ring in my head, I will follow her almost anywhere. If, for some reason, her words rub me wrong, I can’t read the book, even if I love the concept.
So what about you? What’s that magic X-factor that allows you take a risk on a new book?
Hmmm…buzz will ALWAYS make take a chance on a new author. Sometimes a good blurb is enough, though.
Oh, excerpts, definitely. Especially when we’re talking about a new-to-me author. I also usually try to find the author’s website and see what other books they’ve written, what they say about them and excerpts from those books, too, to really get a feel for their writing style. I mean the types of stories they do can tell you a lot once you’re read as many as I have.
If I’ve discovered the book on my own, I’ll look at the cover first, then blurb, then read an excerpt. The excerpt, though, is the most important part to me. If I’m iffy about the blurb I’ll read the excerpt anyway to give the story a real chance to catch my interest. The author’s style is definitely part of the hook for me!
LOL! Bev, you sound just like me: super cautious! I’ll nose around an authors website and read reviews and excerpts too.
But I will say I broke that rule for the first time recently, and it worked out just fine. I read that Brent Weeks had won the coolest award ever—a real battle axe! —for his fantasy book, The Way of Shadows. Then I heard someone I respect say she liked it, and I just jumped off the cliff. I ordered it without looking into it all.
The recklessness of that act still makes me breathless.
Very out of character for me. But it was a great book.
@Jennifer: Buzz is everything, especially these days when so many things compete for our attention. But at the same time, I’ve been burned by the buzz, so am always skeptical. I’m the world’s most picky reader.
@Violet: A good cover gets my attention every time, so I start there too, even though I know it really has very little to do with the story. Some great stories are burdened by ugly covers. Some awful stories have covers I’d frame and hang on my wall. shrugs But I still fall for it!
But yes, like you, the style of the author will overcome almost any other objection. For instance, I’m not a fan of mystery, but I loved Mistress of the Art of Death because, wow!, what a voice!
As a reader – I definitely read the back of the book, and often read the first page to get a feel for the book.