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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2007 > May > 13 > Entry
How do you decide when to buy a book?
Publishers want to know. Apparently, they have no clue. There is a rather revealing article about the publishing industry in today’s edition of the New York Times
Written by Shira Boss, the article’s title is:”The Greatest Mystery: Making a Best Seller.” It contains some fascinating information about the process by which publishers choose books to publish and how often their choices turn out to be profitable. The answer is; not very often.
How do you decide that you want to read a particular book? I assumed that publishers conducted market research to better inform their decisions. Amazingly, they don’t. The article states that: “Most in the industry seem to see consumer taste as a mystery that is inevitable and even appealing, akin to the uncontrollable highs and lows of falling in love or gambling.” Shocking, isn’t it?
They are aware of the problem: ““We need much more of a direct relationship with our readers,” said Susan Rabiner, an agent and a former editorial director. Bloggers have a much more interactive relationship with their readers than publishers do, she said. “Before Amazon, we didn’t even know what people thought of the books,” she said.”
Ah, those Amazon customer reviewers. As we have seen in some previous entries on this blog, the Amazon customer reviewer system has problems. Reviews are being posted there in large numbers by reviewers who cannot possibly be reading the books that they claim to be reviewing. It’s a bit mysterious.
I’m always curious to know how many books actually sell well enough to make a profit. The article answered that question for me: “an estimated 70 percent of titles” never make it out of the red. So, that other 30 percent is carrying the publishing industry. What are the odds of winning in Las Vegas?
Let’s help them out. Maybe they’ll pay attention. How do you decide to buy a book? Did you read a review? Heard about it on Oprah? Loved the author’s previous books?
Leave a comment. Thanks!
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: in the Amazone
Comments
By alicia
May 20, 2007 9:57 PM | Link to this
There are too many websites, books, periodicals, blogsites, and media-related institutions competing for our precious time. My interest has always been on documentaries and books that decipher ancient texts and those that discover ancient civilizations’ petroglyphs and the like. This might seem strange, but a blogger quoted “The Golden Fleece Found” as a dissertation that connected major tributaries of the human river—proving that the concept of different races was a biological myth. Another blogger referenced how the same book documented the historic paths of Abraham’s seed according to prophecy. In short, because two bloggers on Yahoo Answers related different aspects of the same book that peaked my interest, I stumbled upon an excellent wisdom-manual. Today, there are so many people writing, that most publishers are taking up publishing slots with recognizable celebrities’ names, past presidents, and world leaders. In short, the publishing companies are stuffing us into a very narrow intellectual box. They need to reward college students with book certificates for reviewing 10,000 random books monthly from traditional and non-traditional publishing companies. Then they need to have a pool of graduate students reviewing the ones recommended by the students on the lower tier. From that reservoir, many new and exciting authors can be fished successfully. Alicia.By Misfit
May 14, 2007 1:59 PM | Link to this
First off, I rarely read main stream pulp fiction, I prefer historical fiction and 19th Century literature so I doubt that my input will help the publishers with their latest releases. That being said, I make full use of the resources that Amazon provides for their customers. Any time I order a book and/or put one on my wish list a new page pops up recommending similar books, and you can also click on a recommended for you page as well. I have found many wonderful books that way, books that I would NEVER have discovered at the book store or the library. Take the time to look at those books, it’s worth it. Amazon also allows their readers to create “Listmania” lists. When I am looking at a book in a particular genre, they will offer you several Listmanias with books in a similar topic. Once again, I have found wonderful reads using those lists as well. I have also had wonderful success with this on Amazon UK, and then buy it in the US. As far as reviewers, I do pay attention to them, but rarely does a top 1000 reviewer cross the paths of historical fiction and 19th century literature. I read the reviews (both positive and negative) and try to weigh those to make my decisions. On occasion I’ve spotted a reviewer who is consistently reading and rating the same books I am, and I’ve taken the time to look at all their reviews (and wish lists) to see if they have some books I might be interested in.By Petra Deason
May 14, 2007 11:57 AM | Link to this
I have a variety of ways I decide. Occasionally, I’ll come across an Internet article that leads to a book I decide I want to read. I also receive a “New Fiction” and “New Non-Fiction” e-mail list of books (with brief description) from the public library every so often. Finally, I belong to book clubs and when I get their catalogs, I go through and circle the ones that look interesting to me. When I log onto Amazon, it is usually to actually buy the book - I don’t pay any attention to the reviews there.By Blowfly
May 13, 2007 8:43 PM | Link to this
Among other things, I go to university websites and review the curriculm for Lit. classes that look interesting, and I see what books they read.By The Harriet Klausner Appreciation Society
May 13, 2007 6:42 PM | Link to this
““Before Amazon, we didn’t even know what people thought of the books,” [Susan Rabiner, an agent and a former editorial director] said.” * Well, now they know what Harriet Klausner & Co. thinks — or, rather, what they pretend to think. Kinda disingenuous, no? I mean, if you want to know what your customers think, unleashing hordes of shill in the marketplace wouldn’t be the first thing to do, right?By alaskanriley
May 13, 2007 6:17 PM | Link to this
Why, I read Vick’s review, that’s what I do! Not to decide is to decide they say and Vick is a great decider.