Pandemonium on December 15th

I recently did a Questions Five interview with author Daryl Gregory. Below in an excerpt from the interview:

Why should Pandemonium be the next book that everyone reads?

DJG: Do it for my mother. When I started my writing career, she said, You know what you ought to do, DJ? (My family calls me DJ.) You should write a best-seller.This seemed like excellent advice. But how to execute it?

Your question, Ken, points the way. If everyone—and I mean everyone, each man, woman, and child on this planet, plus any Russians and billionaires currently in orbit—makes Pandemonium the next book they read, then my mother’s dream can become a reality. You don’t even have to read the book, you just have to buy it. Let’s pick a day in December. December 15th. On that day, go out or get online and buy a copy for yourself and one for any relative that is bed-ridden and/or computer illiterate.

Come on, people, we can do this. If we can just put aside our petty excuses—for example, that you don’t like science fiction, or that you don’t read English, or that your refugee camp doesn’t have a decent internet connection—if we can just stop all that whining for a minute and buy my book, then, finally, my mother, Thelma Gregory, will know I’m a success. For more information on Do It For Thelma Day, see my website.

Now, this exchange has gotten a bit of attention. A very nice young lady has taken up a crusade to get people to buy Pandemonium on December 15th (US, UK, Canada, my review). There are even two groups you can join to promote this.

• Facebook
• 42 Blips

So, make the world a better place and make a writer's mom happy - buy Pandemonium on December 15th!

Interesting Survey on Book Buying

This is a very interesting survey on book buying trends and I recommend spending some time looking at the questions and responses (via this discussion at Westeros). The stat below seems to sum up things pretty well, but there is much more interesting stuff at the link.

Inspiration for book purchasing

In store displays - 26%
Newspaper and magazine reviews - 14%
Mentions on television or radio - 13%
Recommended by family/friends - 12%
Internet recommendations - 9%
Advice of shop staff/librarian - 2%
Source: Reading the Future Survey: The Bookseller (May 2008)

My reaction/comments:

• I wonder what the definition of a friend is. If someone buys a book based on a forum or blog from someone they consider themselves friendly with is it an internet recommendation or a one from a friend. If two friends who live on the other side of the state/country/world and are on Facebook (or any other social network) and one mentions a book, is that an internet or friend recommendation?


• As the above comment indicates, I'm skeptical about how one separates out the internet in a time when it's increasing a part of more and more aspects of our lives.


• Survey methodology - how was the survey conducted? Was it given in bookshops, on-line, through mailers? What was the age range of these people? Other demographics? I would love to know what the inherent bias is - I suspect that since it says it's a Bookseller Association survey that it was done mostly in actual bookstores which significantly skews the results toward bookstores.


• I see no mention of cover art which is often said to have a huge influence on at least initially picking up books. It seems lost in store displays (which also seems to indicate a Bookseller-bias in the survey). What about title - I would love to see a rigorous study on cover art vs. titles, especially considering the internet world where a buyer may not even see the cover art until after purchase - it may just be title and blurb.

Also of note - this article in the Guardian about blurbs, which I found much less interesting.

Book Promotion and Book Buying

I saw this survey via Tobias Buckell’s blog (which has some interesting commentary on it). Basically, about 400 people responded to a poll about what has influenced book buying in the past – they were asked to select all that apply from a long list. These are the summarized results on what promotional tools led to the purchase of a book.

1. Previous familiarity with author’s work – 98% (it’s cutoff, so I tried to back calculate it)
2. Recommendation of a friend – 90.6%
3. Reading about the book on another person’s blog or website – 80.3%
4. Reading about book on author’s blog or website – 64.2%
5. Reading first chapter of book online or in store – 63.2%
6. Cover Art – 62.9%
7. Cover or flap blurbs (promotional quotes) – 57.7%
8. Published (print or electronic) book review – 56.4%
9. Attending a reading or signing event with author (including conventions) – 53.5%
10. Bookseller or librarian recommendation – 42.6%
11. Other – 8.1%
12. Contest sponsored by author or publisher – 7.6%
13. Receiving promotional email from author – 5.7%
14. Receiving postcard in mail from author – 3.9%
15. Receiving toys or other promotional gimmicks from author – 2.9%

I find this all very interesting on multiple levels – partly because I’ve speculated on the actual influence of cover art in the on-line world (at least how I feel about it) and mostly out of general curiosity as an avid reader. Of course since I am a blogger and fan reviewer I’m also very curious to see what kind influence someone like me has.

Of course the study is very unscientific and highly biased towards on-line and blog answers – after all it was a survey on the blog. Also I think that it may underrepresent the actual impact of some these. What happens when that one person who bought the book because a promotional gimmick writes a review of it on their blog, talks it up on various message boards, and highly recommends it to friends and family? There is some quality factor in there. Also, message boards and social networking sites aren’t really covered – perhaps they fall under the ‘friend recommendation’?

So, where do I fall in this mix – am I a published review provider (number 8), or a simple blogger (number 3)? I’m merely curious as I don’t feel it matters – bias aside, the importance of the internet, and blogs in particular, is striking (and good news for someone like me).

Thoughts?

Hardbacks, Paperbacks, Authors, and Dollars

This post about hardbacks versus paperbacks and the bottom line for authors by Brandon Sanderson is getting a bit of discussion around the blogosphere and genre message boards. I found it to be a rather well done explanation of the typical author's situation (rather than the big-time sellers we can easily assume all authors are), and not preachy or pushy – he walked the line very well. I don't know if this will actually change my buying habits, but it is making me consider it.

Right now, I spend somewhere between $500 and $750 per year on books (yes, you read that correctly). I love books and I'm almost compulsive about buying them – combine that with the desire to keep my book budget to a 'reasonable' level, I often hold out for used, remaindered, or otherwise heavily discounted books (exceptions happen when my pseudo-collector personality kicks in). I can often find 4 used hardbacks in good shape for the price of 1 new one – gee what's a guy to do. But I do want to support authors – especially the newer authors who have a day job to support their writing habit. I may need to slightly alter my buying habits.

A main exception is gift season –my b-day and Christmas are within a week of each other and everyone knows to get me gift cards to bookstore (this year one was even to a local indie bookstore ). This is when I often catch up with new books (and I don't like mass market paperbacks, so it's either hardcover or trade paperback). This year was about $150 in gifts to bookstores, and with sales and coupons I was able to extend that to the equivalent of about $200. New hardbacks (and trade paperbacks) were the majority of the books I purchased.

On a related note, this reminds me of a blog I wrote last year - a rant about a 'letter to the reader' that a publisher put in the back of the book. It was similar to what Sanderson wrote, but done in a more inappropriate way, and it really pissed me off.