An Outside Source

By Dana Kaye

Since I work in the publishing industry, I don’t see books in the same way as regular readers. I look at publishing information, where it’s shelved, the format of publication, the imprint. I don’t think readers care about any of that.

My girlfriend is working out of my office today, so I’ve decided to ask her a few rapid-fire questions to get an idea of her view of the publishing world. To give you some background, she is a predominantly literary reader (though she is a fan of Marcus Sakey and Gregg Hurwitz). She commutes to work and has a demanding job, so most of her reading time is restricted to the train. She has also converted from an avid collector of signed first editions to an exclusive e-book reader.                                                  

How many books did you purchase last month? 3 e-books, 1 paperback (because it wasn’t available on Kindle)

How many books did you read this month? 3

Genre? All literary fiction, except I AM LEGEND (the paperback) which was paranormal/post-apocalyptic.

How do you choose what to read next? If it was recommended by someone, I’ll look at it. I also look at bestseller lists and award winners.

How important are book covers? Super important. I definitely look at a book’s cover, and then I research the book and see if it won an award or made a list.

How important is price? Very. I won’t buy a book that’s higher than $9.99

So if you found a book that was on a bestseller list, had a great cover, but was priced at $12.99, you wouldn’t buy it? No.

Do you differentiate between self-published e-books and traditionally published e-books? You can usually tell which are self-published and which aren’t. Plus, if the book was self-published, it won’t be on a bestseller list. I’m too snobby to read a self-published book?

What if it was an award-winning, bestselling author that self-published? Then I probably won’t notice. Unless it had a bad cover.

Best book you’ve read recently? ALICE I HAVE BEEN by Melanie Benjamin. I found out about that book because I was thinking of joining a book group and that’s what they were reading.

What are you reading now? UNBROKEN by Lauren Hillenbrand. The only reason I’m reading that is because my Dad bought it on the Kindle (we share an account) and made me read the first few pages. They were amazing.

What do you think guys? Does she represent the majority of readers?

Nicole can also be found at Gluten-Free Girl and the Goat and on Twitter @GlutenFreeGoat

Comments

[Julie Kramer]

I found it interesting how important she considers covers. I know publishers think they are prime...but to hear it from the mouth of a reader will make them happy.

[A.M. Kuska]

I don't mind a professional cover that isn't to my taste, but if I can tell it was made in microsoft paint...I'm not buying the book.

[Christina Auret]

I'm with her on the importance of a good cover, but I don't always care what a book costs. I tend to buy authors unknown to me second hand, then buy their new stuff new if I like them, so the hole self published thing has passed me by a bit. I don't think you could really find any one reader that is representative of readers as a whole.

[Dale Spindel]

Not the ones who patronize public libraries.