![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kinzelA few questions for the readers in the peanut gallery:
Would you rather read:
a theme anthology
a year's best anthology
In a bookstore would you rather buy:
a new novel by someone you've heard of but never read
a new novel by someone you've never heard of
Would you more likely buy:
a novel set in a tie-in universe
a novel set in an original universe
The first thing you notice about a new author is:
the title of the book is good
the cover art of the book is good
the gender of the author
When it comes to cover blurbs you:
almost always read them
almost always ignore them
read them if they're by authors you like
always think they waste space
consider writing to the blurbers and ask them what were they drinking when they wrote the blurb, and where can you get some of *that*?
Do you go to book signings?
Elucidate above
Are you a member of the BTC -- that is, the Book Turners Club? Do you turn books by authors you like cover face-front in a bookstore?
If yes, above, will you do it for us RSN? Thanks!
Do you go to science fiction conventions?
If yes above, do you go because particular guests will attend, or for the general fun of it? Do you have a "home" convention?
For the writers:
do you think the audience for your work is:
mythical
average read-anything types
hardcore fans
geeks only
housewives in Iowa
your agent first, then your editor
the marketing department at B&N
And one last question...
do you listen to podcasts?
If so:
http://fledgling.fireheartfoundry.com/2007/12/19/fledgling-chapter-23/
the latest Fledgling podcast from Fireheart Foundry
Would you rather read:
a theme anthology
a year's best anthology
In a bookstore would you rather buy:
a new novel by someone you've heard of but never read
a new novel by someone you've never heard of
Would you more likely buy:
a novel set in a tie-in universe
a novel set in an original universe
The first thing you notice about a new author is:
the title of the book is good
the cover art of the book is good
the gender of the author
When it comes to cover blurbs you:
almost always read them
almost always ignore them
read them if they're by authors you like
always think they waste space
consider writing to the blurbers and ask them what were they drinking when they wrote the blurb, and where can you get some of *that*?
Do you go to book signings?
Elucidate above
Are you a member of the BTC -- that is, the Book Turners Club? Do you turn books by authors you like cover face-front in a bookstore?
If yes, above, will you do it for us RSN? Thanks!
Do you go to science fiction conventions?
If yes above, do you go because particular guests will attend, or for the general fun of it? Do you have a "home" convention?
For the writers:
do you think the audience for your work is:
mythical
average read-anything types
hardcore fans
geeks only
housewives in Iowa
your agent first, then your editor
the marketing department at B&N
And one last question...
do you listen to podcasts?
If so:
http://fledgling.fireheartfoundry.com/2007/12/19/fledgling-chapter-23/
the latest Fledgling podcast from Fireheart Foundry
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
2007-12-19 22:00 (UTC)* I am likely to look at novels by someone I've never heard of
* either kind of universe novel but it is generally important that the universe is multi-volume. I won't buy stand-alones unless it is from an author I already love. I like to wait until a series has 2 volumes before I even start if it is an unknown author.
* A good title always intrigues me.
* HATE cover blurbs, never read them; conversely I will rarely buy a book by an unknown author that doesn't have a plot summary/teaser to read. Hardcovers always have this inside the jacket, but paperbacks are getting annoying with how often there is nothing but blurbs.
* I've been to signings, but unless it is going to be a small affair (say, NOT at a big con) I'll pass.
* I absolutely book turn. And I hector (politely) booksellers when a new volume in a series comes out and they are not stocking the whole set.
* I've gone to cons for guests, but with 2 little ones and both my wife and I working, there is little time anymore.
* Podcasts? Eh. Time/work is the problem; I need to concentrate on the podcast, which is hard when I am paid to concentrate on something else.
As a note, I have a hard and fast rule that I won't buy a paperback that doesn't make it to 300 pages. Period. At $8 a paperback, it must be 300 pages or I put it back.