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Post by Steve M on Nov 11, 2012 14:40:37 GMT
With so many new ebooks being published how do you decide which to buy?
Many of them are from unknown authors to me so it's very rare that I'll take a chance on them, so does this mean I'm missing out on some great reading?
Length is also a consideration for me in relation to cost. I also dismiss reviews (unless author and/or reviewers are known to me) as I often feel they are from friends.
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Post by john on Nov 11, 2012 15:15:52 GMT
I mostly read PC books on the Kindle. I own and have already read the majority of those, but I still buy them, anyway. Go figure.
The only other Western writer I've tried via the Kindle is Ben Bridges. I bought one of his O'Brien books because of its cover! Saying that, I immediately fell in love with it and have been devouring his work ever since.
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larry
Full Member
Posts: 113
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Post by larry on Nov 11, 2012 17:56:52 GMT
Well i buy a lot of westerns on Kindle on the advice of Western Fiction Review,Western Book Readers on FB,Western Fictioneers also on Fb,also Piccadilly Publishing,David Robbins yahoo group,and i friend many of the authors on FB to keep aware of the books coming out.
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Post by limeyf on Nov 11, 2012 21:36:02 GMT
Don't forget Steve, you can get a sample sent to you free of charge, so you can see if you like it. Or is this only in the US?
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Post by benbridges on Nov 12, 2012 8:31:36 GMT
Thanks for the kind words, John! There are so many ebooks to choose from (isn't Amazon's current estimate around the 4 million mark?) that competition should be fierce, and yet it isn't. Publishers should be vying for your custom, and yet for the most part they price their books prohibitively high (Bloomsbury's run of McALLISTER books springs to mind). My own feeling is that the price is paramount in helping the reader decide what to buy, more so than ever in these cash-struck times. A fair price makes any book look considerably more attractive. Then comes the cover, which of course has to catch the eye and sell the book in the first place. Then there's the subject -- you have to offer the reader something intriguing, original or different in the blurb. Then there's the presentation itself -- too many ebooks are rushed out with too many formatting errors and typos. A well-formatted book makes for a satisfying, distraction-free read! And finally, the quality of the story and the characters. If you want your readers to come back for more, you have to make sure give them a good time.
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Post by Steve M on Nov 12, 2012 14:21:29 GMT
Don't forget Steve, you can get a sample sent to you free of charge, so you can see if you like it. Or is this only in the US? I'm sure you can do that here too. I tend to read the samples online at places such as Amazon. |
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Post by rjrbob on Mar 22, 2013 3:31:07 GMT
I find it disappointing that so many people buy books on Kindle because they're cheap, and not necessarily because they want to read them. I know I'm all alone out here not liking Kindle and the ebook revolution, but it seems to me it's really changed the reason people read certain books.
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Post by rjrbob on Mar 22, 2013 4:26:58 GMT
BTW, not referring to anyone here. This is just something I've noticed in people I know.
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Post by benbridges on Mar 22, 2013 8:07:31 GMT
I don't think it's a case of people buying ebooks just because they're cheap, I think it's more a case of price being a consideration when making the choice of what to buy. Personally, I think it's a combination of name recognition, title, cover, price, quality of presentation (formatting) and a sufficiently intriguing synopsis that play a part. Many self-published authors have an unfortunate tendency to present their work in a way that looks all too obviously self-published. That's quite a turn off when the reader has every right to expect a professional product. Right now I'm reading a book about spaghetti western actors, and unfortunately the formatting is lousy and the text seems to have been cobbled together in double Dutch. To an extent, I think readers are right to stick with what they know.
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Post by gringo on Mar 22, 2013 8:53:59 GMT
I started off with the 3 GGG series (Undertaker, Steele and Edge) after being given some from my old fella. Since then I've collected all 3 series from ebay, amazon and a few other sources. I've also listened to recommendations from the GGGandPCS forum. From that, collected the Jubal Cade series, and now with PP am completing my Crow and Cabel Thorn series. Not read those yet though, as I'm just finishing off the last of my GGG books, so still have about a years worth of books to work through. Lots have been catching my eye on PP though, spoilt for choice  |
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Post by john on Mar 22, 2013 16:06:16 GMT
Gringo: You should check out HERNE THE HUNTER, too. I think you would like that PC series.
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