What Makes a Reader Try a New Author?

 

 

 

Happy Monday! Let's not speak of the torture that is Daylight Savings Time weekend and just jump right into today's topic, shall we? :) 

In my various roles as blogger, reviewer, influencer, and publicity tour company owner, I have the privilege of chatting with a lot of authors. A question that comes up frequently is 'what can I do to get my book in front of new readers?' In all honesty, sometimes I think that answer is different from reader to reader ... and from book to book. What works for one book/author/reader may not work for the next. Authors, this is probably not news to you. But if we filter through the various answers I think we can find some helpful common ground. 

And since I just got done saying that the answers can differ from reader to reader, I thought I'd ask some readers for their thoughts. (Occasionally I have a brilliant idea haha) I started by reaching out to several of my blogging/reviewing/avid reader friends to get their thoughts. 

Jessica Baker of A Baker's Perspective: First and fastest answer I have is a recommendation from a reader friend. There are several people in our bookish community that I know if they liked the book, I'll like it too. More than that, I just love the adventure of trying a new author. I will actually search the bookstagram community, or just visit my favorite online book sources and search for new releases. Once I find a book by an author I haven't read before, I'll check out the book blurb. If it pulls me in, I'll give it a go. I have found so many new authors this way. (so basically know this authors - have a strong book blurb!)

 

Suzie Waltner of Remembrancy: I’m usually willing to give a new-to-me author a try because I’ve found some hidden gems by taking a chance on someone. The first thing that piques my interest in trying a new author is the back cover blurb. If the book features something I enjoy reading (favorite genre or trope, a new setting, an intriguing plot, interesting characters, etc), I’ll try that author. The next thing that makes me read a new author is word of mouth. If I’m hearing about a book from other readers or seeing it often online, I’m interested enough to go read that back cover and a few of the reviews. And if both the blurb and word of mouth are building on each other, it’s a book I will automatically read. Also, if that book is in audiobook format, the book will get bumped to the top of my list as I am a reader who can listen to books while I’m at my day job and make a nice dent in my TBR. 

Connie Hill of Reflecting on Days Gone By: I have found some really amazing authors by word of mouth. I love subscribing to authors' newsletters and I’ve noticed they will put in their newsletter what they are reading. I like to know what they are reading. I also find new authors through social media. When someone posts about a book they are raving about it makes me want to read it. As a book blogger I’ve been fortunate to discover so many authors I may not have been exposed to before. I love when I get to partake in an author's first release. It makes me feel like I’m an important part of the journey.

Becca Rae of The Becca Files: There's lots of reasons I would try a new author. Word of mouth is gold, but that also has to start somewhere. Baker Book House has been running preorder sales for quite a while now and I have been known to scroll the "coming soon" section looking to add to my cart (because one almost never buys only one book at a time of course 😉 ). At this point I will confess to judging the book cover. I have found several new authors simply by the cover drawing me in and then reading the blurb. The one that comes to mind to me first for this recently  is Jennifer L Wright's If It Rains. It wasn't the most flashy cover, but it  tugged at my heart. As a reviewer, I find out about a lot of new releases through JustRead and also see the posts splashed all over social media. The more a new author can get out there, the more likely they are to be seen and talked about. I also follow publishers so will hear about the new authors through that chain as well. I fully admit that I am more likely to try a new author when they come from a publisher I already respect. If not, I'm more likely to need to see what others are saying before I'm willing to take the risk. It also needs to be said that the subject matter is what will catch my attention as well. I am largely an avid historical fiction reader. So I'm more likely to try a new author in that genre. But I like books. So like I said, word of mouth is gold and if other readers have said they enjoyed a new author then I'm more likely to give them a shot.

Beckie Burnham of By The Book: Trying a new author has some risks, but often great rewards. I’m always on the look out for something new, and a new-to-me author with a unique setting or subject matter is tops on my list. Whether it’s an exotic locale (A Tapestry of Light by Kimberly Duffy) or a new twist on a favorite genre (The Gryphon Heist by James R. Hannibal) I love stretching my reading horizons. A new author does that for me.

Crystal Caudill of Crystal Caudill.com: Once a new to me author has been brought to my attention I do several things, especially where I have to be so careful with my limited reading time. First I look at the cover, especially if it is indie. You can tell how much someone values their work by the quality of the cover. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it better not look slapped together. After the cover, I flip to the blurb. It has to be well written, grab my attention and leave me with questions without summarizing the story. After that, I read a sample through the look inside feature of Amazon or, if I’m in a bookstore, I’ll skim a bit from the beginning, middle, and end. This is really the make it or break it deal for me. Quality writing is what matters most to me. If there is no Look Inside feature, I’m really hesitant. Then I go based on who recommended the book and how much I think our tastes align. The other way I’ve found new authors is though the peer pressure of book challenges and book clubs. Apparently, the DARE strategy doesn’t work against books.

(By the way... speaking of trying new authors... make sure you keep an eye out for Suzie Waltner's new novel Midnight Blue - a second chance/secret child contemporary romance releasing July 5, 2022 from Anaiah Press. And grab Crystal Caudill's debut novel, Counterfeit Love - a Gilded Age romantic suspense that releases TOMORROW (March 15th) from Kregel!)

 

As you can see, even with the variety of answers & readers above, there are some common things that will lead to a reader trying a new-to-them author. If you look at the phrases I bolded, you'll see repeated elements such as:

• word of mouth
• recommendations from trusted readers
• social media
• book cover
• book blurb/subject matter/setting 

But then I got even more curious about what other readers would say. For instance, if I polled a bunch of different readers who like different types of books and aren't necessarily part of the blogging community, would I get similar results? After all, if I'm going to recommend that you dear-to-me authors try such-and-such to get your books in front of new readers, I need to know that these things go beyond book influencers. To make sure they stand true even when someone isn't inundated with books to review, feature, etc.

So. I did. 

I asked two questions on a Google Form and shared it on Facebook. Most of the respondents are my friends and family (though some people shared it to their networks as well), and based on the people who told me they answered the questions they represent a wide variety of reading habits & tastes. 

Out of 280 responses (way more than I anticipated answering - yay!):

• 30.7% said word of mouth is what most causes them to try a new author; 
• 25.6% said it was the book cover or blurb;
• 16.2% said it's reviews from trusted bloggers/bookstagrammers; and
  
• 11.6% said that social media posts most influence them to try a new author.

One thing I found interesting was how little newsletters & reviews on retail sites seem to be the dominant factor for a reader to try a new author - only 5.8% for retail site reviews & only 1.4% for newsletters. This is not to say that there is no value for either of these in an author's marketing strategy - because publishers who know way more than I do seem to put so much stock in them both - but perhaps the value of these factors as far as putting your books in front of new readers is much less than we realize. 

Another interesting (to me) result is that, while I did not include it in my initial list of options, several people also wrote in 'endorsements' as the most significant factor in trying a new author. Most of the other write-in answers were similar enough to the options above (for our purposes) that I tossed them in with those respective categories.

I know that's a lot of info and numbers, and maybe you're like me and your eyes start glazing over when math is involved. So, let me give you a quick summary that you can add to your author tool-box: 

When asked for the single most influential factor that causes them to try a new author, over 75% of the readers polled pointed to 'word of mouth' (which includes social media posts & trusted reviewer recs) and 'book cover/blurb'. 

What are some practical ways you can harness this info to work for you?

1. If you are indie publishing, invest in a professional cover & run your back cover copy (and even the cover) by several trusted readers to gauge their interest level & strengthen it accordingly. These two elements to your book are the first impression you give to readers. The cover (front and back) can make or break a reader's decision to pick up your book - spend time there accordingly.
   
2. Look for ways to drum up word of mouth recommendations. Invest in a blog tour or social media tour with a company like JustRead Tours or start a grassroots campaign on your own to keep people talking about your book. Get that book cover that you've invested in onto social media. Reach out to bloggers who review in your genre and ask them for a feature. Some may not have time for a review, but even a spotlight/excerpt or author interview can get that word of mouth machine working. 

What about you? Did these reader results surprise you? What's something you've done to increase word of mouth buzz that worked for you & your books?

 

Carrie Schmidt is an avid reader, book reviewer, story addict, KissingBooks fan, book boyfriend collector, and cool aunt. She also loves Jesus and THE Story a whole lot. Co-founder of the Christian Fiction Readers' Retreat and JustRead Publicity Tours, LLC, Carrie lives in Georgia with her husband Eric. She can be found lurking at various blogs and websites (because she can't stop talking about books) but her main home is the blog she started in 2015 - ReadingIsMySuperPower.org.