So what are you really looking for in the books you buy?

[sabolich]

When you're flipping through the endless choices for SF or fantasy at the bookstore or on Amazon, what are you looking for? What grabs you enough to buy the dang thing? A cool cover? The back blurb? Do you flip through and look at the quality of the writing? Is it the promise of an original idea you haven't seen before? A character who looks like he/she hasn't been done to death? Or do you want something comfy in the genre you like best, like a vampire story or military SF or a sprawling high fantasy?

C'mon, fess up. What are you looking for, and what makes it a great read for you? And one last question: do you think readers and editors are looking for the same thing in a book?

 

[J-Sun]

I usually know what I'm looking for ahead of time. While there are definitely exceptions, I tend to come across authors in anthologies and, if I develop the idea that I'd like them from their short fiction, I tend to give their collections (if I can find them for less than an arm or a leg) or novels a try. If I like the collection or the talent carries through into novel form, then I get more.

There are exceptions - I used to belong to the SFBC when it didn't suck (I still do, I think, if they haven't kicked me out, but I haven't bought anything in years) and I used to buy some things off the blurb because that's all there was (pre-WWW) and it just had to sound "interesting". How to define that, I dunno.

And these days, if there's enough buzz on the internet for something that sounds like I could like it anyway, I'll sometimes try it.

And sometimes there's association: movements like cyberpunk and NWoBSO will sometimes get me to try a work by an author who comes up in context with others if I've already read the others.

As far as browsing the shelves, yeah, you look at the title, look at the cover, read the blurb, read a page, try to get a gestalt and decide. I don't buy a lot that way and it tends to need to be high-tech space-oriented to get me to buy it, but that's just me.

And, no, editors have to be looking for something that will sell. And maybe reflect well on them. Naturally, they are readers, too, and want to bring quality writing to a wide readership, but they have commercial constraints. Readers are on the short end of the commercial stick and are looking for things much more personal and apart from popularity and commercial considerations - they just don't want to waste the X dollars they spent.

Anyway: rule #1 to get me to read an author: they need to write good short fiction.

 

[Vertigo]

I almost never browse for a book, I really don't have the time for that sort of luxury. I have always already decided what I want and I almost always buy over the internet (the nearest book shop is over 25 miles away).

My decision as to what books to buy is based on recommendation from places like this, new books from authors I know I like and occasionally "if you like this you might like that" recommendations from places like FantasticFiction, though I will usually check them out with a question on here.

There are other ways; for example I got into John Scalzi through a free download of his book Agent To The Stars. I loved that and am now slowly working through the rest of his material.

About the only time I used to buy a book by browsing was at airports and the like when I realised I'd forgotten to pack a book. This had never happened since I switched to ebooks. Good job really since my record for finding a book that way, that I actually liked, was pretty poor to say the least.

 

[sabolich]

LOL. Yes, it is so easy to get burned, even when you have the physical book in your hands. I bought one off the shelf a couple of years ago based on a killer prologue that promised well for the book. Alas, it turned into a bunch of pointless characters wandering pointlessly on a long journey to nowhere, doing pointless things along the way to break up the monotony. I never finished it.

Word of mouth is definitely a factor, now that I think about, especially when buying off the internet. There didn't used to be the reviews to glance through, and I confess they do sway me to a certain extent. But I, too, want "interesting" as a starting place. And the writing has to be good. I cannot tolerate first-grade writing, no matter how interesting the idea. So, for me, I need to be able to at least look at some representative sample (beyond the uber-polished page 1). The Look Inside feature on Amazon is a must.

 

[fleamailman]

("...I guess what I want from a book is something to remember when I've finished reading it..." remarked the goblin, continuing "...where I have a growing distrust for much of what one reads these days...", in fact, the goblin often wondered if there wasn't some sort of computer program out there by now where one just fills in the blancs with names, dates, settings, etc., and then presses the create sff novel button, whereupon the goblin just grinned, remarking "...but then again if it sells why knock it...")

 

[Toby Frost]

I don't have much in particular I look out for, except for a very vague idea of the sort of book I'd like to read that tends to change each time I go to the shops ('Been ages since I've read any crime', etc). I do have a few things that will put me off. None is a guaranteed fail, but more than one will pretty much guarantee that I'm not interested.

- Failure on some prettly basic level - characterisation, grammar, blatant Mary-Sueism etc.
- Excessively derivative/no new twists on genre.
- Multiple volumes of the same story, especially those with no clear end in sight. Life is just too short for soap opera.
- Dumbness/witlessness. This needs some explanation. I don't mean a lack of jokes, but a sort of lack of sophistication, even in telling a daft story. Them-vs-us space war stories count here. Books that think they're clever and bang on and on, especially if trying to tell a message, count double. Basically, anything that batters the reader over the head.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I've never been fussy about what the genre etc is. It doesn't matter if something is familiar or innovative.

My requirement are an easy to read voice, fun plot and a character I think I am going to want to spend a few hourse.

 

[J Riff]

I llok for paper money concealed within, or a treasure map.

 

[TL Rese]

i have to confess, good covers really catch my attention =P. but the old adage is def true, "you shouldn't judge a book by its cover." i read "twilight" and "eragon" because i liked the covers, and did Not like the books at. all.

ideally, a "good" book will have it all - beautiful language, dimensional characters, a gripping plot, originality, and some inherent meaning and soul - not just some lifeless derivative.

as for editors, i've become a bit disillusioned with the whole publishing process. i think the element of chance plays too big of a role. after all, something like harry potter was rejected from all the major houses. so who knows what else they've turned away that never made it out of the cracks. it is pretty sad to think that masterpieces might have been lost forever, simply because they didn't fit the publishing trends at the time.

 

[Vince W]

When I look for books I usually base my purchases on what I'm reading at the moment. If I'm reading military SF I'll look for more. It helps that I have a large number of books waiting to read so if my mood changes I'll generally look to those first. Though I will pick up a book if the cover and back blurb intrigue me enough.

Rese as for your comments about publishing as a whole, rejection of good material is nothing new. Remember Herbert had to publish Dune through Chilton the automotive manual people.

 

[chrispenycate]

What I'm looking for, and the techniques I use to find it are not necessarily related, and the latter has not been over effective. I am not looking for a pretty cover; I'm not going to hang the book on the wall, or lie in bed at night gazing at it. Nor do rear-cover blurbs take me long to read. A number of authors have let me down over my years of testing Sturgeon's law, and put not thy faith in publishers, revewers, even word of mouth.

What I am looking for is original ideas that explode in my brain like fireworks, original points of view that can make me see something I have long known in a different light, and frequently laugh myself silly at it (Pratchett has frequently been the perpetrator here), obvious truths that have never been drawn to my attention.

What I get…

And, since no two people's judgement on an oeuvre is identical, this situation is bound to continue.

 

[TL Rese]

Rese as for your comments about publishing as a whole, rejection of good material is nothing new. Remember Herbert had to publish Dune through Chilton the automotive manual people.

i know, that's why it's so depressing. think about all those, perhaps millions, of good books that have probably been lost over the decades, centuries, whatever - just never picked up by any publisher, and after awhile, the author gets too discouraged and gives up, with the manuscript forever unpublished. just sad.

 

[J-Sun]

It is that, but so would be reading everything on the internet. While some signal has gotten lost throughout time, I'm not sure the signal-to-noise ratio has been bad or is getting better. IOW, people may have been able to find more than they lost via publishing. But I'm not disagreeing with you and not saying I'm convinced of what I just said - just raising another possible way to look at it. And, of course, such a theory, even if true, wouldn't be much consolation to the great rejected author, himself, or to the reader for whom the lost book would have been the greatest ever.

 

[Tecdavid]

The first thing to catch my attention will normally be the cover, simply because vivid scenes tend to stand out more than plainly titles on black. If I like what I see, I'll probably give the blurb a quick read.
But really, when it comes to choosing new books, I'm never really sure what to go for, unless I'm looking for the next instalment to something I already enjoy. For this reason, I'll usually just ask for a pile on my birthday, or at Christmas.

 

[chongjasmine]

The cover design and the back cover description of the book helped me to buy a new author on impulse. Otherwise, I usually go for books that are recommended by other people.

 

[DianaIlinca]

Oh!!!
High fantasy. Adventure. Magic. Fighting. Suspense.
I don't want a mushy love story, sorry. Yes, I'm a chick but I like my men manly and meaty.
If there are vampires, werewolves or a story written in 1st person, I drop it and move on.
I need books where something is always happening. Someone is in trouble. And you can see the character(s) change and grow.
And..well...I can go on.

 

[Hilarious Joke]

A mixture of recommendation (whether from a friend or from the Chron (not that Chronnites aren't friends!)) and if the blurb reads well.

Joe Abercrombie I'm reading because of the Chron. Great recommendation, Chron!!

 

[Rosemary Fryth]

i know, that's why it's so depressing. think about all those, perhaps millions, of good books that have probably been lost over the decades, centuries, whatever - just never picked up by any publisher, and after awhile, the author gets too discouraged and gives up, with the manuscript forever unpublished. just sad.

Which is why places like Amazon Kindle are the saviours of discouraged authors. Finally you can dodge the middlemen agents and publishing houses, and go direct to your clients, the readers of books.

As for what I'm really looking for in the books I buy?

A good cover will catch my interest, an accurate blurb will inform me as to whether or not the book may interest me or not. What however will take me from book one to follow up books in a trilogy or series are characters I can relate to, a fast moving plot, easy to read dialogue, and the occasional spot of humour in the writing.

Nowadays I am less into buying new books, and more into re-reading old favourites. Also am of course deep in writing a new novel, this one in the Dark Fantasy genre.

 

[Anne Lyle]

I tend to discover new authors via the internet - often on forums like this.

As for what I look for - I like strong, memorable characters, of both sexes; flawed but likeable heroes struggling against ruthless enemies; intrigue and plotting rather than all-out war. A dash of romance is nice, but not so much that it overwhelms the rest of the story; magic likewise is fine, but honestly, I can live without it if the rest of the world-building is solid.

No tired cliches or sexist stereotypes need apply. Female characters who only exist to be victims are a big turn-off for me, as are graphic torture and sexual violence. Lumpen prose and writing that tries too hard to be clever are equally likely to have me closing a book and putting it down.

Oh yeah, and preferably no dragons. Just because I've seen them wheeled out far too often, in order to give a flagging series a shot in the arm. Yawn.

 

[sabolich]

Oh yeah, and preferably no dragons. Just because I've seen them wheeled out far too often, in order to give a flagging series a shot in the arm. Yawn.

Oh, God, yes. Dragons, elves, orcs, vampires, werewolves, or any analog thereof. I worry that my world in Firedancer is too different, as it employs none of the usual villains and tropes. Is that a turn-off for people who just want to cozy up with something familiar, like a good old-fashioned swords and sorcery romp, or is there a driving hunger out there for stuff outside the norm? I dunno. I, too, like epic fantasy and swordplay and magic, but not all the time, both as a reader and as a writer. I write what feels good at the time and try to avoid tripping over too many things that have been done to death.

I do have to say that if there is a dragon on the cover it is far more likely to drive me to put it back than buy it.