I’m in the process of renaming my current WIP. Another m/m romance was released last month with the title I had intended for my story. Since the book’s in the same genre I figured it would be wise to head back to the drawing board. Only, I found that searching for a new title has been difficult this time around (heck, every time). It’s not easy to land on a couple of words that encompass the story, that will catch potential readers’ attentions without putting them off considering the book, something unique, but not too out there, and something easy to search for (which I obviously opted to ignore with my previous one-word titles MORE and BREATHE). There’s a lot to consider in a title.Mostly, I’d like any title to mean something when it comes to the story and the characters.
All this got me to thinking. What drives us as readers to even give a book a second look, let alone buy it? What is it we want to know before purchasing? We don’t want to buy books we won’t enjoy. Why waste our time and money?
What do we use to evaluate if this story is one we’ll like?
The title?
The cover?
The blurb?
The excerpt?
The content?
Theme?
Reviews?
Recommendations from friends?
Previous experiences with the author's other work?
What makes us stop at a book and say, “Yes. This one. I want this one!”
Every week there are more and more m/m romances released, so even if you read exclusively in that one genre, you have a lot of choices these days. More than even two years ago. How do readers make their selections?
I will admit, for me, it’s a combination of all those items listed above. I avoid themes I know aren’t my thing. A great cover might draw my attention. Or maybe a rave review. A link from a friend on FaceBook. But in almost every case, I want to read an excerpt. Especially for new-to-me authors. I want a sample of their voice and the way they tell a story. Catch my attention in the excerpt and I’m clicking the buy button.
So how about you? I’m curious…What do you look for? How do you choose which books to buy? Is the title an important factor? I’d love to hear what motivates you to select your next book.
Thanks,
Sloan Parker
www.sloanparker.com
15 comments:
The cover always interests me - whether it's a physical cover or an e-cover - and then I look for the author's name (have i purchased before? did i like?) and then it's the blurb...If those things make me smile/sigh/LOL, I'll prolly buy.
The initial thing is the cover. I adore great cover-art. The second would be the title and the blurb.
I share your pain when it comes to thinking up a title. I am in the process of finishing another m/m romance and every title I think of, when I look it up is taken.
Hi Kristina. I'm always amazed by how much a cover actually draws my attention to a book and influences my decision about the story. The author is a big one for me too. I've been known to do a quick skim of the blurb and just buy if it's an author whose work I adore. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Vivian. Beautiful cover art is alluring, isn't it?
I'm beginning to think there really are no new titles left. *grin* I now have sympathy for authors in other genres who are looking for a title. It's hard enough in this niche market. Best of luck with your title selection and the new m/m romance!
Hi Sloan-- Great post as always. Interesting because i think of titles as coming easy to me, but lately i've had to change two titles -- one because it was a foreign word and i was afraid people wouldn't relate to it, and the second (a title i loved) because the editors said it wasn't romantic enough. My number one book criteria is author --certain authors i always buy. (Like you LOL) After that, i might get captivated by a cover or a title. I recently bought a book because i fell in love with the guy on the cover!! Usually, it's a combination and, like you, i need an excerpt to be the clincher. : )
Thanks, Tara! Sounds like we go about buying books in the same way. Sorry you had to rename your titles, but it seems like it may been the right call in those instances. I do try to stay away from character names or titles that people may not be able to pronounce, but it’s hard to completely avoid that. You can't predict everything for all readers.
I love that you bought a book based on the guy on the cover. :) Thanks for stopping by!
Titles aren't a big influence on me. And I tend to forget them afterwards. But I do remember covers, and am probably more likely to say "yes I've read that" from seeing the cover art than just the title.
I'd check out the blurb to get an idea of the type of story, and if it still appeals, check out an exceprt. Since I got my Kindle a few months ago I nearly always checking out a sample first. That's the decider. I might go check out some reviews and ratings too, but the excerpt is usually the deal maker - or breaker.
Covers do catch my eye, and Loose Id has fabulous covers, but like Becky it's the sample or the excerpt that make my buy decision with a-new-to-me author. :)
The title comes into play with series books--like the Masters of the Shadowlands--reminding how much I liked the earlier installements.
Thank you for a thought provoking post, Sloan.
Hi Becky. Now that you mention that about titles, there have been quite a few books I loved but struggled to recall the title. Yet I could recognize the cover. Even for ebooks where I might not see the cover as often. Perhaps we’re just very visual. Even if we are writers. :)
I agree with you on the kindle samples. Makes it easy to check out the writing style. Like you said that’s what makes the deal for me too.
Thanks, Evanne. Glad you thought the post was interesting. Seems many of us are looking at the sample before we buy, especially for new authors. Just goes to show how important it is for new authors to get an excerpt or even free copies of their early books out to readers.
Congrats on your release this week! Sounds like a great story.
The first thing that captures my attention is the cover. As always, it's all about grabbing your attention with the visual. Like they sang to Gypsy Rose Lee, "You gotta get a gimmick…"
The title of a book sometimes plays a big part for me since I feel titles are VERY important. Example. I'm currently reading "The Fallen" by Thomas E. Sniegoski. I'd like to eventually break into the YA market but the cover caught my attention and the title piqued my curiosity more than the cute guy on the cover. Soooo…
As for the blurb, yes. It usually pulls me in a little more. I also like to read the first couple of pages to see if it's a writing style I would enjoy. Or at the very least, the opening paragraph.
I've been known to read all types of genres though I do tend to gravitate towards some more than others.
I think the only time the author matters to me is if I've already read them and liked them. Then I am much more likely to pick up that writer's next book. Otherwise, as Shakespeare was known to have said, "The story's the thing!" Oh, no. Wait. That's not quite right.
Thanks for the post, Sloan! As always, thought-provoking. We share similar thought patterns I think!
Good luck with your title.
Hi Johnny. Thanks for checking out the post. I’ll take the honor of thinking like you any day (your posts are always intriguing and full of heart).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your book selection process. Sometimes I’ve been pulled in by a catchy or intriguing title too. A title that I find annoying or offensive can really put me off a book, but I think the good ones can help pull me in to reading the blurb and excerpt.
Is The Fallen book that you’re reading the one they made a TV movie about? I think I watched that and thought it would make a great read. Hope you’re enjoying it. And good luck with writing YA!
Thanks about the title. I have a few new ones on my list to research.
The cover will certainly catch my eye (or make me cringe!), but the most important factors for me are the plot and whether I like the author's style or not. Frankly, there are some dreadful m/m romance covers out there, but if I like the author and the excerpt, I'll ignore the cover.
The title is somewhat important, but again, I won't let a bad/generic title put me off if the plot sounds great and I like the excerpt.
Coming up with titles is really difficult! So many are taken already, and it's an eternal challenge to think of something catchy and creative. I'm currently struggling to find a title for my new book, so I feel your pain! :)
Hi Keira! Sorry to hear you are struggling with your title too. It is so hard to find something unique and interesting as well as meaningful to the story.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on what calls you to buy a book. I’ve also purchased books with cringe-worth covers or titles even when the story sounded like something I would love. I have to admit that once in a while I will put off buying a book based on my reaction to the cover, even though I’ve heard wonderful things about the book and it sounds like my kind of read. Eventually I give in and try the excerpt and that usually will sell me on it if I enjoyed the writing style. It's odd to think I can be so influenced by the visual. Thanks for stopping by, Keira!
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