Does page count, reviews matter?

JoanDrake said:
The only in-book endorsement I ever paid any attention to was the one NatLamp put on "Bored of the Rings": 'This edition, and no other, has been published solely for the purpose of making a few quick beans. Those who approve of courtesy to authors, living or dead, will not touch this gobbler with a ten foot battle lance'
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That's awesome, and in itself, part of the content of the book. Making a joke of endorsements is pure win.
 
Mouse said:
I do read reviews on Amazon, but only the one star ones (if there's any).
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Weird, that's my first reaction too. And if the one star reviews are just full of people moaning about the delivery or something else that has nothing to do with the content then to me that's a big plus. Looking for the positives in the negatives, so to speak.

I don't read 5 star reviews as I don't trust 'em.
 
Teresa Edgerton said:
I hope Joan doesn't mind my answering for her: Yes, it is.
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OT again (sorry) but I love how previously obscure names or phrases from Bored of the Rings keep suddenly acquiring meaning all these years later. (Goodgulf, for example, I've only come across once, on a gas pump in a repeated 70s detective TV show a few years ago.) Of course, they'd probably be instantly meaningful to US readers, but for me as a Brit, "translating" it has been part of its joy.
 
I used to care about page count wanting as long books as possible. Now I don't care anymore, I just buy whatever finds my fancy.

I never read the blurbs on books until after I've bought them so those doesn't matter either.

As for reviews I only read them after I've finished a book to see if my oppinions were "correct" or not.
 
My habits are changing. I used to prefer longer books on the basis that I was getting more pages per dollar. Now, however, as I am trying to expose myself to a variety of self-publishers, shorter works have a bit of an advantage. On the other hand, one of the very memorable books from my youth, Ursula Le Guin's The Beginning Place, is quite short. On the shelf, though cover art gets my attention, it's more the copy that makes or breaks the deal.

I do pay attention to reviews, but I almost ignore the average number of stars on any kind of fiction. I first read a selection of 1-star and 5-star reviews to get my impressions from each extreme of the appreciation spectrum, and if my interest persists, some of the ones in between. A review that mostly whines about delivery, or says the book is great or terrible without bothering to mention why gets tossed out up front and I move on to the next.
 
I want my money's worth, so if I'm paying retail market price, I tend to gravitate toward the mammoth sized paperbacks and short story collections. Huge short story collections are my favorite; lots of small stories, but I got my money's worth. If I'm at a place such as Mckays (large warehouse near my house that buys and sells used books, comic books, movies, etc.) I'll buy the smaller books because I'm only paying a dollar or so for them. I'm not a big re-reader. Usually, unless its my man Stevie, once is enough.

As far as picking them out, you gotta rope me in with the first few pages or I will shelve you and move on to the next potential book. If I'm having a bad day and can't seem to find something new, ill re-read a Stephen King paperback and the world is right once more.

And as for reviews, I have a bad habit of reading them quite often. But usually after I've purchased the book.
 
J-Sun said:
Just to be nitpicky, while the thread title says "reviews", the OP actually asked about "endorsements printed inside or on the back cover" (i.e. "blurbs") but several people have mentioned "N star reviews" meaning, I guess Amazon.
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That IS what I meant, but I realize that's becoming less relevant as people buy online or stick with eBooks.

I suppose the "Endorsement" equivalents can be found in the "Editorial Reviews" section of many Amazon book detail pages, where 3rd party reviews (not Amazon reviews) can be found. Do these make a difference, e.g., are you more or less apt to trust these compared to n-star reviews by Amazon readers?
 
Glitch said:
BBC News - JK Rowling revealed as author of The Cuckoo's Calling

JK Rowling revealed as male debut writer Robert Galbraith. Author of The Cuckoo's Calling

Ian Rankin Twitter: "So a debut novelist, garnering good quotes from famed authors for the cover plus good reviews, can expect to sell only a few hundred copies."
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Didn't she sell 1500 hardbacks, ie, the full print run, before revealing her identity?

Reminds a little of Stephen King publishing under Richard Bachman.
 
I said:
Didn't she sell 1500 hardbacks, ie, the full print run, before revealing her identity?
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Yes -- if Ian Rankin thinks 1500 hardbacks for a debut novelist is a poor showing, I think he's perhaps a bit out of touch.
 
I said:
Didn't she sell 1500 hardbacks, ie, the full print run, before revealing her identity?
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Yes I think so. Sales then increased by about 150,000% once her identity was revealed.

It seemed quite relevant to the question at hand.
 
I would have to think that the publishing company would want the identity of the author leaked so they could sell a million copies not 1500...they probably let JK have the alias until the first run went through or something. Or I am totally wrong
 
Publishing is a business, so why wouldn't the company have wanted the author's real identity out there eventually, given that they would have believed (rightly, it seems) that the sales would increase dramatically? And I doubt JKR will complain, as she now knows how well her book has sold without her name on the cover (i.e. quite respectably), and what the critics (if any**) have said.






** - I've seen comments that the book got good reviews, but not how many and by whom.
 
I've not really been keeping up with this 'story', but I read somewhere it was about 500 copies, half of which went to Goldsboro something or other, who apparently specialise in Harry Potter. That said, other bits and pieces I've read suggested it was a little more.

My books have mostly good reviews. Unfortunately I'm not sure outing myself as JK Rowling will work. [To clarify, the name was leaked by someone else, not Rowling herself].
 
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Cavey-wavey girly?!

I have no idea how to respond to that.
 
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