Why Hasn't Anyone Asked Readers Before?

Written Word Media does a yearly survey of self-published authors, which I find demoralizing to participate in, because my answers remind me of just how unsuccessful my career is. But that's neither here nor there. This week, for the first time, I've seen a survey of readers. That seems like a no-brainer for these book promo companies, since while they obviously make their money off authors paying to advertise, if they're not offering anything readers want, their whole enterprise will eventually go to hell.

Well, finally Written Word Media has done it. Because I'm someone who gets very few reviews, and I've only sent out ARCs for a couple of my books (with minimal results), I don't know what readers want. It's difficult to reach any conclusions from three or four written reviews, you know? Thus, I appreciate this summary of a few thousand readers' thoughts. 

Since I'm what can be readily termed a "failure" in the bookselling biz, my biggest curiosity was the question of what drives someone to choose a particular book in the first place. Fifty-seven per cent of the respondents said that the book description is the most important factor. So, maybe I need to work on my novel's description. Blurbs are notoriously hard to write, I think because authors are too close to their work. We want to include the "great" parts of the story in the description, not analyzing whether that great part even makes sense to talk about, when a potential reader has no clue what the story is about. I suppose one of my downfalls when composing a blurb is the need to include the "why". Take Running From Herself, for example. Why is Leah in this mess to begin with? But does that matter? Shouldn't I just be starting with the action? That's tricky, though, depending on genre. Women's fiction has a lot of touchy-feely aspects; a lot of emotions. It's not a car chase and a standoff in a dark alley (generally!). So, I obviously need to do some rethinking to better entice prospective readers.

Another interesting finding in the survey is that readers don't give an F about series. Why this is interesting is that everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, touts series. "You've GOT to have a series!" "How else can you take advantage of advertising if you don't have Books One through Four?" Every single would-be author on Reddit has or is writing a series. Marketing experts like David Gaughran rely on that premise when discussing ad strategies. I even (momentarily) considered making Running From Herself part of a series, except it doesn't lend itself to that, and most importantly, I'm completely disinterested in the notion. So, it's nice to be vindicated.

On to a couple of things that are relevant to me: reader interaction and pricing. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents "aren't sure" is they want to interact with authors (a nice way of saying no); while 36% do want to interact, and 27% definitely DO NOT want any interaction. My interpretation of this is that a whopping 64% of readers want nothing to do with me (or any other author). This explains why my newsletter was such a flop. Really, readers only sign up for a newsletter to get something free. I know; I know; you see scores of online posters claiming their newsletter is not only popular but anticipated. This is delusional. It's akin to me buying a singer's album and then having him pester me every day about what song I like best, and have I listened to Track Six yet? How do I feel about the arrangement on Track One? JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! At this point, I don't care if the singer wants to send me a free "extra"; I just want some peace.

The pricing aspect of the survey is kind of garbled. That's because Written Word set up some parameters and asked readers to choose from four scenarios. I think the premise is wrong, and I would have asked the pricing question differently, but we'll work with what we have. The question was posed as an either/or ~ price or reviews? The bottom line? If a book has no reviews but is priced as free, no problem! Free is free is free. You can do a ninety-nine cent offering, but your book needs at least two five-star reviews. 

The way to sell a $2.99 book (which is how my novel is currently priced) is to have 20 four-star reviews. Mind you, I marked it down from its original price of $4.99. I don't have twenty four-star reviews; I have one review ~ on Goodreads. That's it. I don't know if I'll ever accept or wrap my head around giving away (or basically giving away) quality. Wrong is wrong, but I have no doubt that at some point I'll offer my novel for free and pay for the privilege of giving it away. Because the high moral ground is a pretty lonely place.

The other revelation from the survey pertains to social media, which is my current focus, as you know. It really galls me to admit, but Facebook is the place to be. In fact, 69% of survey respondents say it's their go-to place. I've had zero success with Facebook, so maybe I'm doing it wrong (?). Or maybe, like with everything else, nobody wants what I'm selling. 

With all the BookTok hype, one would think that TikTok is the go-to site. Wrong. TikTok comes in dead last with readers. That's a relief. If there was a number below zero, that's the amount of traction I've gotten from TikTok. A total loser (I mean it, not me, although...)

Goodreads, which sucks, comes in third, after Instagram, and in fourth place is Pinterest, of all things. X is fifth, but it's still twice as impactful as TikTok. I avoid Goodreads whenever possible, because its reviewers are unnecessarily (and proudly) mean. Instagram I don't mind; it's easy to use, but unhelpful for marketing. I still prefer X for ease of use, and Pinterest? I'm flummoxed. I tried it and it sabotaged me (likely not deliberately?). If I was to go back to it, I would need to delete everything I've done and start from scratch.

If you're reading the linked Written Word article, you'll notice that I haven't touched on boredom. It's a sore point for me, because my long-held suspicion is that maybe, just maybe, my stories become boring. It's not that they don't start out great, but at some point they perhaps begin to sag. I can't vouch for that, since I've gotten no feedback, but KU page reads can be interpreted that way. (Why didn't mystery reader finish the book?) "It is critical to have a plot that progresses quickly to hook the reader and keep them reading." Do I? I can't be a neutral arbiter of that. I like how my books flow, but it's possible that I'm the only one. And particularly with Running From Herself, nope, it doesn't progress quickly. I didn't know it was a race. It's a nice, well-told story that readers can wrap themselves in.

From the article: "Also mentioned frequently were uninteresting characters and overdone descriptions. Farther down the list, but still worth mentioning were grammar mistakes and spelling errors." Yay! Not guilty! I'm so glad I actually do something right! I suck at description, so it's hardly overdone, and my most frequent compliment is that my characters are great. Also, nope, no grammar or spelling errors to be found.

Another factor regarding a reader finishing or not finishing a book is expectations. I'm really a stickler for not misleading a potential reader, but maybe other authors aren't. Otherwise, why would this topic even arise? I don't over-promise, which may lead to missing out on a purchase, but I'd rather be honest than be known as a grifter. Even with my current book, "Nashville" is deliberately noted in the blurb. Folks need to know this is a country music book; not LA pop or whatever it is that someone like Taylor Swift does. If a potential reader hates country music, I'd rather they pass on my book than get mad reading it.

A survey like this, long overdue, is priceless to an author. I now know for sure or at least suspect what I'm doing wrong, but I also learned that I'm doing some things right. A little bit of encouragement matters. I'm not wrong about newsletters or TikTok or series. I'm probably wrong about pricing and my stories' pacing. And I obviously need a better blurb.

Thanks, Written Word Media, for finally doing what no one else has bothered to do.