Wednesday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

WHAT MAKES A READER DOWNLOAD AND FINISH YOUR BOOK?

By: Kathy Perow

Molly Greene has asked me to write a post from a reader’s point of view, with an eye to self-published authors in particular. I’ve become a huge fan of authors brave enough and confident enough to strike out on their own, without the advantages (or the frustrations) of traditional publishing. I’ll try to answer a few of her questions:

• What makes me decide to download a book: Cover? BookBub blurb? Reviews? 
• What makes me pass on completing a book? Typos, slow beginnings, characters who do not resonate? 
• What will I disregard if other elements are in place to keep me reading?

Tools and filters

I read a lot. Really a lot: I start 30-40 books a month, but probably finish only 25-30. When I lived in a large house I collected books the way a miser collects gold, and couldn’t imagine a room without them.

Things have changed. I now live in a small apartment and my hoarding is limited to my Nook, my Kindle and my tablet. Those are my reading tools, and I can’t imagine how I ever got along without them. When I read a real cover-and-paper book now I keep trying to swipe the page to go to the next. I was a hold-out though, convinced I would never be able to read without a physical book. Wrong! I got my first e-reader in 2011 and haven’t looked back.

I took out a subscription to Kindle Unlimited in July, 2014, pretty much when it started up. BookBub has been my favorite filter for just about as long. I know for a lot of new users, including me, the sheer volume of books available on KU can be daunting without a starting point, and BookBub provides that.

Choosing a book

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To read the rest of the post, click here:

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If you missed my writing and marketing tweets and retweets Monday and Tuesday, here they are again:

• What Story Offers | Writers In The Storm http://ow.ly/Rhhln
• After The Hype And Drama: Balancing Trad And Indie Interests | Thought Catalog http://ow.ly/Rjjrt   
• Revision Techniques - Janet S. Fox http://ow.ly/Rjjxp
• Train Travel and The 1904 World's Fair http://ow.ly/RjjGm
• How to Look Good on Your Webcam - Books & Such Literary Management http://ow.ly/RjjYv
• How to Tell a Story: Script Writing vs. Novel Writing - The Whisper Project http://ow.ly/Rjk8f
• Got a Pen Name? You’re in Great Company – Now Here’s How to Market Your Books by Frances Caballo — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/RjkHI
• Writers as Project Managers - WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™ http://ow.ly/RjkN3
• What Makes A Reader Download & Finish Your Book? | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/RjlaT
• 100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises http://ow.ly/RjmGV
• The Cost of Self Publishing? http://ow.ly/RjmTC  You're focusing on the wrong thing.
• Keep Your Book Marketing as Creative as Your Writing http://ow.ly/Rjnvn
• Call Me Unpredictable* | Confessions of a Mystery Novelist... http://ow.ly/RjnIk
• Insecure Writer's Support Group: 8 Steps to Visiting Your Novel's Setting Without Leaving Home http://ow.ly/RjnTe
• Five Books Featuring Unreliable Narrators | Tor.com http://ow.ly/Rjo9O
• Why broken sleep is a golden time for creativity – Karen Emslie – Aeon http://ow.ly/Rjoyb
• Self-Editing for Continuity - Author J.S. Morin http://ow.ly/RjoJa
• CJ Lyons: 6 tips to sell your book - The Writer http://ow.ly/Rjp0B 
• Author, Jody Hedlund: When You Feel Like the Worst Writer in the World http://ow.ly/RkTBD
• The Importance of Psychological Development in Character Growth - WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™ http://ow.ly/RlTA9
• Business Musings: What Traditional Publishing Says It Does Best | Kristine Kathryn Rusch http://ow.ly/RlXog
• SlideShare Tips: How to Create a 5,000-View SlideShare in 10 Minutes http://ow.ly/RlZvt
• Six Ways To Think Like a Publicist and Sell More Books! - Author Marketing Experts, Inc. http://ow.ly/Rm04e
• Do Writers Really Need to Know Theory? http://ow.ly/Rm0b2
• With booksellers' pressure: DRM is now soft in Germany | The Bookseller http://ow.ly/Rm0Mb
• 6 Points To Consider When Crafting An Awkward Character – Anne Goodwin Debut Novellist | Sacha Black http://ow.ly/Rm0Qq
• The Writing Realm http://ow.ly/Rm2TM "What to Do When You Don’t Know What to do With Your Story..."
• What to Do When You Feel Left Out, Unlucky, or Ignored http://ow.ly/Rm3d7
• How to Write a Bio That Will Turbocharge Your Guest Posts | Write to Done http://ow.ly/Rm3lp
• Monday Mailbag: ISBN, Book Design, Copyright and More — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/Rm3qv
• How Outlining Can Bring Out Voice | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/Rm3C9
• Protagonist and Main Character— Same Person? The Answer May Transform Your Story! - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/Rm4Nc
• Tangents and Subplots: When Do They Work? | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/RmDd2

Happy running and writing, Kathy