What would convince you to buy a book from an author you've never heard of?

[Guest]

I’ve recently read ARCs and books by authors I only met a few times through social media platforms. The quality of their writing, the genres, and the blurbs convinced me to try them.

[William]

Cover, good review(s) and a story what intriges me. But to be honest, this is also the case with well known writers.

[Claire]

I 100% judge a book by its cover and I know you shouldn't but I do.

so I go to the genre I'm looking, see a cover I like, read the blurb (which is very hot or miss these days as big publisher's keep replacing old style blurbs with reviews)

[Alexis]

1. Cover art.
2. A good blurb that mirrors my impression of the Cover art.
3. The first 5 pages. If you don't have me by then. Buh-bye.

[Tia]

I really don't care who wrote it. A good cover will draw my eye, a great synopsis will hook me.

I appreciate trigger warnings (I know not everyone does) and reviews with spoilers lol. Not necessary, but helpful.

[Cricket]

It’s all about the book cover for me. The picture they use draws me instantly to the book. Then, if the synopsis on the back cover is right up my alley, I will definitely read a book without knowing the author.

[Natasha]

I don’t really pay attention to the author before I chose a book anyhow! Only after, if I liked it, does that become important to me. I pick my books from recommendations (friends, social media, other reviews) and what my book clubs are reading.

[Amber]

Genre first, synopsis second. However, a recommendation from a friend beats all and gets tacked onto the TBR list.

[Hannah]

The cover and blurb first, then reviews. If I find grammar errors or things that are blatant disregard of just careful work, I won’t finish reading it because it feels like the author doesn’t care about my experience as the reader (unless, and this is a biggie, the story is compelling enough to make me overlook it–this has happened only one time).

[Connie]

Topic/genre, synopsis, table of contents (most especially if nonfiction, but even if fiction, it should have actual chapter names, not just numbers), number of pages (substantial enough, but not overwhelming). I, too, really hate poor grammar, spelling or typos; I think it unprofessional.

[Ronna]

Genre first - there are just some genres I do not like. Blurb second - I buy most of my books online, so I don't really notice the little thumbnail of a cover. Random paragraph is my third criteria. I open the book and read a random paragraph and if it is compelling, if I want to read the next paragraph or go back to the beginning to see how the book got there, I get the book. If not, I don't. When buying online the 'look inside' function is critical for me.