Poll
When choosing a book, how important is the company that published it?
I almost never notice who published the book.
I have a few publishers I especially like, but mostly I choose the book based on other criteria (story, author, etc.).
never ever!
Not very important, but I usually make a note of it.
Very important. I know if [my favorite publisher] published it, it will be a great read!
I notice the publisher if the book is badly edited. Otherwise it's not very important, though I actually check the publisher out just for curiosity.
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It doesn't factor into my purchasing decisions.
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Somewhat important - knowing the publisher will give me a vague idea of what the book will be like. It's not generally make or break if I'm deciding what to read, but it can tip the balance one way or another.
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only if it is a part of a series i'm collecting
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Wait, WHY would people care who the publisher of a book is? IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!!! (at least not to me)
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it can make a whole lot of difference if it is a translation
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I always check the publisher, but I base my reading decisions on other criteria, such as recommendations.
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It's only important when the book has been published by several different publishing houses. Some I love for their lay-outing, so that will influence my choice.
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I will favor Baen, Random House, and other publishers who do not participate in Apple's Racketeering Model.
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never !
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depends-certain publisher are known for a genre. But most of my authors jump publishers
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I avoid self-publishing houses, but otherwise the subject, author, and personal recommendations are most important.
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Very important. I don't support mess.
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I think it only matters if someone needs to know, or you are doing a work cited.
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I prefer certain publishers over others when it comes to classics
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Some publishers are more reliable, carry better made or attractive books and reputable writers. I also find that some publishers are work harder for the best translations, and in classics. I like Scribner, Penguin, and Oxford. However, I don't fully determine my book buying by publishing house, it is only a factor.
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It matters for eBooks because the quality range is so huge.
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I've never even noticed.
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I only check when the book is in the genre I would write, that way I would have a better notion of where to turn to when I look for publishing.
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I usually don't mind the publisher, but i hate it when a certain publisher has a more attractive book cover than the one i bought first!!..other than that i care more about the book and author itself
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While selecting a translated book it matters..Sometimes translators differ with publishers and so their translation.. better read the review to find these kind of discrepancies..
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Very important, but only because I work in the business. Before then, publishers didn't mean anything to me.
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If i dont see anything this first time, i go back and look at the publisher of books ive liked in the past.
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Avoid publishers in general, choose the most obscure editions and especially avoid HarperCollins, Puffin, Random House, Bloomsbury etc. Self and indie publishers FTW. Definitely worth noting though.
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It only matters to me when buying a physical book (exception: ebooks being free or not). When finishing out a series, I want them all to match. And for classics, I'm almost always drawn to Barnes&Noble. They're the cheapest at my favorite used bookstore.
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For print books, the publisher doesn't matter to me at all, but for e-books it does, because I only buy DRM-free,
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I check the publisher because I know which houses publish genres I have absolutely no interest in reading. Other than that, I'm open to any publisher that has produced competently edited books in the past in the wide variety of genres I *do* want to read.
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Poll added by: Patrick
Comments (showing 1-50 of 105) (105 new)
message 1:
by
Sherri
(new)
Feb 14, 2011 04:41pm
Usually, if I notice a book is badly edited, I'll make a point to check the publisher. Often such books are from a vanity press or a pay-to-print outfit, and I like to know who they are so I can avoid them in the future.
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I say I rarely notice the publisher, but there is one exception to that - programming books. O'Reilly was a particular favorite. (And, no, I haven't cataloged all of my programming books.)
There is one publishing firm in particular that I've had terrible luck with (horrible, badly written books) and I try to avoid them now, even when I am seeing gushing reviews. They are just not for me.
There are a few publishers I really like but that is more because I follow my authors. I usually end up where ever one of my favorite authors books happens to be coming out at.
The Classic I am reading at the moment has a few confusing words and most of them have little astrixes next to them, so when you look down the page it gives you a meaning and when they talk about a book it gives you an author, a date that the book was written and whether or not it was a best seller. Which has interested me in read a couple more. The I am reading is published by ' barnes & noble classics'.
I don't always make a note of it. But I follow authors I like a bit so I end up noticing who they are with. I also shy away from publishers (if I notice in advance) with an agenda other than selling books. Inspirational publishers, as noted by the previous poster, is a case in point. I've recently started paying much more attention to self published authors, too. It's much harder to hear about them because most of them are not very good at marketing their own works, but there is often a jewel in the haystack and I like reading the success stories of self published authors. Long live Smashwords!
I've started looking at the publisher when I enter FirstReads giveaways. I'm only going for books from major publishing houses now.
Sherri wrote: "Usually, if I notice a book is badly edited, I'll make a point to check the publisher. Often such books are from a vanity press or a pay-to-print outfit, and I like to know who they are so I can a..."This also annoys me to no end. I don't know if I would entirly boycott them in the future.
I usually only take note of publishers for classics--Shakespeare, etc. Usually I pay attention if I'm looking for something more than just the text; I actually just today made special effort to find the Norton Critical Edition of The Scarlet Letter at the library because I knew there would be "extras" I'd want.
Maximum Ride wrote: "The Classic I am reading at the moment has a few confusing words and most of them have little astrixes next to them, so when you look down the page it gives you a meaning and when they talk about a..."B&N strikes a great balance between price and footnotes; they seem to be the middle ground between the Norton (which I highly, highly, highly recommend if you enjoy what B&N adds) and the standard trade paperbacks.
I never pay attention to that stuff. Most books I pick up are just because A. My friends suggested it to me or B. Its a new book or one I don't own by my favorite authors. (Alyson Noel, J.K Rowling, J.R.R Tolken, Nataski Tayiaki, and several others) Jeeze! Now look whatcha got me doing -browsing through Alyson Noels website on a separate browser- :P
As a librarian ordering books for our library I am very aware of publisher when it is for a Nonfic book. There are certain publishers I never order from. Ever. If I see a book, and it's an unfamiliar publisher I try to find more but typically will avoid it. However, as a reader I'll pick up everything that looks interesting from the library, assuming the librarian has already done that job for me.
When I first started reading historical romance and wasn't familiar with very many authors I always looked for the Zebra logo when browsing the bookstore.
The publisher isn't the issue. It's all about the author and the story, but of those two, it's about the story. What is it about, how well developed is the character/plot/storyline/scene development, etc., does it engross me from the very beginning, slow-paced, fast-paced, and last but by no means least, is it well written? A story has to grab me by the shoulders and shake me from the very start or I just never can get into it.
For the most part, it doesn't really matter to me what the publisher is. Sometimes, it I like the design, I'll make note of them. Also, I've been researching different publishers that accept work from ameteur writers... I've been looking for a long time and the only one that MIGHT accept such work is Littell, Brown. But I'm not even sure that they will. Any advice?
Halley wrote: "For the most part, it doesn't really matter to me what the publisher is. Sometimes, it I like the design, I'll make note of them. Also, I've been researching different publishers that accept work f..."An agent is likely to get your foot in the door quicker.
I like Vintage, Oxford University Classics and Modern Library Classics for their covers, design and overal feel and quality - including layout etc.I like American book editions for some reason... but mostly it depends on what goes on inside of course. If I have a choice though - say between Penguin, Oxford and Modern Library then I'll always ignore the black Penguins for one of the other two depending on price and whathaveyou.
For certain books, and if it is available I will buy the US edition over the British one. I have found that American books are much better put together - the spines do not crease at all unless you purposefully bend them back (and who would do that?!) and the look and feel of the text within is often just a lot better.
Book publishers are a sign of a book's basic quality. I thus follow some professional publishers, and avoid others - either youth-or-teen-oriented or plain bad publishers - altogether.
The publishers are important, but I read Victorian literature, so I look more for whether or not the work has been abridged and which version of the story they are printing. For example, I like the 1847 version of "Wuthering Heights" better than the 'improved' 1852 version.
I chose " I have a few publishers I especially like, but mostly I choose the book based on other criteria (story, author, etc.). " I chose this one because when it comes to classic novels, I do have a favorite publisher - Penguin - but I do sometimes choose other classics from another publisher (B&N if I'm shopping with them).
As for other genres, I really don't have any favorites when it comes to choosing books based solely on the publisher.
When a book is published by multiple publishers, I usually go with the edition with the best cover design. Penguin books often win my heart with this.I also especially love Harper Perennial books with PS section in the back.
Other than that, it's mostly the book content that concerns me.
I don't get how this matters. To those of you who have a preference...Will you not buy a book that was not published by your favorite companies? A deal breaker??
I check if anything happens with the publishing company...like LJ Smith was recently fired from HarperTeen because they wanted a different plot than her. That's when I noticed the publisher.
I have one or two publishers I avoid (their books are littered with spelling and grammar mistakes, and I refuse to believe they actually employ someone to check those things before publication - it's a small publisher), but other than that I almost never notice it.
I have some favorite publishers, publishers that create beautiful books. http://www.tarabooks.com/ is one of them. Normally, I pay attention to the story, author, etc. but I get a lot of pleasure from particularly beautiful books, especially when they publish books I'd like anyway. Edited to add: I think they're here at Goodreads too but I can't find them at the moment.
I make a note of the publisher in reference to the content of the book because as a writer it's good research practice to note which publisher is most likely to publish which type of writing style/genre.
Cassa wrote: "I usually only take note of publishers for classics--Shakespeare, etc. Usually I pay attention if I'm looking for something more than just the text; I actually just today made special effort to fin..."I agree; when there is more than one edition of a work, especially with classics, I am careful to purchase only the most thoroughly researched publisher, which is usually Norton Critical Editions. In the case of a translated work, I always read the translator's introduction, background, and methods before trusting their judgement. A translated work becomes as much a product of the translator as the original author, and I choose only those which stay as true to the original text as possible.
Halley wrote: "For the most part, it doesn't really matter to me what the publisher is. Sometimes, it I like the design, I'll make note of them. Also, I've been researching different publishers that accept work f..."Try Predators and Editors.com. They have a lot of good suggestions and helpful hints.
I'm switching more and more to ebooks and many of them are either self-published or published by tiny companies you never heard of. The only thing important to me is the story and how skillful the writer is in telling that story.
I pay attention to publishers mainly on SciFi/Fantasy books. I'm more likely to give a cheesy cover a try if it's from a publisher I trust.
The publisher makes no difference in regards to whether I would read something or not, but if it is badly edited, I do make a mental note of the editor/pub house. Though, I do like to look at agents, editors, and pub houses just out of curiosity since I started writing.
Tech books, always notice. Fiction, never paid much attention to it. Although with ebooks taking off and DRM issues plaguing it, I'm starting to notice it more and want to favor those publishers with more reasonable policies.
Honestly, the only time I notice is when it's St. Martins Press, but only because it's the name of my hometown.The only time it matters to me is if it's for a university research paper. Publishers matter then.
There are certain publishers I just won't read. I found this interesting sounding scifi book, but when I saw that it was published by Bethany House,I changed my mind about reading it. The same author has other interesting books published by Bethany House so I won't read them.
I have decided that Europa Editions select excellent books for publication. that said they are not easily found so I recently ordered a boxful from Amazon. Unfortunately, the poll only shows me the results and will not allow my voting. My choice would be... I have a few I notice
i sometimes even forget the publisher is there, like it doesnt even interest me. i do notice the author, title of book, and the cover, but never do i check who the publisher is, when it was published, or where it was published. i only check there if i have to, like for a report or research paper or something.
