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Amazon Look Inside Feature
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Kelly
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Mar 19, 2014 08:28AM
Love it or hate it?
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As an author, I'm indifferent. As a reader, it's definitely helpful and is the key factor that determines my purchase.
Sometimes when I get negative reviews, I wonder if they even bothered to read the preview before buying it, lol. As a reader I like it though :)
Thanks for replying, Ken. Wondering, as an author, you don't mind that they publish some strange assortment of 80-ish pages of your book and give away a good chunk of your "intellectual property"? And, as a reader, why is it a key factor for you, please? Do you typically read the whole shebang or just enough to get a feel for the voice, etc.
Kelly, if you write shorter books it is not 80 pages, it is a percentage of the book, so maybe from the reader's perspective it has the advantage of encouraging shorter books and less appendices (which increase the amount of the main text in the sample). I give away much larger samples at Smashwords than Amazon or other retailers show.As a potential buyer, if it is a long sample and the writing is enough to make me think that I might buy then I will read to the end of the sample, in case my opinion changes. If it is poor writing then I will give up quickly and not buy it. If I cannot read some of the author's intellectual property, then I will not even consider a free download.
Thanks! This is all very helpful for me!
Kelly, as I understand it, you can set the sample amount for the look inside feature on Amazon, unless they have changed that too.As to giving away intellectual property, no, the writer is not. Just because you give a sample, does not mean the person reading the sample has the authority to use that sample in any manner they choose. Other than fair use for reviews or such. This is much better than giving away freebies which means you are exposing all the intellectual property to a single book, and much easier to pirate...
Besides, give 10 authors 20,000 word sample, from the middle of a story and you are going to get 10 different starts and finishes.
Now, as a reader, I will not buy a book unless I got to sample at least 5 pages, and I prefer the first five page. Why? Because I want to see if I like the writers style. That does not mean I will end up enjoying the book all the way through, but I at least know the writer has grabbed my interest to start with.
The only exception is word of mouth from friends I trust who know what I like, or reviews from publications I trust. Some unknown blogger raving about a book I have never heard is not going to get me excited.
As a reader I love it, and it has saved me money on a number of occasions. Books are of such varying quality these days I always read the first few pages now to get an idea of the author's writing style and to see if there are any glaring typos, grammatical errors.
Kelly wrote: "Thanks for replying, Ken. Wondering, as an author, you don't mind that they publish some strange assortment of 80-ish pages of your book and give away a good chunk of your "intellectual property"? ..."I don't see it any differently than picking up a physical book in a bookstore and browsing through a few pages. You can set the percentage (I think the default is 10%).
As a reader, I use it primarily as a determinant of quality. I don't pay much attention to book covers or blurbs.
We like it, both as readers and writers, and for the same reasons as @A.W. and @Ken above.And one other reason as readers--sometimes the reviews on Amazon are ... useless. Would rather read the first bit and make our own decision. Usually fairly easy to tell by page three or four if the story/style is a good fit.
I rarely consider reviews, so I use the Look Inside feature the same way as I'd browse print books at a book shop.As an author I like the Look Inside feature and I miss it on other retail website, where you can only download a sample, instead of reading part of the book in your browser window.
One of the reasons I like it is because I know that if people read the samples from my books, I'm pretty confident they will buy the book to know what happens after the sample.
The main problem is getting readers to try and read the sample at all--there are so many books published that it's difficult to get readers to spend their time reading your sample.
Martyn V wrote, (The main problem is getting readers to try and read the sample at all--there are so many books published that it's difficult to get readers to spend their time reading your sample.)Bingo. This is the biggest problem for books today, too many books and not enough readers, especially those in the e-reading category.
Oh sure, millions of e-readers have been sold, but the amount of books published have also increased. You would think having variety to choose from would please readers, and for the most part it does, but in the end, they stick with what they are comfortable with...
Nick wrote: "Bingo. This is the biggest problem for books today, too many books and not enough readers, especially those in the e-reading category."Which is why I'm pleased with the Look Inside feature and encourage anyone who is interested in my fiction to check the sample and see for themselves if my book is worth their time and money.
I'm confident it does (if you enjoy suspense fiction), but I prefer to have the sample convince people.
OK, Martyn, I give in ... ha!ha! ... I am going to sample your book now even though I made a vow to never again read a novel with a feisty female cop in it.
Sophie wrote: "OK, Martyn, I give in ... ha!ha! ... I am going to sample your book now even though I made a vow to never again read a novel with a feisty female cop in it."My books feature a not-all-that-feisty-but-downright-dangerous female freelance assassin. Expect to be surprised. Oh, and read this, before you shove any money my way...
Started REPROBATE,Martyn, and to my everlasting surprise - am hooked. What is more I shall be recommending your books on my FB Reading group tomorrow. Fine writing, oodles of atmosphere, plenty of action and tension and WHAT A CHARACTER. A female assassin. Surely a first?
Sophie wrote: "Surely a first?"You mean your surprise? Actually, I did a Read It & Reap where some reviewers hadn't read the blurb, which made for some amusing reviews:
"Books about a female professional assassin is not my usual cup of tea but I enjoyed this novel more than I expected"..."This book surprised me. I actually accidentally signed up to read it for free for an honest review, because the idea of reading about a female assassin heroine was not something that interested me. I like my good guys to be good and I have never been the fan of the anti-hero. Yet, I found myself really liking Katla."..."I really wanted not to like Katla/Loki. I really wanted to think that a story about an assassin, entirely amoral—yes, a reprobate in the truest sense of the word—would be so disquieting that it would leave me wanting no more. Instead, I found that Katla was likeable—not lovable—but, likeable and that though she lived by no code that would be readily recognized by most, she was able to—and indeed did—have her own vulnerabilities and feelings for others that helped to make her “human.” As I made my way through, I realized that not only was I enjoying Katla’s story, but that I would be interested in following Katla further."
I really enjoy something like that, winning people over who enter with trepidation and become fans of the series.
I hope you enjoy Reprobate as much as I enjoyed writing my books.
Sophie wrote: "What is more I shall be recommending your books on my FB Reading group tomorrow..."If the group is interested, I'm also available for Q&A or interviews--although I be hard-pressed to reveal how Katla became an assassin or how Bram became blind...
;)
Maybe I will interview you, Martyn. I have done two Goodreads interviews but the icing on the cake was last week when I was interviewed for the Guardian!!! Scary!!!
Sophie wrote: "...the icing on the cake was last week when I was interviewed for the Guardian!!! Scary!!!"Wow, congrats!
I found the articles in the Guardian always a bit skewed against self-publishing... what do you think?
Do you have a link for the interview?
Not out yet, Martin. And it is not about self publishing. (I have a publisher)
It is about another aspect of my (long) life ...
It is about another aspect of my (long) life ...
Sophie wrote: "Not out yet, Martin. And it is not about self publishing. (I have a publisher)It is about another aspect of my (long) life ..."
Ah, okay. Well, let me know when you're featured!
I won't part with any money for a book unless I've had the opportunity to sample the writer's style. This is the problem with book reviews in the newspaper - it might sound like just the sort of book you'd like to read, but then you discover the writer's style is not to your taste. For a short while one of our newspapers included the first paragraph of the book with the review. I found that most useful.
Everyone seems to be talking about fiction books. I use reviews for fiction more than look inside.But for Non-fiction, the chapters listed and any other details definitely affect my buying decision. A book that sounds perfect vs. one that sounds OK for the subject will not get my money if a read inside is not available.
Sometimes I will send myself a text and the next time I'm in the bookstore I will look at it, but by then I have probably already bought the one with the look inside feature.
