Venting -- Anyone else fooled by good eBook Sample?

[Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)]

Is it just me or is anyone else downloading or reading online a sample of a book that they liked, get the thing and durn if the rest of it doesn't read like a completely different book? I've had about 15 samples that did that to me. I know one of the differences between an experienced/good author is carrying plot/world/characters thru a whole book or series keeping the reader's interest but sheesh! Do they (or publisher if not self-published) pay an editor to re-work the first chapter? Maybe an editor auditions for the job by re-working first chapter and gets totally ripped off? Or maybe marketing and advanced readers convince them to add or move more of the interesting stuff to front so it will be in sample? Grrr...sorry to rant but just wasted my time on a very long drawn out book (well got almost halfway) after investing in the character I read in sample only to have her completely turn into a Mary Sue thing with the male equivalent as her love interest and all the plot turning into them being wonderful to each other with one wonderful completely understanding thing happening after another).

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer)]

That is a huge bummer when that happens!

I actually stopped getting samples of books. I use to but I would find the same thing would happen, either the book would be different (for the good or bad) or I just found myself not reading the samples and getting the books anyway based on reviews.

Sorry that happened so many times to you! What a disappointment.

[Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)]

At least this last one was one of the self published under $1 ones (I do know to be cautious about those and they usually don't have a lot of reviews other than ones that sound like they were written by the author and their best buds -- that's why I sample those). I have pretty much stopped sampling now too (well maybe for a new author or one with very confusing reviews, so far I am having better luck with helpful reviews on goodreads than on book seller sites) but in between real reading I am trying to get thru my past samples. *sigh* oh well, February should see the arrival of some pre-orders from some favorite authors and then I'll perk back up.

[June]

Wow. I didn't realize this was so prevalent. I found it happened to me once when I bought a cheap Nook book. After hearing your story, I'm going to be careful! Thanks for the tip.

[Michelle]

June wrote: "Wow. I didn't realize this was so prevalent. I found it happened to me once when I bought a cheap Nook book. After hearing your story, I'm going to be careful! Thanks for the tip."

I didn't either! I know I've turned down *a lot* of books from reading the sample, but I've never found a misleading sample. It wouldn't surprise me if this is becoming more common, however.

Oftentimes, editors charge by the word (mine does, anyway), so it's possible that some authors are either hiring out for their first chapter or simply working that first chapter to death.

That's really disappointing :( I hope this doesn't discourage anyone from trying an unknown author! I've had some very disappointing reads from new writers, but at the same time, I've found some really marvelous ones!

[Clare K. R.]

Oh, how frustrating! That hasn't happened to me but I've mostly been reading free classics on my Kindle--I'm trying to read through my paper stash first! And I've been so thrilled with the idea of sampling, thinking it will help me weed out the books I don't want to read (since I've read so many that had rave reviews and I just didn't like).

I guess people are taking the idea of grabbing you with the first chapter or sample too far.

[Renee]

i purchased Darkfever by Karen Moning for .99 on my Nook and was totally hooked, then the rest of hte series was over $7 for each book... so i read the "free" ones from the local library (hehe)

[Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)]

Renee wrote: "i purchased Darkfever by Karen Moning for .99 on my Nook and was totally hooked, then the rest of hte series was over $7 for each book... so i read the "free" ones from the local library (hehe)"

Me too (actually I think it was free at one time for kindle and I was curious because kept seeing followup volumes in bookstore displays); uh oh; hope we're not holding up each other's eholds. Actually I'll probably buy a couple but not the entire series.

[Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)]

I have discovered some good ones and some good independent authors; not all stinkers. It's just particularly frustrating that they can do a good sample but not put same effort into a good book. And I was trying to clean some samples off my kindle in between books I wanted to read. Had to vent because hit same problem way too much.

Not just the editing; I mean there's editing and there's proofreading for grammer/spelling/etc. I would think you could get some advanced readers or local English teachers or someone to cheaply at least check for the typo and ungrammatical crap.

[Michelle]

Deborah wrote: "Not just the editing; I mean there's editing and there's proofreading for grammer/spelling/etc. I would think you could get some advanced readers or local English teachers or someone to cheaply at least check for the typo and ungrammatical crap. "

So true! Not many people understand how editing goes beyond fixing spelling errors. Good editors aren't cheap, but they are *so* important.

I don't taking a risk on a $.99 book that has a nice blurb and some good reviews to back it up. I do, however, get cranky when a book is misrepresented!