Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizla
Only in the short-term. A disappointed reader may not come back.
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The problem is that the stats do not tell you WHY the person stopped reading and whether or not said reader went on to read another book (Kobo may know this internally on a per account basis). For example, surely, many of those buying Gone Girl did so because they "heard of it" or the movie. They might not be regular readers. So you don't gain a lot of info other than "lots didn't finish."
I've also learned from being in this business that there are chronic book buyers who rarely read. There are actually book buyers who buy six to ten books a month and perhaps read one. They are "sales hunters" whose actual hobby seems closer to shopping than reading. There are quite a few of these people and Amazon took advantage of that sales type when the Kindle was popular. Amazon encouraged and marketed 99 cent books like crazy, targeting (intentionally or otherwise) people who were scooping up bargains.
That's not to say your point is invalid. Plenty of readers who are disappointed in a marketing tactic (be it a book they don't like, a pricing strategy, etc) may not come back. I've seen readers complain they paid for a book only to have it go free two months later and deride the author/publisher. They might not come back.
I think that is why the industry talks so much about building a brand and loyal audience. There's casual buyers that might help a book just because the book is visible. But eventually, there are going to have to be readers--and lots of them--to keep enough buyers coming back for a second, third and so on. Otherwise that series/author is going to have a hard time.
These stats don't help so much with the longevity of a book, but even with errors can show what genres people are buying and reading. For me, wearing my marketing hat, it might mean I'm more likely to market my fantasy books in a particular country and my mystery books in a different country. Of course, my marketing is not that sophisticated, but there is some generally good info in the charts.