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Originally Posted by Moejoe
I think only a mod can modify the poll. So if there's one around, could you please insert Columbus's suggestion.  |
added.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonist
Marketing works: for books, just like for everything else. Whether you are aware of it, or not....
I read Harry Potter because of marketing. I also read The Da Vinci Code (and felt like I had to take a shower afterwards - it was so badly written and constructed, and pandering.)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moejoe
I never said "it didn't work" I asked if it swayed your book purchasing decisions. Marketing does work in that it makes you aware of a product/book, but it can also have the exact opposite effect than is intended. The marketing for Harry Potter turned me away from the book, rather than toward it, same for DaVinci. So in those cases it had the opposite effect on me. I was made aware of both but also turned away by the very same marketing.
It's one of the reasons I used to love buying from Second-hand and charity shops. The books were quite often jumbled up together and there was an element of discovery in the process - reading a few pages, the blurb, being attracted to the cover. Sadly, my favorite second-hand bookshop closed down (I also miss sitting down with the owner for a chat and a cup of tea).
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i tend not to pay attention to marketing in general. i've seen very few "blockbuster" films and i don't follow the best-seller lists at all or read the reviews. i find new authors via recommendations from friends, following the chain of authors who inspired other authors i already like (someone else mentioned that), and pure chance ; i like to browse the stacks in the library / bookshop and read the back covers to get an idea for what the book is about and if it looks good i'll try it out (although i'm less likely to buy a totally unknown author ; i'd rather try them from the library first, in case i don't like them, unless it's a used book and really cheap). i've discovered a lot of authors i love by accident ; either in the library (no risk !) or checking out a friend's books.
of course, part of this is because a large portion of what i like to read is really old stuff, so there aren't any reviews being published and they're not on any best-seller lists.
but hype usually puts me off something. i haven't read the da vinci code (nor do i intend to), and although i did read the harry potter series, i was totally uninterested in it for years despite hearing about it from countless people (and in the media). i finally did read it the year of the big heat wave in paris, when it was so bleeding hot that you couldn't move, or turn on any appliances, or expect any neurones to work properly. a friend of mine's daughter lent me her books (there were several of them already by that time) and they turned out to be just the ticket to get through the blistering, mind-numbing heat. i'm not sure i would have read them at all, otherwise.