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View Poll Results: What is your #1 method of ebook discovery? | |||
I browse book covers, and if it grabs me I investigate further | 22 | 6.98% | |
I browse paper books at brick and mortar bookstores, then search for the ebook online | 11 | 3.49% | |
Recommendations from fellow readers on online forums, blogs, message boards | 82 | 26.03% | |
Personal friend/family member recommends it to me | 13 | 4.13% | |
I look first for my favorite authors | 56 | 17.78% | |
I read free ebooks, and if I like the author I buy their other titles | 18 | 5.71% | |
I browse randomly then look at reviews | 26 | 8.25% | |
I'll sample anything, and if it grabs me I'll download/buy it | 12 | 3.81% | |
Bestseller lists for my favorite genres/topics | 16 | 5.08% | |
Retailer recommendations (incl "people who bought this bought that") | 16 | 5.08% | |
Reviews/recommendations from traditional media (newpapers, television, magazines) | 11 | 3.49% | |
Other (please elaborate in comments!) | 32 | 10.16% | |
Voters: 315. You may not vote on this poll |
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09-23-2011, 12:37 AM | #61 | |||||
Grand Sorcerer
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As a reader, I notice the lack of ability to find stuff I'd like a lot more than poor-quality formatting of what I get. (And the stuff that irritates me the most--lack of page breaks before chapter headings, lack of formatting for indents/quote sections--are likely to stay, because they indicate an uploader who flat-out wasn't paying attention to any of the specs.) Quote:
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However, I do think we're rapidly getting to a point of general awareness of & competence with ePub that not being able to submit download-ready files will set Smashwords up to be another "early groundbreaker that couldn't keep up with tech changes." |
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09-23-2011, 04:49 AM | #62 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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09-23-2011, 07:04 AM | #63 |
Writer
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In spite of all of the changes, I think it's still recommendations. The difference, of course, is that I live in a world of instant gratification. A friend can recommend something on FB or Goodreads, I'll see it a minute later, and two minutes after that I can be reading the book.
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09-23-2011, 10:21 AM | #64 | ||||
Chasing Butterflies
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I'm seriously considering hiring someone to do the Smashwords formatting for me, because I just don't want the headache. I know, I KNOW, that the first cut that I do won't work the way I want it to, and it's going to be a major point of frustration for me.
In the meantime, I will be published on Amazon and B&N and my blog, and I hope the Smashwords shoppers will be patient with me. But I am SUPER anal about formatting and links and TOCs being correct in my work, and not thrilled at the process of forcing it through, well, a meat grinder!! Quote:
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If Smashwords ISN'T checking to see if the converted epub validates, then the "upload crappy epub that won't work" issue is just the same as an author uploading a crappy Word document that will RESULT in a crappy epub that won't work. I agree. If Smashwords can't keep up with changing technology -- both in the uploading sense AND in the search engine sense -- it's a dying market. |
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09-23-2011, 03:34 PM | #65 |
Padawan Learner
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I know "All of the above" is a less than helpful response in regard to this poll, even if it is truthful (in my case).
I do find that recommendations, message boards, etc. are a GREAT way to find out about books I otherwise would have never noticed. (It's easy to go find the stuff you know you already like.) Discoverability is the huge issue for ebooks: There is still is no replacement for the serendipity of in-store physical book browsing. I see a huge opportunity for a "Smashboards" community that serves a similar function to Kindleboards, Library Thing and all of the other social book communities -- message boards, tagging, recommendations etc., directly tied to Smashwords, to make the site and community more sticky. Now, Smashwords is pretty dependent on other boards, blogs, etc. to drive traffic to the site -- adding a community effect really enhances the experience. Mark: I know one of Smashwords's big bonuses is not being format specific and DRM-free -- what would you recommend as a generic, "best-cheapest" ebook reader? (Best value in terms of price, durability, usability, etc. -- and ignoring the issue of DRM since you can read all of Smashwords, Baen, Gutenburg, etc. without DRM). I see Smashwords as having an opportunity to heavily promote DRM-free ebook reading by partnering with one or more "generic reader" manufacturers, actively lobbying more and more established authors to get their backlists up, and using that combination to leverage more awareness of Smashwords for potential ebook converts -- I'd love to see the day when Smashwords is discussed as frequently as Amazon and B&N -- great company, great service, really fair business dealings all the way around. |
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09-23-2011, 03:59 PM | #66 |
Grand Sorcerer
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I use all sort of approaches, but often I read for leisure what a friend recommends: better informed than me and with a larger tbr list. With the advantage of enlarging my horizon.
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09-23-2011, 04:49 PM | #67 |
Addict
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Since I've got at least two dozen bookmarks on books/series of books/authors I want to check out due to recommendations from forums and blogs I went with that.
But I still like to browse a bookstore every now and then. Problem with that is that I prefer to read English books in original language and the English books sections here are rather limited. |
09-24-2011, 10:46 PM | #68 |
whimsical
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09-26-2011, 09:42 AM | #69 |
Scholar
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I simply search MobileRead.coms forums for the overall subject, such as "recommended fantasy" or "scifi", and see what people recommend..
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09-26-2011, 02:20 PM | #70 |
Lowlife of the Party
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This is kind of a tough one to answer. If I break down my last 10 purchases, it works out to this:
Search for a favorite author: 3 Personal friend recommendation: 2 Online community recommendation: 2 Traditional media review: 1 Retailer recommendation: 1 Other: 1 (The "other" is a book I read about halfway through more than a decade ago on paper and decided to try again with an ebook. I honestly can't remember why I chose it in the first place.) Personal recommendations and favorite authors tend to influence my reading choices more than anything else, but it's not a wide margin. There's one quibble about this poll: what about online communities that consist of a mixture of personal friends and online-only acquaintances? On Goodreads my "friend" list is just about equally split between people I know personally and people I know exclusively online. I take all their recommendations into account, and I know where their taste tends to mesh with my own. There's no room on this poll for places like Facebook and Goodreads, etc. Last edited by kezza; 09-26-2011 at 02:25 PM. |
09-26-2011, 04:47 PM | #71 | |
Addict
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Bergette Last edited by bshar489; 09-26-2011 at 04:49 PM. Reason: forgot to mention |
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09-26-2011, 10:36 PM | #72 |
Evangelist
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I think the best books that I have discovered outside of my local libraries is *ahem* less-legitimate sites comments and collections. I'm not trying to advocate it, however the absence of limitations in regard to format/pricing/region/publishing etc; it all seems to result in pretty diverse and non-bias discussion/collections. GoodReads too, but it's a bit tedious to find similar minded folks.
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09-26-2011, 11:06 PM | #73 |
Guru
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I voted bestseller lists, but I look at all sorts of lists, especially awards. If you want to find some great science fiction, for example, look at the history of the Nebula and Hugo awards. The nominees as well as the winners. Every genre has its own annual awards. Plus, of course, pulizters, national book awards, man booker prize, etc. Wikipedia usually has everything you'd want for any given award.
We all, apparently, use most of the poll's methods. A fun question might be, which method do you NOT use to discover new books? |
09-27-2011, 04:47 AM | #74 |
Guru
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I rely mostly on readers' reviews.
But also on lists from blogs and big retailers. For example, i built my SF TBR stack looking for every "the best SF novels of all time list" I found, and choosing the ones which made all the "best of" lists... I ended with 53 novels, and I bought 5 of them by now. |
09-27-2011, 07:21 AM | #75 |
Wizard
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i should have chosen "other". i don't use a single method - i use "more like this" recommendations, forum recommendations, browse randomly and then read the reviews and i download free ebooks and then if i like 'em, i buy more of that author or series. i use 'em all. heck, sometimes i'll just go to a category and check out the highest rated books, reading the reviews.
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