I’ve recently started diving into publishing as a hobby/side gig. It got me to see the other side of things when it comes to books, and it’s quite the craziness.

The first thing I came to realize is how much I rely on word of mouth to select my books. Things like ads, author interviews and usual marketing stuff means nothing to me. But if I see a book listed in a post when searching for a specific genre or topic, or a friend recommends it to me, it almost always immediatly goes to my reading list.

So as I focus on getting my story published and read, I wonder if I should invest in anything other than word of mouth.

So, I wanted to hear from you guys. How do you usually put a book on your radar? How would you like to discover new books?

  • lwgrs@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Usually word of mouth - but that can be either from people I know (friends, fellow online people), or sometimes it might be buzz from the media. Usually that’s in the form of CBC’s Canada Reads. I don’t often pick things up based on retailer suggestions.

  • kCNrnHcEkvqdtLCQoQbK@sopuli.xyz
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    1 year ago

    Having the book available through an early reviewers program (that’s how I’ve discovered a couple of author I didn’t know of), having the book on sale (there are many sites which pick on books that are on sale) or promoting the book through social media (TikTok seems to be very popular right now).

    • altz3r0@beehaw.orgOP
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      1 year ago

      Oh yes, that has caught me once or twice too! Was not a bad experience, though, proving the old saying wrong!

  • Kamirose@beehaw.orgM
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    1 year ago

    Mostly word of mouth and reading online reviews. r/suggestmeabook and r/weirdlit were great resources for me as well.

    Since I primarily read via the library, I’m not really worried about “wasting money” on books I wind up not liking, so I can be more adventurous with reading new authors I’m not sure about.

  • MiddleWeigh@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Word of mouth, NPR interviews/segments, or if I flip through it and I vibe with what little I can skim. Also if it’s non fiction and especially historical non fiction about something I’m interested in I’ll def read it.

    A good portion of my library is hand me downs from my in-laws. Luckily they are really cool people and have good taste.

  • Audalin@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    When I see a book mentioned enough times in contexts generally aligning with my tastes (also depends on how much I trust the context: an ad will have near-zero impact, a direct recommendation from a close friend will have high impact, for a review it depends), I decide to give it a try.

    As for your situation, you’d benefit from having a reviewer with good taste and solid reputation. It might be quite a challenge, but it’s probably worth it once you’ve made sure your book doesn’t suffer from trivial flaws. Or, if it’s just a hobby, you might choose not to bother, or to have more practice first.

  • emptyother@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Short-stories is how I discover new authors right now. Either through a collection or free on the web.