Meliha Avdic's Blog - Posts Tagged "reviews"
Fighting the First Page Judgement
We've had the whole 'Don't judge a book by its cover' and we've agreed that book covers are important because they are like a shop window - a person my just walk past your shop and if they like what they see in the window, the display you've made which in some way reflects what you sell inside, then they might just come into your shop. But, if they do not like what they see in the window, they will not come into your shop, and, of course, if they do not come in there is no way for them to know what you sell and if they like any of your things. However, this is where the similarity between a book and a shop end, because a shop sells different items where as a book is one item; you can not choose to buy chapter nine, but leave chapter four and fifteen. It is all or nothing.
Lately I've noticed another issue related to judging books - first page. Many people claim that they read the first page and decide if the book is any good or not. It seems that, as a result, many writers try too hard over the first page. This might have the opposite effect to what they strive for - instead of luring the reader, they might put people off by trying too hard. On the other hand, the first page might be great, while the rest of the book is not. Also, as someone on twitter pointed out, the writer might let someone else write the first page for them. I see this as a problem. Personally, when I'm considering a book I like to read the back cover and few random pages inside the book. If I find I like what I see, I will get the book. However, Amazon, and other sites that sell e-books do not offer the reader a choice. We can not choose to read pages 20-25, then pages 70-73 and pages 137-140, total 10-15% of the whole book. We only get 10-20% from the beginning of the book. I think it's time we tried to change this. What do you think?
Lately I've noticed another issue related to judging books - first page. Many people claim that they read the first page and decide if the book is any good or not. It seems that, as a result, many writers try too hard over the first page. This might have the opposite effect to what they strive for - instead of luring the reader, they might put people off by trying too hard. On the other hand, the first page might be great, while the rest of the book is not. Also, as someone on twitter pointed out, the writer might let someone else write the first page for them. I see this as a problem. Personally, when I'm considering a book I like to read the back cover and few random pages inside the book. If I find I like what I see, I will get the book. However, Amazon, and other sites that sell e-books do not offer the reader a choice. We can not choose to read pages 20-25, then pages 70-73 and pages 137-140, total 10-15% of the whole book. We only get 10-20% from the beginning of the book. I think it's time we tried to change this. What do you think?
