After being in it for 20 years or more, near as I can tell, a key decision point for prospective readers is having *others* tell them they need to read XYZ book. That seems most persuasive.

Forget the book design, the concept, the blurb, the genre, the story itself -- what draws people to actually buy seems to be seeing others talk about XYZ book. Without that, there's nothing.

For all of the breathless canards around word-of-mouth, the simple act of others talking about a book draws most people in. Few are willing to take the "risk" of reading an unknown author.

Which is sort of ironic, given that traditional publishers these days rarely promote the authors in their stables, leaving it to the authors themselves to toot their own horns.

However, the *perception* of a writer being stabled with a given publisher is perhaps enough to persuade those timid souls to purchase their books.

Failing that, only very few will risk it on an indie author. That's been my experience, anyway.

I'm more sad than bitter these days, I guess.