Well, I thought I'd take the opportunity while my internet connection is actually working to write something here. It's been unreliable to say the least. Yesterday on my way back from the metropolis of London, I stopped by WH Smiths in Waterloo station and resisted the temptation (to which I normally succumb) to buy two or more books because of the 'BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE' offer.
Instead I stood fixedly looking at them for half an hour and decided that there are a lot of very good writers out there and some really interesting and wackily titled books!
One is All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye by Christopher Brookmyre which is a great title for a book. It comes from a saying which apparently originates from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging." Everything else was allowed. The only way to be disqualified was to poke someone's eye out. Fascinating, but I'm not sure how this relates to the book itself, as I've not read it.
Another book I thought looked interesting was the Yes Man by Danny Wallace. I loved the concept. A man learns to say yes more and his life changes. I know how that feels. The last one was Saving Samantha, an autobiographical story which looked heart rending.
I haven't read any of these books, because I'm re-reading Empire of the Sun at the moment for work, so I'm not recommending them. What I am saying is that they are the ones that grabbed my attention most and they got me thinking about the importance of a good title, an interesting concept and an emotional pull. And that's just from the cover and the blurb.
How do readers decide which book to buy? I look at the cover, the blurb, the first paragraph, sometimes a little bit into the novel and also I see whether the book has won any prizes. I also go on personal recommendation, if I think the person making the recommendation has the same tastes as me.
But in a book shop alone, marketability is a big thing, so what makes a sale?
What do you go for? I guess we're talking about commercial appeal.
While surfing the net and the world of blogs, I came across an interesting post - it gives an insight into what commercial viability means, as defined by a literary agent. Follow the link below to read it:
Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency's post
