New Poll: As a book reader, do you care about who published it?
Posted by pumpupyourbook on October 27, 2009
I had a girl at work yesterday who is a voracious reader (she has no TV so reading is her life) tell me about a book she was reading which absolutely sucked. Now this woman is not picky but she judges a book by the usual reader qualities like whether it captures her attention and is entertaining – the usual things one who reads books for enjoyment and pleasure usually look for.
The woman stood there, shaking her head. “The characters didn’t even start speaking until a third of the way through the book,” she said. “I don’t know. I just wasn’t getting into it.”
Out of curiosity, I asked her who the author was. “June something. I can’t really remember,” she said.
Frankly, I’m surprised she even remembered that much. If it were Nora Roberts (her favorite), the name would have rolled off her tongue in a heartbeat.
I’ve often asked her who were the authors of the books she was reading and oftentimes she can’t remember. Now I’m thinking…if she represents a certain percentage of readers out there, and she can’t remember the names of the authors who wrote all these books she’s reading, I’m almost 100% sure she’s not going to pay attention to who published it.
Authors, on the other hand, do pay attention because they store this information in their heads for when they go to publish their own books.
But, book readers? I had someone tell me recently that she goes more by the book cover than she does the publisher and she reviews quite a few books professionally online.
So, with that all said, I have a poll I’d like you to check out. I’m curious. Do you check out who published the book? Or not?
After you have voted, leave a comment below to tell us why. Your comment may be used in a future blog post. Thank you!
J.W. Nicklaus said
As a reader I have never cared who published a book. I knew what authors I liked, and I can admit I’ve bought a few books because the cover intrigued me. But
Conversely, if the book is crappy, I’m curious as to who published it, but that’s solely out of curiosity, and certainly doesn’t affect a buying decision either way.
April said
Just voted! Great idea for a poll, Dorothy!
Natalie Acres said
This is a great poll, Dorothy. I’m one who searches for a publisher when buying books. I’m anxious to see your end results.
Best wishes,
Natalie Acres
pumpupyourbook said
I don’t want to sway anyone either way but before I got into the book biz and before I became published myself, I never looked at who published it because simply I didn’t know anything about the book world in that regards. Since becoming published and having all these wonderful books land in my lap, I am more aware of who the publisher is. Not that it makes any difference to me who published it as long as it was a good book.
Celise said
I’m a YA writer and just like you mentioned, heck yeah we’re going to remember who published it. As a reader, I could care less. And why should the reader care who published it? The publisher didn’t write the book. The person listed on the cover did. The only thing I’m going to care about is how hot the guy on the cover looks. Oh, and the back cover blurb,too.
Serena (Savvy Verse & Wit) said
I have checked who publishes a book before, not that it influences me one way or another…so, I’m not sure why I do it…really.
Nyssa said
I always look at who publishes it. Part of it is for reviewing (Ohh such and such published that, I can get it for free to review! *evil grin), but also the publishing house/imprint has it’s own tastes. Voyager Australia is still very big with epic fantasy, whereas other publishers aren’t publishing it so much anymore. Voyager is also testing the waters with urban fantasy/paranormal romance, where if you are already a fan of the sub-genre you’d see more published by Ace or Gollancz Australia.
Cara Powers said
I only started to when I decided to learn about publishing companies and imprints. Now, unless the imprint is huge, I don’t usually look until after I read a book. The only time it’s ever really mattered to me was when my father’s coworker passed her book out. I was only impressed after I learned she’d gotten a hardcover to a trade paperback deal with a major NYC house. On blog reviews, I always skip over the publishing information along with the page number.
Christa Allan said
Until I started writing books myself, I never looked for the imprint or cared. At the time, I knew so little about publishers, the imprint would not have meant much.
Now I look because I’m curious as to who’s publishing what, but if the cover and first page suck me in…I still don’t care who’s publishing it!