I love you, I really do, because you’re one of only a few e-pubs that I trust with my money, and your covers don’t suck great big hairy donkey balls, because you have talented divas like April Martinez at your disposal.
BUT… for the love of God, you need to change your excerpts policy!
You know how in trailers, you generally see the best bits of a film, which is usually what entices you to shell out your hard earned money to go to the cinema? Well, don’t you wanna adopt that same policy with the excerpts on your website?
Most people know that the first chapter in a book isn’t always going to be the best advertisement for the book, so why the hell do you make your authors submit the excerpts that start at the beginning of the book, rather than at a pivotal point?
I’m not talking about giving away key plots and such like, but you could at least make sure that the heroine and the hero are together in the excerpts that you post? Know what I mean?
Anyway, I’d be very grateful if you could ask your authors to submit decent excerpts, so that I’m enticed enough to buy your books, because right now, those ‘First Chapter’ excerpts aren’t doing anything for me whatsoever.
Yours sincerely
Karen Scott
L.E. Bryce
January 13
9:18 am
It’s usually not the authors who decide on the excerpts, but the publishers.
Nonny
January 13
9:39 am
Not sure I entirely agree. I’ve read books where the excerpt was from something interesting in the middle, but gave the book five or so chapters and it was a complete DNF. I’ve had this happen several times.
I’ve rarely been disappointed by a book that grabbed me strongly at the beginning (although it has happened; there’s always exceptions).
To each their own. π
Angela James
January 13
1:51 pm
Funny you post this because for the books I edit, I almost always post the first chapter of books and I do that because of feedback from readers. Like Nonny posted above, many readers have said that they want to be able to read the beginning of the book to feel out the writing, like piking up the book in the bookstore and opening to the first page, not see one of the very best bits in the middle that’s random and might not even represent the whole book, with no opportunity to see how it starts out. Plus, quite often authors will put other, random excerpts on their websites.
Taking a page (no pun intended) from Amazon’s “send a sample” to your Kindle, which allows readers to read anything from one to three chapters, I’m going to disagree with you, Karen, and say that while you might prefer not to see the beginning of the book, it’s a better sales tool than a random excerpt.
Treva Harte
January 13
2:12 pm
Theoretically, mind you, if a reader isn’t going to be interested in the first few pages, they aren’t going to keep reading to see where the good stuff might be.
Darragha
January 13
2:19 pm
Karen, I’ll post this link with the LSB PTB and goodness knows, they are nothing if not accommodating. Good folks.
If you’d like any of my excerpts, just let me know. I’ll send you the wicked, the dirty, the naughty, the startling, the profound. Oh…wait…yes, I am talking about my books…yes, I am…
Jody Wallace
January 13
2:27 pm
What types of stuff do you want to see from the middle of the book? Maybe excerpts like that are on the author sites?
As a reader I prefer to test the beginning of the book. Especially because the mid story excerpt is almost always a sex scene. Of course, a couple pages of rumpy pumpy aren’t as much of a spoiler as a plot scene, because who’s going to be shocked when the protagonists in a Liquid Silver book end up getting busy? π
Darragha
January 13
2:33 pm
Characters ride the hobby horse in Liquid Silver Books? Really? Rumpy pumpy. Darr likes!
As an author, I try to keep the sex pages unpredictable. A little here, a little there. Spread the love, yanno? Up until the grandiose magic-vagina-saves-the-world-ending, of course.
Karen Scott
January 13
3:51 pm
The thing is, in a book store, I’ll usually read the first page first, but that’s because I have the option to skip to the middle if I choose to. You don’t get that option in an ebook. Scenes where the characters aren’t even together or haven’t met yet drive me crazy, and and this is more likely to be the case in the first couple of pages.
LSB are great, in that they usually offer the full first chapter, but nevertheless, if the protags aren’t together in that excerpt, then nine times out of ten I won’t buy.
Angela James
January 13
3:55 pm
Which is exactly what people say when they ask if they can have the first chapter instead of a random excerpt. This is a case of not being able to make everyone happy, no matter how darn hard you try. I can’t speak for LSB, but I will say that in the case of Samhain, when we post the first chapter, you’re getting a much longer excerpt than if we post a random mid-book chapter. And that was the other thing customers have asked for, longer excerpts. That’s much harder to do in the middle of a book where you have to worry about giving away plot points and spoilers.
Karen Scott
January 13
4:00 pm
Thanks for the offer Darragha, and I also meant to add, more often than not, I end up going to the author’s site to seek more excerpts if the blurb intrigued me enough. Which is obviously good for the writer, but this only happens if the blurb is a good enough draw in the first place.
Angela James
January 13
4:01 pm
So what if you buy a book and they’re not together in the first chapter? Are you disappointed, upset, stop reading? Or is it something you only expect from the excerpt, not from the book itself?
Karen Scott
January 13
4:11 pm
It’s something I only expect in excerpts Angie. There are plenty of books where the H/H don’t get together till the 2nd chapter, but that’s not a problem because I have the whole book.I read romance for the H/H and for no other reason, so they should at least be together in any excerpts that are posted.
Tina Burns
January 13
6:27 pm
Thanks for your feedback Karen. The 1st chapter excerpt policy was in place before I came on board and as no one complained that it was broken, I didn’t fix it. Angie’s made some great points as to why we’ll probably continue to keep it the first chapter on the website – a sizable introduction to the author’s style of writing, the length is longer than the typical excerpt, and it’s not dropping the reader in the middle of the story.
One thing I can do to entice readers with more “meaty” excerpts from the website, is post a link to the book thread in our forum. There you see the full size cover, the blurb, typically a juciy, edge of your seat excerpt that the author’s chosen and comments, sometimes even little tidbits from the author about how the story came about. You don’t have to be a member of the forum to see into this part of the thread. If such a link was available on the website would you follow it? Say, at the end of the chapter a “Want to know more before you buy? Click here.” link?
I will say, from experience, getting authors to send us a “pivotal” excerpt can sometimes amount to a lot of stress on their end. So, the first chapter on the website certainly cuts down on that. π
Let me know your thoughts on the added link to more content? Pose it to your readers as an update to the post if you want, I’d welcome the feedback.
CJ England
January 13
6:56 pm
As an author who has had both first chapter excerpts used and inner excerpts, my thought is it would be nice to have a choice depending on the book involved. Some book’s first chapters are more exciting and drawing than others.
I like both types, but as a reader I want an excerpt that gives the meat of the book no matter where it comes from.
JMHO
Jeanne Barrack
January 13
8:17 pm
As an LSB author, I love the fact that we’re able to give the readers a nice long excerpt. If you’re looking for naughty bits, one of mine starts right at a naughty bit and the other has a naughty bit later in the excerpt.;~D
That being said, TIna’s idea of linking to the LSB forum so that you can get even more naughty bits and also get a look into the mind of the author sounds like a winner to me.
Mike Feury
January 13
9:53 pm
Karen, for reasons mentioned by Tina and Angela, we will probably continue with the first chapter excerpt.
However, that doesn’t preclude other excerpts, which also already exist (often more than one) on the LSB site. These are stored in our forum as Tina said, either in the “Books Coming Soon” forum or in the public “Archive” forum. These are author-selected excerpts, usually much shorter than a chapter.
Clearly we need to look into making these extras more accessible to the casual reader browsing our books. Thanks for the heads-up, there’s always more to learn in this business π
Mike, LSB.
Karen Scott
January 13
10:24 pm
Most definitely Mike, excerpts are what makes the E-book World go round!
darragha
January 13
10:34 pm
So, if excerpts are what make the ebook world go ’round (and I don’t deny that), do you think author websites should rotate excerpts periodically to keep readers and browsers (i.e., possible purchasers) on their toes?
Darr
Karen Scott
January 13
10:37 pm
As a reader, I love that idea, but I suspect it would be a pain in the arse to execute effectively.
West
January 14
12:43 am
I too love LSB, and I’ve relied on the first chapter excerpts since I discovered e-books. I’m leery of excerpts that come from later in the book- what if they tell me something I don’t want to know?- and yet, sometimes they are not enough to help me decide whether to buy a book. I think the forums are a great idea. They appeal to people who want to know more but it allows others to stick with the systems that works for them.
MousieOne
January 14
1:02 am
First I want to get excited by the blurb, then I want to see the tension between the heroine & hero and then if I’m still not sure, I’d like to get a more comprehensive feel for the writer’s style.
I don’t want to search for it or leave the main shopping page. Once I leave the shopping page I might lose the urge to make an instant purchase because I’d definitely get distracted if I was sent off to someplace like a forum.
You can thank Harlequin for that quick and dirty grab desire. It’s how I used to grab their books from the newsrack when I needed to have something to read from the supermarket right now. Didn’t always work out but I have to agree with Karen.
I want to feel the excitement, the tension between the leads. In fact, sometimes if the story is moving really slowly, I’ll keep reading until I hit that sales excerpt when I otherwise might have stopped and given up.
Darr, don’t mind rotating teasers but that’s only doable if the story is longer because I still want to be surprised and not feel as if I read that scene and the next one as I’m reading the actual book.
MousieOne
January 14
1:05 am
Oops! That’s blurb, teaser excerpt, followed by option for first-third chapter excerpt.
KimD
January 14
4:18 am
I agree with Karen and MousieOne. I prefer excerpts where the hero and heroine are in the same scene. I want to get a sense of their chemistry and how they interact with/relate to each other. Like MousieOne, if the excerpt intrigued me and I buy it, I will keep reading the book even if I’m bored with the first few chapters, b/c I know I have something to look forward to. It actually make me stick with it longer.
A 1st chapter excerpt is helpful b/c it gives you a better idea of the writer’s style. But many 1st chapters are about setting up the story and aren’t particularly dramatic or tension-filled to capture my attention. Doesn’t mean I won’t be interested and buy. But it does mean I might be more inclined to pass.
Tina Burns
January 14
4:26 am
MousieOne and Kim – So would you be interested in the addition of a link to more excerpt options, or you’re saying that you’d rather not see the 1st chapter at all?
Savanna Kougar
January 14
6:32 am
Hi Karen, I’m an LSB author. I think all the opinions expressed, so far, are valid. I like the idea of a first chapter excerpt simply because it does present my writing style, and the beginning of the story. Thus, I’m hoping those who truly want to read my book will purchase, while those who don’t, won’t.
However, as Darr said, I am more than happy to provide a ‘get together or humpy bumpy’ excerpt for you. Here. Or wherever.
To be honest, I kinda like those moments to be seen first within the context of the story and how the two, or more, are feeling about each other.
But, of course, if my sales increased…well, humpy bumpy it is…
Karen Scott
January 14
8:44 am
The excerpts don’t have to include sex, but they really should have the H/H in the scene, together, although in my opinion, if one reads erotic romance, a good love scene in an excerpt probably works best. I believe this to be true, because when I go to a bricks and mortar store, the pages seem to always open at the sex scene pages, so as much as we may want to deny it, sex is a major thing for ER readers.
Sex sells people!
Tina, I don’t think it’s about getting rid of the first chapter altogether, it’s just about getting more relevant and exciting excerpts, wherever they come from. I just don’t think that the first few pages always have that va-va-voom.
J.C. Wilder
January 14
11:14 am
I select my excerpts and I don’t post first chapters for one simple reason. A reader goes online and reads said chapter then three months later finds the book in the bookstore – they open the book and think…this sounds familiar…
And puts it down because they think they’ve read it.
First chapters…not good. I try to use a section from a high tension moment that leaves the reader with questions and they need those answers! π
MousieOne
January 14
3:34 pm
Honestly, I don’t want a sex scene as a teaser excerpt. I want something with a high level of tension. Like KimD and JC said, “The Chemistry” or something that leaves me NEEDING–must know, must know NOW–to know what’s going on. Whet my appetite for what’s to come. (he he) I’m lame so sue me.
So yes if I have the choice of only one excerpt then I want a teaser excerpt. I don’t want to slog through multiple first chapter excerpts to find the story I’m looking for. Let’s face it, after 4 or 5 of them I get really really (did I say really) bored until finally I’m frustrated enough to say screw it and grab something from my paperback shelf instead.
And ya know what kills me after reading all those first chapters, I probably still don’t know anything about the chemistry between the leads. Yep, I’m soooo with Karen on this one. I read romance for that chemistry. Don’t get me wrong, I want a great story too, but please help me get instanteous gratification easier. I’m much more likely to binge shop that way if you don’t slow me down.
That said, I’d love and want the option of reading the opening chapter(s) after I’ve read the teaser excerpt. That’s for when I’m still on the fence. Maybe, maybe not.
But don’t give me too many choices. I don’t want 5 excerpts and all these links to extras or cut scenes on the same page. If you want to have those additional options put them in a different tab.
Keep the sales and excerpt pages clean, quick and consistent. Make it as smooth and fast as you can so I can get in and out with my purchases. Oh, and make sure I can add a book to either my shopping cart or my wishlist from anywhere.
mousieone
January 14
3:38 pm
Sorry about the double post. My computer kept timing out. Karen, could you delete one?
vein
January 14
4:04 pm
My preference as an author is to provide the scene just before or early in the sex scene as an excerpt. That is a real ‘teaser’ π
Kris Eton
January 14
6:20 pm
Of course this post made me rush back over the LS forum, because I couldn’t remember the excerpt I’d posted for my book! I think I did all right…whew!
I’m with Vein…I like to read the scene that leaves me hanging. Typically not right in the middle of sex, because all those scenes start to blend together if I don’t know the hero and heroine yet.
So ‘hanging’ to me could be a bit of the set-up that will keep these two apart or a moment of high sexual tension. Either works for me. π
KimD
January 17
8:12 am
Tina: I’d be cool with a link. I prefer an excerpt as my 1st option and the 1st chapter or more excerpts as a 2nd option. But like mousieone, I don’t need a lot of excerpts. Just one really good one. π
And about that link, I’d love it to go straight to the forum topic for the specific the book. Not to the overall LS Forum. I really enjoy LS, but must admit I find the forum a bit frustrating. Particularly b/c I have to leave the main page/s to see the Coming Soon titles and then scroll thru a list of title topics. I’ve always preferred Coming Soon pages that list the books with their cover pics (even a placeholder). It just seems easier and clearer as opposed to the forum where nothing catches my eye quickly (except maybe an author’s name).
On the other hand, the forum is a great tool for the authors to post multiple excerpts, share their thoughts, etc.
What can I say, we can’t have it all! π