How easy it would it be to put excerpts up on your sites from new books coming out?
This would give potential readers a chance to get to know what an author reads like and might entice them to buy their book(s). If you could put a page or two
or even a couple of paragraphs from the book, your customers would be better informed when looking at books from authors they don't know.
If you've already done this, then my next question is, do you find giving the reader that "look inside" helps sell books?
Gary . . .
Question for Small Press Publishers
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 G Frank |
Question for Small Press Publishers |
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Posts: 500 (07/21/08 13:21:40) Veteran Shockliner |
Institutional Memory...Work is torture. Coming Fall 2008 from Medallion Press.
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Skullvines Press |
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Posts: 80 (07/21/08 13:29:33) Shockliner |
We're a little behind, but have a preview page here.
It's hard to say how much it helps sales, but we like to think it does. Personally, we find it nice to have a sample to try before buying. If this page disappears from our site soon, it's because we're considering putting the samples at the bottom of the bookstore pages, so the books can be bought and sampled all on the same page without skipping around. |
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marksamuels |
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Posts: 971 (07/21/08 13:33:22) Master Shockliner |
Tartarus Press do this. One is a tale of mine from my still-in-print paperback collection The White Hands, and it can be accessed here
http://homepages.pavilion.co.uk/tartarus/vrolyck.pdf Mark S. |
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ghostbrain |
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Posts: 831 (07/21/08 15:59:37) Veteran Shockliner |
There is an argument to be made for putting an entire book up for download. Most readers don't necessarily want to read off a screen so if you give them
something they know they'll like then they're inclined to spend money on a hard copy ... something they might not have done if not for the download. No
one really knows for sure if it actually works this way but I for one would love to find out.
Simon Strantzas
www.strantzas.com Read the excerpts "Behind Glass" and "Something New" for a limited time! 
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 ahuber |
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Posts: 256 (07/21/08 17:00:24) |
When Eric and I's book "Snuff" came out, I made it a point to put a few one or two page excerpts on the website. With the new publishing company
-Snuff Books - I plan on doing the same for our releases. It seemed to draw some
interest. I don't know how much it helped, but I certainly don't think it hurt sales.
Adam |
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LeatherZebra |
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Posts: 619 (07/21/08 17:49:46) Veteran Shockliner |
All I know is what sells me, as a consumer, on a book. Nothing gets me running to a book store faster than an except. It's getting to the point that I
don't buy without reading a sample first.
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Rich Ristow |
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Posts: 667 (07/21/08 18:56:06) Veteran Shockliner |
I can only speak from the prospective of a noob writer when it comes to publishing. A new writer doesn't have a built in audience, and has only a handfull
of reviews. There's zero name recognition, and as a result that writer comes off as "unproven." I think a lot of readers, especially in current
financial climate, may be less willing to gamble on an "un-tested" writer. Honestly, if they only have $20, and a choice between some guy they never
of and an established talent, they'll likely go towards the established talent. If you think about it, it's common sense. So, the trick is to try and
make yourself, as a noob, less of a gamble. Offering your prologue or opening chapter, as a free read, is sometimes the only way to do that. After all, the
writing should always be able to speak for itself. If they get intrigued, well, then, as a noob, you've become less of a gamble.
Last Edited By: Rich Ristow
07/21/08 18:59:38.
Edited 1 times.
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CoscomEntertainment |
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Posts: 45 (07/21/08 19:26:15) |
It's easy to put them up.
Coscom never used to do this but has begun doing so (as in, "Let's always do this") with BLOOD OF THE DEAD (See www.undeadworldtrilogy.com for a four-chapter excerpt). For the upcoming (as in, coming out this Friday) BITS OF THE DEAD anthology, this is harder because it's flash fiction so, really, I'd be putting up one or two stories from a couple of authors for "free" but then needing folks to pay for the rest of them. Arguments could be made for the pluses and minuses of "fairness" for this. Still thinking on it. Has it helped sales? To be determined. However, BLOOD OF THE DEAD is doing very well for something just out of the gate. I just don't know if folks are buying the book solely because they love zombies or because they read the excerpt and enjoy the writing.
Last Edited By: CoscomEntertainment
07/21/08 19:34:09.
Edited 3 times.
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castingtherunes1 |
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Posts: 125 (07/21/08 21:16:46) Shockliner |
While not specifically aiming at putting complete chapters on our website for download, we are moving towards having some of our authors read full stories, or
extracts, and mounting them as podcasts at the Ghost Story Society's podcast site.
There's a new Reggie Oliver story right now, from the forthcoming EXOTIC GOTHIC 2, at http://gsspodcast.mypodcast.com/ , apart from a whole load of other podcasts. And we're working on making some preview material available via YouTube, too. Christopher |
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jasonb57 |
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Posts: 926 (07/22/08 06:00:24) Master Shockliner |
Excellent question, Frank!
I think it's safe to presume that having excerpts online is a positive move for the publisher. At least I will presume so. My question is this: Being able to see the design and layout of the book helps in making a choice about taking a chance with a small press publisher? I ask because when I see a poorly edited/designed book, I won't buy it. Simple as that. |
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tartarusrussell |
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Posts: 70 (07/22/08 10:33:18) |
As Mark Samuels has pointed out, his story
"Vrolyck" from
The White Hands and Other Weird Tales can be found at the Tartarus Press website for free. Also available is "A Languid Elagabalus Of The Tombs" by the irrepressable Rhys Hughes from his collection
Stories From a Lost Anthology, "The Descent of the Fire" by Mark Valentine and John Howard is also available from the World Fantasy Award winning anthology Strange Tales and "The Tattooist" can be read from
the now sadly out of print Morbid Tales by Quentin S. Crisp.
Many thanks, of course, to the authors for generously making these complete stories available. You will need Adobe Acrobat to be able to view them. All best wishes, Ray www.tartaruspress.com |
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Sabledrake |
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Posts: 1066 (07/22/08 23:15:13) Master Shockliner |
Mine are here:
http://www.christine-morgan.org/excerpts.htm A bit in need of updating, though. -- C. |
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