I recently was recommended Lawrence Block by indirect word-of-mouth from Dean Wesley Smith, and by direct word-of-mouth by Jeff Ambrose (and a brief Twitter exchange with Lawrence Block his own self.) So I wandered over to Wikipedia, in which I read: "Block's other major series, humorous and much lighter in tone, relates the misadventures of gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. The series is rich in sophisticated, witty dialogue." So I went to the author's website, and it said I didn't have to read them in order, so I chose #3 (since I figured the character would have 'ripened' by then). Over to Amazon...
I bought and read the eBook "The Burglar Who Liked To Quote Kipling". In that it was 'rich in sophisticated, witty dialogue' and of a desirable length for my busy schedule, I liked it, so I proceeded to purchase the other nine.
As of this writing, I have read the first two as well. Nice.
So, to recap: I bought 10 eBooks via word-of-mouth --> Twitter --> blurb --> website --> awesome. (Oh, and note that these were $6.99. Since it was somewhere between $2.99 and $9.99, the price point was really not a consideration in the process.)
How do you buy eBooks?
Fascinating how it works! Obviously I read every word with the greatest personal interest, but I think I'd find it quite absorbing even if another writer's books were the object of consideration. Further evidence, if such were needed, that the whole world of books and publishing is changing at warp speed. Thanks—and I'm glad you're enjoying the books!
ReplyDeleteHeh. I certainly am enjoying them.
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest world-changer is that I no longer have to trawl used bookstores to acquire a complete series backlist. (I still trawl used bookstores, of course, but that's not the point.)
On a 'business' note, this is why I'm not too concerned about promotion right now. I figure I should have at least ten solid titles available for people to buy after they've read and liked one of mine.