More on the Relation of Reviews to Book Sales

If you're out to become the next John Grisham or Stephen King, you'll find interesting reading in the Business Section -- yes, Business -- of Sunday's New York Times.

It's all about why some books become blockbusters and some expected blockbusters end up on the remainder table.

Some interesting quotes ...

“We need much more of a direct relationship with our readers,” said Susan Rabiner, an agent and a former editorial director. Bloggers have a much more interactive relationship with their readers than publishers do, she said. “Before Amazon, we didn’t even know what people thought of the books,” she said.

An exception is the consumer research gathered by the Romance Writers of America, a writers’ association that publishes a regular market study of romance readers. It reports survey information on, for example, demographics, what respondents are reading, where they are getting the books and how often, and what kind of covers attract them. Romance authors and publicists use the information to create promotional campaigns.

You can find the complete article here ...
The Greatest Mystery: Making a Best Seller
By SHIRA BOSS
Published: May 13, 2007