Buzzzzzz and Word of Mouth

The other day I received a couple emails that particularly pleased me. They both shared how they learned about my books friend a friend or relative, and were now fans.

It reminded me about the power of word of mouth to sell books.

I think all the divas here would agree that word of mouth is better than anything else. We can argue about promotion until the cows come home--and there are some things that are important, like publisher-paid co-op--that help push the book along. But publisher support only gets your books out there--it doesn't make people buy. Or, it might make SOME people buy, but THOSE people need to spread the word so more people pick up the book.

Buzz and word of mouth are two different things, but they compliment each other. Buzz is undefinable. It's the books on the shelves, the covers, the reviews, the online discussions, something almost intangible that gets you to pick up a book. Buzz is also bestseller lists--you might see a book on the list and thing, hmm, I never heard of that author, wonder why it did so well?

Word of mouth is friends talking to friends. Sisters sharing books. Mom's handing down a favorite book to their daughter. Word of mouth takes longer to generate, but is more enduring, than buzz.

Buzz sells books. You hear about a good book, and you want to read it. Sometimes it doesn't live up to its expectations, but sometimes . . . it does. But word of mouth builds authors.

I buy a lot of books. Debut authors, because I like to support them. Auto-buys, because I enjoy them. And then . . . the others. The books I buy because of the buzzzzzz, or the word of mouth. Because my mom said it was good, or a friend I trust raved about it online.

I bought A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY because of the buzz. Not for me, but for my oldest daughter. She never read it, but Brennan #2 picked it up and loved it. She's now in the middle of the third book in the Gemma Doyle series, A SWEET FAR THING, which is over 800 pages.

Another book I bought on the buzz was LOVE WALKED IN by Marisa de los Santos. I bought this book over six months ago because of BUZZ, and haven't read it yet! But my mom enjoyed it.

I picked up my first Jack Reacher book (Lee Child), my first Michael Connelly and my first Robert Crais book all in the last two years because of the word of mouth praise for those authors.

I bought a Cody McFayden book SHADOW MAN because of word of mouth. My mom picked it up off my shelf today and was hooked immediately. Said it was really good and took it. (We share books a lot.)

I bought SAVE THE CAT!, a screenwriting book, because someone I trusted raved about it as a useful tool for storytelling as a whole. And so far, I'm loving it.

What book have you bought recently because of the buzz around the book? What book have you bought because someone you trusted recommended it? Without being overly critical, which book did you like best? The buzzed book or the word of mouth book?

Comments

[T]

I have such a love-hate relationship with finding new authors. Michael Connelly and Robert Crais were featured speakers at SleuthFest a couple years back. I figured I ought to be moderately conversant with their works so I selected The Poet when I had a 'buy one get one free' deal from The Mystery Guild. And, being anal about series, I found the first Robert Crais book. Totally hooked. Which meant catching up with backlists, and then keeping up with new ones.

One nice thing about coming into an author "late" is that all the books are out there, and you don't have to wait a year between releases. At least until you catch up.

Lee Child was featured at SleuthFest this year. Although I didn't have a chance to read his books beforehand, listening to the man speak has him on my 'gotta read' list.

Speaking of which, Ms. Brennan, I'm almost done with your list now. Halfway through Killing Fear, and a hair appointment this afternoon means more justifiable middle of the day reading time! I know there's another one on the way, but there's a lot to be said for being able to read them back to back.

[Terry Odell]

And of course, I didn't really answer your question -- my mom recommended Diana Gabaldon and I was not disappointed in the least. She also hooked me on Laurie R. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series.

[Jami Alden]

Usually I find new authors through Diva Monica's recommendations or by making new author friends. Occasionally I read a great review that will convince me to buy a book, but it's very very rare for me to go to a bookstore and buy a brand new to me author, even if their books are all over the place.

[Holly D]

I don't read reviews and I don't pay attention to the "Buzz" around books, or movies. I will read books suggested by friends or authors that I enjoy. If the description sounds interesting, I'll buy it. So far I haven't ever been truly disappointed.

I have been a Robert Crais fan for years. My mom brought me the first 3 books in the series and I was hooked.

[Allison Brennan]

Hi Terry! We have very similar tastes :) . . .

Regarding back-to-back, there comes a point when it doesn't benefit the author. Most people aren't like us, i.e. reading multiple books a month. Spreading the releases out through the year helps build sales. This isn't to say that I WOULDN'T do another back-to-back some day . . .

Hi Diva Jami! You seem immune to buzzzzzzz . . . maybe Diva Monica isn't, wahahaha. (BTW, an aside to Monica, you are going to FREAK at something in PLAYING DEAD. I wrote it and thought of you :) . . . I almost named the victim Monica, too, except that the killer doesn't care what her name is, so he's not going to think about it. Sorry ;) But if this doesn't scare you, you're hopeless.

Hi Holly! Like Jami, you're immune from buzzzz. Which is sort of what I had been thinking. I DO buy some books because of buzzz, but only because it's a business decision--I want to see what the buzzzz is about. The best buzzzz is that which will generate word of mouth, and the only way you can do that is to get people to read your book. You can't make them like it, you can't make them talk to their friends and family about it. So buzzzz that works, like with THE THIRTEENTH TALE, worked only because people honestly enjoyed the book. But they read it because the publisher generated a lot of pre-published buzzzz and sent out a gazillion arcs.

[Terry Odell]

Allison - I know there's a big difference between author and reader with back-to-back releases. I was responding 100% as a reader there -- not giving a hoot about sales or marketing or anything else. It's just so nice to get to an end that has you wanting more and being able to get that right away.

And yes, I'm one of those people who will go re-read the previous book to get a running start when the new one is released. Speaks to the fading of the gray cells more than anything, I think.

Unfortunately, my hairdresser was right on time, so I was in and out too soon to finish Killing Fear. I'm tempted to blow off the rest of the day and do it.

[Barbara Freethy]

I do think a huge pile of books in a bookstore gets attention - even though I know it was paid for by the publisher and might have little to do with how good the book is, and there might be a great book with only two copies spine out in the shelves. But I do think that huge presence in the store influences people to try new authors. I know lots of my non-writer friends who buy books because they found them on the front table and/or saw them reviewed in the Sunday paper. I want to shake them sometimes and tell them to look in the shelves where there could be some fabulous gems of books.

I do like word of mouth recommendations from friends and other authors. I think word of mouth is very important and as Allison said really has probably the most value, because someone has actually read the book, loved it, and recommended it.

I read Memoirs of a Geisha because of word of mouth and I loved it - probably not a book I would have read if a good friend hadn't recommended it. Also, I think the Da Vinci Code was another book with tremendous word of mouth and way back when John Grisham's The Firm and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander seemed to be on everyone's lips.

[Karin*]

I picked up JR Wards first black dagger brotherhood books because of the buzz. Haven't read them though.But I will!

[MonicaMcCarty]

Allison, okay, now you have me so intrigued. I can't wait to read it. As for whether I'll be freaked out...we'll see. :) Are you sure he can't be thinking her name???? LOL. I'm still holding out for the next exotic dancer.

I usually find new authors I love through Jami and word of mouth--the two most recent "biggies" that I can think of are Shannon McKenna and Tara Janzen. But like you, I also buy books based on buzz as a business decision (mostly to see what all the fuss is about). I bought Spymasters Lady for this reason and really enjoyed it. But usually, my best luck comes from word of mouth.

[Amanda]

I don't really pay a lot of attention to buzz, however, I do read a lot of writer's blogs and I pay attention to what is said about other authors. If say, one author on Fog City Divas, that I enjoyed, recommended another author, I'm likely to go pick it up.

Someone recently in a blog somewhere talked about Tara Janzen and said they loved her so much that after the first book, the bought all her books and loved them all. I read this, went and bought one Tara Janzen book and fell in love. Since then every week I have picked up a Tara Janzen book, I've nearly read them all!

So I guess I follow the buzz if I know the source of the buzz's taste is similar to mine and reliable.

[Amanda]

JR Ward is spectacular!

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

[Allison Brennan]

Terry, if you're writing, don't blow it off! If you're at your day job, sure, why not just read? LOL.

Barbara, I don't know a lot of people who buy based on reviews, but you know smarter people than me :) . . . reviews tend to be literary type books and I *may* read one, but only under rare circumstances. I have very mass-audience tastes in most things :)

Ah, Karin, that's one author I haven't tried yet though I mean to (and I bought the first book), even though the genre is out of my general reading scope.

I very much enjoyed Shannon McKenna. They're different than what I usually read, with more alpha males and more sex :) but she's a talented writer and she makes it all work. Monica, I don't have another exotic dancer in the works, but I think I've had a Monica in at least half my books, so maybe I'll just put in another Monica for fun :)

Amanda, another vote for word of mouth! It's not buzz if you trust the source, IMO. Take movie reviewers. There's one or two that I know if they love a movie, 9 times out of 10 I'll love it too. And there's one reviewer who hates almost every movie I love, so if she gives it 2 stars, I go see it :)

[Ilona]

I tend to be the one using word of mouth to recommend books to others as I read faster than most people.
I do take notice of the buzz on new boosk though and have since added JR Ward, Sidney Croft and Shelley Monroe to my autobuy list because of it.

[KateMoore]

Allison, I love reviews, but word of mouth, a friend's recommendation, or better yet, a friend's gift or a loan (not helpful to authors, I know) trumps a review any day. I am always looking out for what other Divas say, and my to-be-read pile in Romance is largely driven by listening to my fellow readers/writers. Buzz can't alter taste, however. I know I not a vampire-loving girl alas.

[Bella Andre]

I, too, bought the Spymaster's Lady because everyone raved about it. And I loved the writing, the setting - I was very inspired as a writer by it.

[jeanne]

I too bought The Spymaster's Lady because of the buzz which I rarely do - but I haven't had a chance to read it yet lol. Recommended books usually work out very well but not always. I guess I'm not answering your question either lol.

[Jill James]

I visit a lot of blogs, so I will try many books I hear a 'buzz' about. Usually if someone I know likes a book, I don't and vice versa. I think word of mouth is an awesome way to build readership.

[Kendra]

I hooked my father, a non-reader, on Lee Child. Then hooked him on Crais and Connelly. JR Ward I bought off buzz and immediately bought the rest. The last historical I bought off buzz disappointed me, yet everyone seems to love it. Apparently my next buzz buy will be a Tara Janzen or Save the Cat. I've heard a lot on both recently.