Urban Fantasy discussion

*Full disclaimer - I'm an indie author and this post is what you'd class as market research :-)*

So, here's the scenario, you've finished the last great series in UF and are looking for something new to read. There's nothing by your fave authors currently out so you have to try something new? How do you go about it?

Might seem a slightly odd question but as an indie author I think I've become so focused on getting the right keywords in amazon, the right wording in my blurb and so forth that I've forgotten the art of simply searching AS A READER. My recommendations on Amazon are about books I've researched to see what works well, what doesn't etc, and not what I'd actually like to read!

So, in summary, do you go off recommendations here? Other internet groups/forums? If you go on Amazon or other retailers, how do you search? Do you simply search "urban fantasy" or are you more specific by checking the different sub categories that are available? Do you ever actually click on ads for books? Do you subscribe to news letters on the latest bargains?

A lot of questions I know, but I'm just after peoples experiences and thoughts rather than a bulleted answer list :-)

Thanks!

Mike

Mike,

I am swamped today, but I do want to discuss this with you. Please see my site for a conversation with Matthew Wright on marketing/publishing and whether giving away books is a good idea.

https://soireadthisbooktoday.com/2016...

His website is: mjwrightnz.wordpress.com

I point this out because, being poor, I love to take advantage of freebies. That way, if I don't like a book I can toss it and forget it. If I do like the book, however, I am willing to pay for more of the same author. That is the main way I find new, or new to me, authors.

I also cruise the genres I like, especially urban fantasy, thriller, mystery, and paranormal suspense/thrillers. A great cover catches my eye first. A poor cover can kill your book. Then I check the blurb. That is where a lot of authors get in trouble - poor spelling, grammar and sentence structure in your blurb? I don't even bother. The book will no doubt be just as bad.

If the blurb is good, I check the "read inside". If it still interests me, and there is a cost to the book, then I go ahead and read the reviews. Now, reviews don't always "count". I have seen way too many five-star reviews that, once I started reading the book, I rolled my eyes at. Your friends and family aren't good indicators of whether your book is any good or not. They are going to say it is good just to make you happy.... Yes, we all do it. And a five word "review" from them with a five-star rating will just piss me off. "This book is the BEST!" is not a review, it is a toss-off and I will immediately ignore those. I always check out the three-star reviews, if any, first, then go from there. I want the good, yes, but I also want to know if the author made missteps that will cause my editorial warning lights to flash, or if the characters are going to be less than stellar.

After all that, if I am still interested, I will go ahead and download the sample to my tablet and, when I have the 'hankering' I will reread the sample to see if it still catches my attention. If so, I will go ahead and buy it and read it.

Hope this helps!
Leiah

Well, I am never in the middle of only one series at a time, so the chances of me being COMPLETELY done with my to read list are slim to none. :-) But I add things to the list all the time. How?

Recommendations from friends. We have a shared history of enjoying similar books, so I know that the chances of me liking a book they suggest are higher than from any other source.

Various shared affinity groups online (including here on Goodreads) - discussions or comment threads of the "if you like X, try Y, Z, 3, H, and Q." :-)

After that I'll look at lists or "users who read/purchased/viewed this also read/purchased/viewed..." recommendations.

And sometimes? It is as simple as the title or cover catching my eye, and the write-up sounding interesting.

A few things that will keep a book off my list:
*cramming genre and keywords into the title line.
*poorly written descriptions (filled with typos or poor grammar)
*a page of quotes from gushing reviews that I need to wade through before I ever get to the description of the book.
*a book description that tells me this will be the best thing I read all year, or that my wait for the next best X is over.

I couldn't agree more!

So, I Read This Book Today wrote: "Mike,

I am swamped today, but I do want to discuss this with you. Please see my site for a conversation with Matthew Wright on marketing/publishing and whether giving away books is a good idea.
..."

Thanks Leiah this is very helpful indeed! Can I just ask, when you're browsing your favorite genres (eg Urban Fantasy) would you just literally search the kindle store on the urban fantasy category and look at the latest bestsellers or would you do anything more specific, such as filter on certain tropes, character types etc?

ladymurmur wrote: "Well, I am never in the middle of only one series at a time, so the chances of me being COMPLETELY done with my to read list are slim to none. :-) But I add things to the list all the time. How?

..."

Thanks for taking the time to reply! I'd like to think I'm on the right track with some of those items which is good :-)

What are your thoughts on twitter? Have you ever received recommendations that you'd follow up on via that medium? There's a lot of tweeting/retweeting on their but I'm just curious if its authors just tweeting each other or does it reach a consumer along the way? :-)

Thanks again, this is really helpful info.

Mike

M.S. wrote: "ladymurmur wrote: "Well, I am never in the middle of only one series at a time, so the chances of me being COMPLETELY done with my to read list are slim to none. :-) But I add things to the list al..."

I'm not a tweeter (tweet-ee? tweetster?) so I can't offer any feedback in that regard.

I go to Amazon and put in the category I am interested in. I also love to go to Barnes and Nobles or half price books and wander through the titles of the genre I love. I get book ideas from discussions on the radio, and television as well. I just finished Pride and Prejudice, and Lord Jim from reading an article on writing. I discovered Robert Parker because he was reputed to be one of the great masters of dialogue.

M.S. wrote: "So, I Read This Book Today wrote: "Mike,

I am swamped today, but I do want to discuss this with you. Please see my site for a conversation with Matthew Wright on marketing/publishing and whether ..."

First by UF. I am always looking for reviews that say "strong woman character" before all. I despise books that start out saying the woman hero is strong, then all of a sudden they need a man to save their ass. I despise that-so weak, especially when it is a woman who writes it. Nothing will get a bad review from me faster.

Reviews are important - but one-liners turn me off fast. The scream "I am a FAKE review!" A raging negative review will normally peak my interest (unless it is raving about how the woman was supposed to be strong and self reliant, then turned into a whiny little beyotch, then I skip the book). Negative reviews that are well written and specific (these were the problems with the book, 1,2,3) can at times have the opposite effect - what a reviewer hated I may like. And vice-versa, of course. What someone liked may be what would make me throw the book across the room.

Then there is the "burn-out" of certain tropes with me. Vampires? Meh. If they are part of an overall storyline that is more interesting to me, I don't care about strictly "vampire" storylines.

I am reading a book right now that centers around a Phoenix who has no idea what she is. She was found in the woods (in a fire pit, but of course, the 'fire pit' was a bit more than that) and raised by a normal couple. Now, she is slowly learning what she is under very unusual situation. The things I like? Phoenix. Were wolverine. No sex (so far) - the story is very strong - mystery, suspense, thriller, and Very interesting world building. Unusual world building is always of great interest to me and will make me grab a book fast.

Hope this helps!

What is the book you are reading about a Phoenix? It sounds interesting.
I am one of those people who write one liners when I love a book, like... Loved it! (It's not fake.) I tend to write more when I don't like things in a book, so they can fix them;)

Ah, I see, Laurie! I never thought of that. I just automatically think that it is friends and family, or someone who received a copy for a review, then didn't spend time doing what they promised - writing an actual review.

The book is by Sara King. It is really creative! There is a second, that I have already downloaded. I am taking a lot longer to read this one than I normally do, I can gorge on a book in a day or two, but this has been week and I am still immersed.

I will warn you, the book is very poorly edited, so expect it. She has a love affair beyond measure with commas and hyphens - enough that I have had to literally shut down my mind and force it to not 'see' all the errors. With as many books as she has out, I am surprised that she hasn't been hammered about it. I nearly stopped reading after the first several pages because of it - but by then I was in, hook line and sinker, and that was it for me. I will be offering my services as an editor, that is a given!

Hope you enjoy it. It is free on Kindle Unlimited, so grab a copy and settle in for some real "Alaskan Personalities" ;-) The wereverine is someone I would have been MORE than happy to skin and tack to my wall for the first quarter of the book . . . but then you step back and really "See" where he has been, what has happened to him and what he has suffered in his long, long, looong life (as in, when he was young, he would have been a GIANT at 5'8") and he just grows on you. Crap he pulls, in anyone else? I would throw the book across the room! Snort..... So buckle in for Alaskan Old Farts in all their glory!

I'm a one line reviewer too. If I don't like a book, I don't leave a review.

I scan the genre I am looking for a book in and get drawn in by a good cover. After that the blurb - I never look at the look inside, or at the reviews.

I'd love to have more time to read, but between teaching full time and working on my own writing, it doesn't leave much time except in the...uh...men's room.

When I was in college and before, I never let a book get further than ten inches from my eyes or hands. But times change.

I usually search Amazon for new stuff, read sites that feature writers I love and look for mentions of new stuff. Browse Barnes and Noble on occassion. Look for bargain books to try out the newer writers.

I look at the cover information only to see if it's the kind of action or character I'm interested in. Sometimes I just go on a hunch and that's worked out.

Most of my stuff I find in late night searches on Amazon. They always provide a lot of links to other writers, which has been helpful to both me and as a writer.

I like the fact that they always keep offering new suggestions. They keep a nose to the flow, so to speak.

Hi I use a website called fantastic fiction. com it's a great way to find books based on authors you like. it lists similar authors and also has author recommendations. I find about 90% of my books on this site.

Friend recommendations, Amazon & Good Reads make up the majority of my "new finds"

I find quite a few at the library's book store (whatever catches my eye/sounds good). I also like typing in subjects in amazon & see what books come up & what people say in the reviews. A little from goodreads recommendations & a few from friends/family.

I mostly go off recommendations of both Goodreads and Amazon kindle. I'll see a title that captures me and go to goodreads to read some reviews. Mostly I ignore the 4 and 5 star review, as well as the one-liners. The 3-star reviews are usually the most informative ones.
Sometimes the more negative reviews give information too, what others disdain in a book, might be the thing I'm looking for in a book and vice versa.

I live out in the boonies and I don't have a bookstore that sells new books within 75 miles of me. I generally scour amazon for new authors. Lately I've been concentrating on self published authors because it seems like some of the famous authors are just phoning it in. Reviews don't always help because so many of them are looking for "great literature" when all I want is a likable character and a good story.

Recently I have been using listopia here on goodreads. Other than that it is mostly friends

Occasionally when I browse amazon or cruise the library website I will try new authors.

Very interesting. I always value informative reviews, even the negative ones. Except 1-star reviews (generally those are just hate mail).

I have various methods of finding out about new books:
I get alerted to interesting new books with trending articles I read and some blogs I follow of authors I'm an established fan of. I also browse the library and thrift stores for recent bestsellers that catch my eye. I have favorite genres but something unexpected outside the genre may catch my eye. I'm a regular buyer of books and sometimes Amazon will alert me to an interesting new release though I don't buy everything they recommend. Interesting sounding movies based on books alert me to potential reads. I'm also hoping Goodreads will alert me to hidden gems.

I browse Amazon.ca , read comments posted on Goodreads, the library, and comments by authors about other authors books. I am never without something to read as my TBR bookcase is full!

Lillian

I've been asking for recommendations on Facebook. I like to get my UF fix in audiobooks, so that limits the field a bit.