Top Ten Stages of Buying a Novel

I know, I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover blah bleh yadda...BUT it's the cover that catches your eye first. If it's a thriller you're after, you'll look for a dark jacket as with romance and humourous, a light coloured cover will immediately tell you what genre to expect.

You see the author's name (a known author will use block capitals) that scream "HERE IS MY NEW BESTSELLER! "

That's really what I aim to do. I've looked at the blurb and been disappointed, so since then I've tried to judge it from a sneak peek. Unfortunately, I can be a terrible judge.

So you like the blurb, the opening paragraph enough to flick through the pages to see if the author still 'has it' halfway through.

By now, you will be interesed in the novel enough to read whether the novel you are so lovingly holding in your hands, is his /her debut and if it is, you'll already keep in mind to look out for their next.

Basically you just want to see if a known author raves about it. I mean if STEPHEN KING likes it then...

I always read the reviews; I trust in them.

If you're looking for a gritty bloody horror, don't look for titles such as The Day I Fell In Love With Flowers - these are usually reserved for romance. A thriller or a horror will usually have a sharp one (may two )word title.

A short synopsis of the book.

If the blurb has excited you, so should the opening paragraph - in fact more so. If you read: "One day Sally got up and then she had a shower and then she went to work..." you are most likely to put it back on the shelf in your sleep. And this results in the author's dreams of a sale waving a solomn fairwell at them.

I pick up a book and the first thing I do is flip to the last page. If the book is 400 or more, it takes me at least a week. If the book is 300 or less, it will take me a few days. I like 900 page books more since I don't need to find a new book really soon.

Not really important but it is a stage we pass in the book-buying process.