Crime Fiction Dossier

Do rave reviews sell more books?

I.J. Parker asked a question over on Sarah's blog that got me thinking: why don't rave reviews translate into bigger sales for books?

(We'll assume for argument's sake that the premise is true. It's hard to measure the relationship between reviews and sales, as there is no direct method of tracking them. But I think that there is to at least some extent a disconnect between the two. I do believe that reviews sell books, but I'm not sure that the intensity of preference expressed by the reviewer makes much of a difference.)

I think that for most readers, reviews function more in the manner of advertising, rather than as specific motivators to buy. They make the consumer aware of the product, but they don't necessarily compel them to buy it. Therefore, the relative enthusiasm the reviewer expresses for the book, whether positive or negative, doesn't matter that much.

People see a review and it puts the book in their mind. So perhaps if they have some degree of interest in the author already, or if they see some subsequent reinforcement of that image, they might decide to buy the book. But I don't think there is a large number of readers who read a rave review and then, as a direct result, go out and buy the book. I would like to think that we, as reviewers, have that kind of influence, but I don't believe we do.

Obviously, this is all speculation, as we don't have the data to test the premise. (Although a few economists tried a while back, using some fuzzy Amazon data, and concluded that the positive or negative quality of the review did have an impact on sales.)

Perhaps the overall problem is a larger one, namely that readers don't pay a lot of attention to book reviews in the first place. I also don't think the average newspaper consumer is a careful reader of reviews. They'll be flipping through the paper and see a review of the new Dan Brown book and think, "Oh cool, the guy who wrote The Da Vinci Code has a new one out" but not stop to appreciate that the review is actually saying it's a piece of garbage.

I also wonder if the "grade inflation" in reviews -- too many raves for too many lousy books, a phenomenon I see all the time -- has caused consumers simply to discount the praise reviewers bestow upon books. This is also a significant risk, I think, of the proliferation of amateur online reviews, which are generally ill-considered and overly enthusiastic, if not outright puffery (paging Harriet Klausner).

I don't have any hard answers here, but I find it interesting to think about. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Book of the Week: David Ellis' "Eye of the Beholder"

David Ellis follows up last year's intriguing In the Company of Liars with a powerful legal thriller about sex, murder and a quest for the truth. Attorney Paul Riley gained fame by convicting a serial killer for the murders of six women, crimes for which the man was executed. Now, years later, the killings have resumed, forcing a desperate Riley to question whether he convicted the right man. Winning characters and a wonderfully serpentine plot make this a stand-out summer thriller.

Up all night on the edge of your seat

Last night I was reading in bed before I went to sleep, as I do every night. The book is a modestly-hyped new thriller that the publisher seems to be putting some energy behind. (I'm not going to mention the name, since this isn't a review; it's about a larger point.)

I've been reading this book for a couple days now and have been enjoying it overall. Interesting plot, good characters, and it's a little different from the run-of-the-mill thriller plot that frequently gets utilized these days. If I end up reviewing it, I'll have positive things to say.

Yet, I found myself last night with only 20 pages left in the book, and decided to put it down and go to sleep. I wasn't overwhelmingly tired, although it was past the time I usually turn in. I certainly could have kept reading for another 15 minutes or whatever it took to finish the book. But I didn't. And I think that's a telling reaction.

There's a certain almost ineffable quality to finely-executed thrillers that makes us want to keep reading them no matter what distractions arise. Sometimes it's a result of the pacing (as in Joe Finder's work), sometimes it's the intricacies of the plot (Ross Thomas), sometimes it's the compelling nature of the characters (Lee Child), sometimes it's the invigorating action (Barry Eisler). Whatever it is, the books have us obsessively turning the pages, hungry, desperate to find out what happens next.

This book didn't have that. It's a pleasing story, entertaining, well written even. But it lacks that "edge of your seat," "stay up all night" quality that the blurbmasters love to tout. As a result, it is less effective overall as a thriller.

As much as anything, I think it is that compulsive page-turning quality that separates the truly fine thriller from the merely good ones. And it is that quality which is hardest for authors to capture, which separates the masters from the pretenders.

If you can easily put a thriller down at any time, read it a little here and a little there, not really care what happens in the end...Well, that is as good a description of an ineffective thriller as you're likely to find.

Oline Cogdill is blogging

The inestimable Oline Cogdill, one of my favorite crime critics and a woman possessed of excellent taste, is now blogging at the Sun-Sentinel's website. (Sharing the space with her will be Books Editor Chauncey Mabe, who once threw some work my way, so we know he's a good guy.)

Aside from the fact that it will be interesting to see what Oline has to say, the newspaper will be using the blog as a tool to help gauge how much reader interest there is in books coverage. So I invite everyone to stop over there and read some postings and maybe make some comments as well.

Book of the Week: Daniel Silva's "The Secret Servant"

With his latest breathtaking novel, Daniel Silva confirms his position as one of the finest thriller writers of our time. Silva brings the whole package to his books: superior writing, complex and engaging plots, well-drawn characters and thought-provoking issues. A worthy successor to Frederick Forsyth and John le Carré, The Secret Servant proves that Silva writes this kind of book as well as, if not better than, anyone.

The final Harry Potter novel -- no spoilers

I've just finished a whirlwind reading of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I don't want to say too much, as I don't want to spoil anything. But I will say that I enjoyed the book immensely and it was everything I hoped for. The seventh (and, regrettably, closing) installment in this brilliant series is a magnificent and fitting end.

J.K. Rowling's achievement with this set of 7 books -- which really comprise one big story -- is nothing short of astounding. She deserves every bit of praise, every ounce of hype, and every million dollars. What a truly gifted and rare talent.

Brava, Ms. Rowling.

Barry Awards nominations

Mystery News and Deadly Pleasures are pleased to announce the 2007 Barry Award nominations. The Barry Awards are named for of one of the most ardent and beloved ambassadors of mystery fiction, Barry Gardner, and are voted on by the readers of Mystery News and Deadly Pleasures.

The 11th Annual Barry Awards presentation will take place at Bouchercon in Anchorage, Alaska in late September. The date, time and location of the awards presentation will be announced later. This is the first year that the Barry Awards are co-sponsored by Mystery News.

Best Novel
White Shadow by Ace Atkins
Oh Danny Boy by Rhys Bowen
The Last Assassin by Barry Eisler
The Prisoner of Guantanamo by Dan Fesperman
City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin
The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

Best First
The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
The Berlin Conspiracy by Tom Gabbay
The King of Lies by John Hart
Still Life by Louise Penny
A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read

Best British
Priest by Ken Bruen
Dying Light by Stuart MacBride
Sovereign by C.J. Sansom
The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom
Mr. Clarinet by Nick Stone
Red Sky Lament by Edward Wright

Best Thriller
Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder
The Foreign Correspondent by Alan Furst
Relentless by Simon Kernick
Cold Kill by Stephen Leather
The Messenger by Daniel Silva
Kill Me by Stephen White

Best Paperback Original
Bust by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr
The Last Quarry by Max Allan Collins
The Cleanup by Sean Doolittle
Live Wire by Jay MacLarty
Deadman's Poker by Jim Swain
Crooked by Brian Wiprud

Best Short Story
"Cain was Innocent" by Simon Brett (Thou Shalt Not Kill, published by
Carroll & Graf)
"Shaping the Ends" by Judith Cutler (EQMM May, 2006)
"The Right Call" by Brendan DuBois (EQMM Sept/Oct, 2006)
"A Man of Taste" by Kate Ellis (EQMM Mar/Apr, 2006)
"Rosemary" by Paul Halter (The Night of the Wolf, published by
Wildside Press)
"A Case for Inspector Ghote" by June Thomson (The Verdict of Us All,
published by Crippen & Landru)

For more information about the Barry Awards, visit the Mystery News website at www.blackravenpress.com and the Deadly Pleasures website at www.deadlypleasures.com. Questions about the awards and nominations can be directed to [email protected] or [email protected].

Congrats to all the nominees! Some great books on this list.

Welcome back, Dick!

Dick Adler has returned to reviewing (and blogging) with The Knowledgeable Blogger, a site for his reviews of crime novels. Dick is one of the best critics in the business, so it's wonderful to have him back in the trenches.

Recommended review

In Monday's Washington Post, Patrick Anderson had a laudatory review of Richard Aleas' new hardboiled detective novel, Songs of Innocence. Aleas is the, um, alias of Hard Case Crime founder Charles Ardai, a man as dedicated to noir fiction as I am to free food and beer.

Anderson's review is quite enthusiastic, and much of the praise is well deserved. Ardai is an excellent writer, although I found myself not especially enjoying the book. There was something about it that kept me at arm's length, preventing me from feeling an emotional connection with the characters. But I was still able to appreciate what Ardai was doing.

Whether you've read the book or not, Anderson's critique is worth taking a look at.

Lessons learned from the industry panel at ThrillerFest

These are things that people on my panel brought up. I wasn't taking notes, so this is all from memory.

Co-op is everything. Co-op is the industry term for cooperative advertising money. This is money paid by the publisher to booksellers in order to stock their books (in the case of airports and similar) and to give their books prime placement (in the case of bookstores). If you see a book in the front of B&N, it's likely that the publisher paid them to put it there. Co-op is the most expensive and the most important part of advertising that any book will receive. It is crucial for a book's success.

It's almost impossible to say how many books it takes to make the New York Times bestseller list. It varies wildly from week to week, depending on the competition. It's possible that you might make the list with as few as 7000 books sold in a week. But other weeks a book might sell many more than that and not even get close. (I did hear from a trusted source, not on the panel, that it takes a minimum of 35,000 books shipped in order to have a chance to make the list.)

Although making the New York Times list is important, it's more important to sell a lot of books. More books sold is always better than a higher ranking. It also doesn't matter if the book gets all its sales up-front, or if it gets them over the course of months. The total sales is what matters in the end.

Timing is very important to a book's success. (And that's why there are hardly any books being published this week -- everyone is staying away from Harry Potter.) The competition a book faces, especially in the initial weeks, can determine its fate. Thus the publishers track when everyone is publishing their books and schedule their own releases accordingly. The late fall is an especially busy time for big-name books.

Be nice to your editor. It's not her fault if the book does poorly. Also, be nice to your editor's assistant. They will often give authors information they aren't supposed to have, especially if the editor is on vacation.

BookScan numbers can be unreliable, but there is disagreement as to how unreliable. They probably track around 60-70% of sales, but this can vary depending on the type of book. (A subscription to BookScan, by the way, runs 6 figures annually.)

Online sales aren't very important for bestsellers. For someone like Tess Gerritsen, Amazon only represents 3% of total books sold. Also, Amazon rankings don't mean much. A book can jump significantly with only minimal sales.

The big box stores (price clubs, WalMart, etc.) are extremely important for mass success. If a book isn't sold in those stores, it's unlikely to be a bestseller. Sales through those outlets amount to as much as 40% of a bestseller's total sales. However, for first-time or unknown authors, the chance of your books being sold there is very small. So don't expect it.

The cover of a book is the single most important factor in closing customer sales. Covers are often a contentious topic between publishers and authors, and publishers don't do much in the way of market testing to find out what works. (The publishing industry in general doesn't do much market research.) If an author is going to complain about a cover, it's best to have specific areas of objection, and suggestions for improvements. Bestselling authors like Gerritsen can get cover approval, but new authors cannot.

It's hard to get your book reviewed if you're a first-time author. It's hard to get your book reviewed if you're an unknown author. It's hard to get your book reviewed no matter what! (It's not impossible, though. And it helps if the book is interesting and fresh.)

The best way to get your book reviewed, and the best way to have it be a success, is to write the best book you possibly can. And that is the one area of the process over which an author actually has control.