First Impressions

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Abstract

free books, the reduced-price books are listed. Maybe, they regularly sell for $17 and are$ 3.99 that day. After that comes a soon-to-be-released book. Over the years, I have amassed a big collection of books, so opening my Kindle is like walking into a bookstore.When I want to read a new book on my Kindle, I usually go to the Kindle app on my computer. I can sort books and see what is available easier there. My Kindles (I’ve got three of them) are on the older side, and it takes a bit of effort sometimes to browse through my library. If you do this on your computer, it’s all in color and works much more efficiently.Sometimes these are new writers, other times, they are established ones. Occasionally, a classic is available. Rare is the day I don’t pick up something.It is a treasured part of my day to look forward to.Yesterday there was something that looked interesting at <a href="https://www.weberbooks.com/kindle/">Weberbooks.com</a>. It involved pirates, and right away, I wanted to read it. It was also not free. I clicked on the button, which whisked me off to Amazon, where the book was being sold. I went to the “See More Inside” button. You get to read the first ten pages or so of books to see if you are interested.In the very first sentence, the first line of the book, there was a word that had been misused. It wasn’t spelled wrong; it was just used incorrectly. I slammed the book shut. Do you know why? That first impression you get of anything, fruit at the store, a date, or a prospective employer or employee, means so much. The idea of the book and the

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description of the book captivated me. That one wrong word just turned me off.Maybe it was an automatic spellchecker or grammar checker that had done its evil deed.In the end, it is the author who is responsible for the book.I went back for a closer look just now while writing this piece. I used a different browser, an incognito window, and KDSPY, where you can see how many copies of the book have been sold, what its ranking is in different topics, how many reviews it has on Amazon, and how much average revenue it makes each month.I wasn’t surprised. Pretty much nothing.The author is sort of ghost-like, meaning he is not well-published and publishes under a multitude of names. Not illegal, but for a 30-page book? Low content? Poorly written? Yeah, you can do that, but if you do, at least do more than seven of them. The book brings in about $3 a month. Could it be somebody out there on the internet churning out stuff? Oh, you can bet on that. Are they making a decent living? No. More than at Medium, but still not enough to even buy groceries for a week.It also goes to show just how little effort you can put into bringing a book to life if you self-publish.All that aside, I told my husband about it. He told me that the first 20 pages of any book have to be pristine; otherwise, an agent will toss it aside. I didn’t know that.Thanks for reading.<figure id="52e6"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*jk7IJL26Sz7CPpOy0l7dRQ.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure></article></body>

How Important Are the First Pages In a Book?

Something interesting happened to me yesterday. I go to Weberbooks.com every day for a free book. Around 10 in the morning my time (California), they will put up three pages of Kindle e-books that are available that day for free at Amazon. I always pick up cookbooks, and yesterday I chose three: Amish, Chinese, and Tex-Mex. That was a red-letter day!

The book selection varies every day, with lots of cozy mysteries, romances, LGBT, historical novels, and zombie stuff. I don’t always get a book, but it’s nice to have a look. I have discovered writers there that I go on to read more of, like Steve Higgs and Mildred Abbot.

After the free books, the reduced-price books are listed. Maybe, they regularly sell for $17 and are $3.99 that day. After that comes a soon-to-be-released book. Over the years, I have amassed a big collection of books, so opening my Kindle is like walking into a bookstore.

When I want to read a new book on my Kindle, I usually go to the Kindle app on my computer. I can sort books and see what is available easier there. My Kindles (I’ve got three of them) are on the older side, and it takes a bit of effort sometimes to browse through my library. If you do this on your computer, it’s all in color and works much more efficiently.

Sometimes these are new writers, other times, they are established ones. Occasionally, a classic is available. Rare is the day I don’t pick up something.

It is a treasured part of my day to look forward to.

Yesterday there was something that looked interesting at Weberbooks.com. It involved pirates, and right away, I wanted to read it. It was also not free. I clicked on the button, which whisked me off to Amazon, where the book was being sold. I went to the “See More Inside” button. You get to read the first ten pages or so of books to see if you are interested.

In the very first sentence, the first line of the book, there was a word that had been misused. It wasn’t spelled wrong; it was just used incorrectly. I slammed the book shut. Do you know why? That first impression you get of anything, fruit at the store, a date, or a prospective employer or employee, means so much. The idea of the book and the description of the book captivated me. That one wrong word just turned me off.

Maybe it was an automatic spellchecker or grammar checker that had done its evil deed.

In the end, it is the author who is responsible for the book.

I went back for a closer look just now while writing this piece. I used a different browser, an incognito window, and KDSPY, where you can see how many copies of the book have been sold, what its ranking is in different topics, how many reviews it has on Amazon, and how much average revenue it makes each month.

I wasn’t surprised. Pretty much nothing.

The author is sort of ghost-like, meaning he is not well-published and publishes under a multitude of names. Not illegal, but for a 30-page book? Low content? Poorly written? Yeah, you can do that, but if you do, at least do more than seven of them. The book brings in about $3 a month. Could it be somebody out there on the internet churning out stuff? Oh, you can bet on that. Are they making a decent living? No. More than at Medium, but still not enough to even buy groceries for a week.

It also goes to show just how little effort you can put into bringing a book to life if you self-publish.

All that aside, I told my husband about it. He told me that the first 20 pages of any book have to be pristine; otherwise, an agent will toss it aside. I didn’t know that.

Thanks for reading.