- Joined
- Apr 19, 2008
- Messages
- 140
- Reaction score
- 5
- Location
- Hastings UK
- Website
- www.hastingspress.co.uk
Many thanks to JA Konrath for producing his ebook, which I have been reading closely.
I'd like to ask him to expand on something in it, and also ask others on the forum to give an opinion.
On pitching to potential readers/buyers:
"If the gawkers are mostly women, I mention that Jack is short for Jacqueline. If they're mostly men, I leave that part out."
I'd like to get to the bottom of why men are not interested, or why people think men are not interested in books about women (other than as sex objects, presumably) or by women, or with female heroines.
In 2005 I published a book called "Railwaywomen". It's the first history of women who worked on the railways of the UK over the past 170 years. The reviews are fabulous ( see http://www.hastingspress.co.uk/railwaywomen/railindex.html )
Time and time and time again railway-specialist booksellers (who should be my main retailers) have refused to stock the book. When I ask why, I am told 'Because most of our customers are men.' That, they seem to think, is a satisfactory explanation, as though it naturally and logically follows that, being men, it is self-evident that they will have no interest whatsoever in books about women.
If I press them to explain further, they will say overtly 'Well, obviously, they won't be interested in books about women.'
Of course the annoying thing for me is that if my book isn't stocked, then potential buyers won't see it and so we'll never know if they would buy it or not, because the book-seller is censoring what his customers will and will not be allowed to see when they are browsing.
Now, the funny thing is, of my trackable sales, i.e. from my website, 95% of the books I have posted out have gone to men. 32 of my 35 reviewers were men. When I have done public talks, the audience were mainly men and I sold books to them, too. In fact, the lack of female readers has troubled me greatly.
My new book is called "Notable Sussex Women", a collection of 580 short biogs of women who lived in my county. During a recent newspaper competition to win a copy, one-third of the entries were from men.
So, be very interested to hear from y'all, especially JA Konrath who admits in his e-book that he tells female potential buyers that Jack is a woman but holds back that information from men.
Helena Wojtczak
I'd like to ask him to expand on something in it, and also ask others on the forum to give an opinion.
On pitching to potential readers/buyers:
"If the gawkers are mostly women, I mention that Jack is short for Jacqueline. If they're mostly men, I leave that part out."
I'd like to get to the bottom of why men are not interested, or why people think men are not interested in books about women (other than as sex objects, presumably) or by women, or with female heroines.
In 2005 I published a book called "Railwaywomen". It's the first history of women who worked on the railways of the UK over the past 170 years. The reviews are fabulous ( see http://www.hastingspress.co.uk/railwaywomen/railindex.html )
Time and time and time again railway-specialist booksellers (who should be my main retailers) have refused to stock the book. When I ask why, I am told 'Because most of our customers are men.' That, they seem to think, is a satisfactory explanation, as though it naturally and logically follows that, being men, it is self-evident that they will have no interest whatsoever in books about women.
If I press them to explain further, they will say overtly 'Well, obviously, they won't be interested in books about women.'
Of course the annoying thing for me is that if my book isn't stocked, then potential buyers won't see it and so we'll never know if they would buy it or not, because the book-seller is censoring what his customers will and will not be allowed to see when they are browsing.
Now, the funny thing is, of my trackable sales, i.e. from my website, 95% of the books I have posted out have gone to men. 32 of my 35 reviewers were men. When I have done public talks, the audience were mainly men and I sold books to them, too. In fact, the lack of female readers has troubled me greatly.
My new book is called "Notable Sussex Women", a collection of 580 short biogs of women who lived in my county. During a recent newspaper competition to win a copy, one-third of the entries were from men.
So, be very interested to hear from y'all, especially JA Konrath who admits in his e-book that he tells female potential buyers that Jack is a woman but holds back that information from men.
Helena Wojtczak
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