Do you read new writers?

I'll read anything that's intresting.



~Sam

I love new authors. I buy stacks of books as gifts for my family and friends, and unfortunately when I score a hit they end up buying the author's entire backlist, so every birthday I have to come up with new inspiration.

(I wish people's early novels would stop being out of print. Please let me give you money!)

Chumplet said:

I have my faithful standbys like Dick Francis, but since I started writing I've hooked up with so many wonderful debut authors that I've been reading all their stuff. Their writing is fresh and new, and I feel great for them.

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Dick Francis is a God among men. I have entire shelves full of his wondrous goodness, jostling for elbow space with my favourite Alistair MacLeans and Desmond Bagleys. When I'm totally stressed out I need either a Schwarzenegger film or a good thriller.

How would you even know if that author is newbie just by reading the book?

I don't usually go to the bookstore with a specific idea of what I'm looking for. So I love browsing around and seeing what looks interesting, and often it is a debut author. And if it's someone I've heard about from here or a blog, then it just jumps out at me.

BlueLucario said:

How would you even know if that author is newbie just by reading the book?

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You can't.

You can tell the author is new by checking things such as the copyright date, the author's website, review blogs, and other such things. Look at the inside book pages and see if other publications are listed.

If you're standing in a bookstore in April 2009, and the copyright page says "April 2009," and the inside covers list no other books by this author, chances are he or she's a newbie.

JustDee said:

I know that prolly sounds like a silly question, but I'm curious if anyone finds that once they start "writing" as a pastime or career, if it changes their reading habits.

(snip)

Also, a 2nd question - who typically writes the synopsis for a book. Is that the publisher's marketing/pr department?

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Once I started learning about correct writing, I can't stand sloppy writing anymore. I've put down some books by popular authors because of this. (I will not name them.) New or old isn't important to me anymore, I want to read good writing so I can get better.

Your second question happens to be one I asked an editor I met. She told me the stuff on the cover is chosen by the publisher. The author has input, mostly, but they don't have the final say.

I just read Still Alice by Lisa Genova, who is a new writer. It was wonderful. With four kids, including 2-year-old twins, and a ton of work to do, I still finished it in four days. I like fresh voices. I don't intentionally look for new authors, but I tend to be attracted to those books. I'll read anything by Michael Onaatje though. I believe I've read everything he's written and I still find myself both educated and entertained and enlightened.

JustDee said:

Also, a 2nd question - who typically writes the synopsis for a book. Is that the publisher's marketing/pr department?

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My jacket copy was written by the publisher's publicity department. They sent me a draft and asked for comments. It was horrible, and I did my best to fix it. My version was "too dry and academic" - their original purple prose is going on the jacket.

I buy a book when I'm intrigued by the story and I haven't read too many negative reviews about it.

Otherwise, I don't care whether the author is new or not. I'm always happy to see new authors appear. Hope one of those will be me once.

I choose books if the story intrigues me.

But saying that I've just pre-ordered the debut novel by Matt Hilton.

gothicangel said:

I choose books if the story intrigues me.

But saying that I've just pre-ordered the debut novel by Matt Hilton.

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Matt will be huge. No doubt about it. Enjoy.

JJ

New writers tend to be simultaneously more and less original than established writers. By that, I mean they tend to wear their influences on their sleeves, but the execution is fresher than the rehashings certain experienced writers churn out.

Then again, some of these new writers go on to rehash their original successes. Ha!

rugcat said:

The marketing dept on my books has routinely tried to include major spoilers in their zeal to make the copy attractive to buyers. The kind of thing they tend to do is along the lines of ". . . and little did she know that the man she thought was her brother was the heir to a fortune -- and a killer."

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Clair Dickson said:

I don't usually pay much attention to new or old, but rather the elements of the story. I'm less and less trusting of back cover blurbs-- read too many that made me think that whoever wrote it didn't actually read the book! So, mainly, I go with recommendations by those who I know.

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QFT

I stopped reading back-cover copy for the most part a long time ago. It so seldom corresponds to what's actually in the book. And when it does, it tells me more than I want to know before reading.

I love reading books by new writers. I'm particularly looking forward to reading The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, by Reif Larsen (being published in May), and The Crying Tree, by Naseem Rakha (being published in July).

As far as the jacket copy question goes -- in my case, I got to write the copy. (The marketing department shortened it, and then I re-added things, and we worked together until it was short enough for the jacket flap yet still made me happy. The folks at Dutton have been really great about working "with" me on things rather than dictating.)

You are indeed blessed Tanya. May we all find equally amiable publishers.

I'm a new writer! You can read me!

Seriously, though, I often would seek out debut authors so I could read and learn

I go mainly by two things: if the book looks/sounds interesting, and if someone I trust has recommended it to me. I have indeed read new writers, and some of them are rather popular now (and no longer new). It all depends on my mood. Sometimes I want to read something familiar, other times I want to try something different, and that's when I'm most likely to pick up a new author.

I like to check out first novels to try to suss out what made this one get at least as far as the bookstore. Sometimes I'm thrilled, sometimes I get burned, but hey, the same applies to books by writers with mile-long resumes.

The latest first novel I read was well-published, well-promoted and reasonably well-reviewed, but I've yet to figure out why it was chosen for the Show. That used to make me nuts, but now I drink megadoses of chamomile tea and I just feel...so...sleepy...