The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Modify Destiny
Because Modify Destiny was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.
Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.
This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.
truebookaddict
I probably would have chosen to read/sample this book, even without the program. I'm a scifi fan and I liked the idea of UFOs and what sounded like a conspiracy. Reminded me of X-Files.
I bought the book and will read it eventually. As I said, I'm a fan of scifi and the first ten pages were intriguing, what with the top secret recording.
The book seems to be professionally edited. I did not notice typos or grammatical errors.
I enjoyed the top secret, conspiracy theory-ish tone of the first ten pages. I think everyone is intrigued by government cover ups and this seems to deliver in that respect. It made me want to know what's on that tape! Also, the writing is very natural. The conversation flows nicely.
The book was officially reviewed on OBC.
First Ten review added on November 14, 2016, at 1:56 am by truebookaddict.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
CataclysmicKnight
I didn't know what to expect from this one going in, and the EBEs (aliens) were a heck of a surprise toward the end of the first ten pages! I also really like the writing so far, and of course the fact that it's well-edited is a major plus as well. I'll definitely finish it sometime.
First Ten review added on November 14, 2016, at 1:55 am by CataclysmicKnight.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Gravy
This looks interesting, though it's not my genre. The cover makes sense, and the blurb was well written. I didn't notice any errors.
I won't be continuing with this, simply because it's just not my type read.
First Ten review added on November 13, 2016, at 6:41 pm by Gravy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Momlovesbooks
The description of the book and the excellent review by the OBC caught my attention. I enjoy conspiracy theory books. I read the first few pages and was instantly drawn into the intrigue. I have to keep reading to find out what secrets are being kept from the world.
First Ten review added on November 13, 2016, at 2:14 pm by Momlovesbooks.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Cjgarland89
After reviewing the OBC review and reading the sample I will definitely will be finishing this book. The concept is awesome and something I had not seen! The idea of the CIA hiding ufos, and the way the author set the whole thing up is really unique and being that the author is former CIA makes me think. There weren't any errors that I saw in the sample. I look forward to purchasing and finishing this book.
First Ten review added on November 13, 2016, at 11:39 am by Cjgarland89.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Kourtney Bradley
I love that this book is written by a veteran, and also more so that this was book of the day right around Veteran's Day. It doesn't really sound like my type of book, but I hope it does well for the author! He sounds like he has excellent potential, and I will look forward to seeing what else he has to offer.
First Ten review added on November 13, 2016, at 7:43 am by Kourtney Bradley.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
L_Therese
The description of this book - gleaned from the blurb and the review - makes it sound pretty good. It doesn't really seem to fit with the cover, which looks a bit like a dream to me, despite the sensors on the man's face. I was undecided about whether or not I was interested in the book before I read the sample. I wanted to get more information as to how well it was executed and whether it would be as exciting and vivid as it was portrayed in the review. After reading the first ten pages, it was plain that the book was indeed going to be exciting and engaging. However, it had less appeal for me than I'd hoped. Ten pages isn't a lot of space to judge a book, and this one didn't convince me that I needed to purchase it.
First Ten review added on November 13, 2016, at 1:25 am by L_Therese.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I would have sampled this book based on the OBC review and the blurb. I thought it sounded really interesting. However, after reading the first ten pages, I have decided not to purchase it. I thought the concept sounded great in the review and blurb, but I just couldn't get into it once I started reading, which is unusual for me. I'm guessing this is a pretty good book, it just didn't manage to catch my attention unfortunately. It did seem to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 11:49 pm by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Shelle
The cover and blurb looked very interesting and I was happy to have the opportunity to sample this book. My attention was grabbed right from the beginning and I like the writing style. I'm not usually into secret agent stories and thought this felt a bit like a James Bond story. I didn't see any glaring errors and the book appears to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 8:51 pm by Shelle.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Catherine Hsu
I would have read this book. The cover is beautiful, and the blurb looks extremely interesting. I have not changed my mind after sampling it. The writing was very descriptive, and I thought the formatting helped the flow of the book a lot. It was professionally edited, and my decision was not affected because I did not read an official review.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 7:57 pm by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Heidi M Simone
I'm not sure what I think about the cover, but the title is interesting. There does seem to be quite a bit of positive reviews for this book, including the OBC review. However, since the genre is Science Fiction, I would not have sampled this book on my own.
Based on what I read the book does seem to be professionally edited. I liked the introduction of President Kennedy used to have these meetings with people about extraterrestrial activity on Earth; it's an interesting concept. However, I was not captivated enough to want to continue this book, which is most likely due to the fact that I'm not a big SciFi fan and that is the feel I get in the beginning.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 5:38 pm by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CrescentMoon
I think the title and blurb sound very interesting. I am not a huge fan of the cover because it is bland but I do think the story sounds interesting so I would pick it up. After reading the first ten pages, I think I will continue reading the rest. I enjoy the writing style so far, and although it starts off slow I'm sure the action will pick up eventually. So I will read this.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 3:02 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
AA1495
Had I not sampled the book, I don't know if I would have read it. I read selective books from the genre. I liked the synopsis and cover. Having read the sample, I found it interesting. I liked the character descriptions provided. However, I didn't like the pace at which the plot was moving. The book seems to be professionally edited. It has a favorable Onlinebookclub review. I might read the book further at some point in the future.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 2:34 pm by AA1495.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
jungkookblog
I don't think I would've sampled this book, based on its cover, title, etc because it doesn't really suit the genre and plot that I would like. I think reading the first 10 pages changed my mind, and I would buy it. The story of how President Kennedy is in here, plus with many sci-fi related things, like the suitcase amazes me. It seems like it was professionally edited. I love how there is sci-fi in here, and I believe that there is nothing to be edited because the starting of it is good, the plot is good, nothing is wrong here. I did not read a onlinebookclub review, but it didn't do anything to my decision. If there isn't a review, it doesn't mean it's not good or anything. Thank you for the experience.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 2:21 pm by jungkookblog.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
gali
I wouldn't have chosen to sample this book without the program as its theme isn't something that interests me. The cover is lovely and eye-catching. The blurb is clear enough, but the Editorial Reviews in it were redundant. The sampled started well, with the meeting between Reuben Garrett and the general, but the dialogue between them felt a little strained. The premise sounds intriguing (conspiracies, UFO, CIA), and the official review sure whetted my appetite. However, after reading the sample, I decided the book isn't for me. I won't buy and read the book as it failed to grab me and I didn't become engaged in the tale.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 2:11 pm by gali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
ALynnPowers
The writing in the opening of this book is amazing. Excellent descriptions of characters and scenes really show off the author's talents, and it's so easy to picture the characters as they converse through the beginning pages of this book. The fact that the author was formerly in the CIA just adds on to the realism that is brought to the pages. However, the content of the book was way over my head. I could not follow anything the characters were talking about. It wasn't because it was boring or poorly written; it was my own personal ignorance of such topics. Probably my lack of interest in learning anything in the area comes into play as well. It's just not the type of book that draws my attention and keeps it. I do think that people who are interested into the activities of the CIA would be much more into this than I am.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 1:53 pm by ALynnPowers.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Vermont Reviews
Wow the book Modify Destiny by Bill Higgins has got my interest. I had to download to find out the... rest of the story. Great characters and a UFO story with of course President Kennedy cover-ups. You bet I want to find out what happens next. I know... I know it's fiction. But then again... maybe not. Stranger things have happened. Could it be a conspiracy theory... Great choice for today's book of the day. Thanks Bill Higgins for lowering the price. It is appreciated. I look forward with anticipation to reading the rest of the story. Great cover art. I did read the reviews and the readers seem most happy with your work. Looking forward to more of your works in the near future.
Vermont Reviews
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 12:10 pm by Vermont Reviews.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Sarah_Khan
The cover art and the title of this novel really attract attention, they definitely make you want to pick it up and learn more. I found the blurb to be adequately written.
After reading a few pages, I can say that this book is professionally edited and well-written. I personally do not read a lot of science-fiction so I will not be reading the rest of this book today, but maybe someday in the future. To be fair, I can see how this would be a good book for fans of sci-fi.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 11:09 am by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
bookowlie
The Amazon summary appears to be professionally edited and gives a good flavor of the story. The biggest issue I have is that I don't care for books in the sci-fi genre, even though the OBC review is very positive. The sample pages are well written with a nice flow, but I wasn't wild about the subject matter of covert ops and UFO's. Although this seems like a good story for sci-fi fans, I am not interesting in reading further.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 10:41 am by bookowlie.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Rachel1019
From the title and cover of this book, at first I thought that it may be some form of self-help book about modifying your own destiny. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the book was actually a CIA thriller from the review on OBC. The style of writing in the book is wonderfully captivating. This book is even written by someone who knows about the CIA, which means that it may be more accurate than some. This book would be an interesting one to read when I find some spare time.
First Ten review added on November 12, 2016, at 10:33 am by Rachel1019.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 45%
Modify Destiny earned a score of 45%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 45% plan to read the whole book.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.
Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.
Go to main Bookshelves page for Modify Destiny
