The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Sister Carrie
Because Sister Carrie 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.
jwalker73
I would not have picked this book based on cover and title alone but, being familiar with the author's other work, I would expect this to be a good read. The review, however, gives the impression the ending could have been further elaborated on. The first ten pages have been enjoyable. The writing flows smoothly and appears professionally edited. It gives a good overview of the family dynamics in Carrie's family. I intend to read the rest of the book as I want to know the outcome of these sisters and, being a shorter novel, should provide an easy read.
First Ten review added on December 9, 2017, at 6:07 am by jwalker73.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
jungkookblog
When I first see the cover, I think that the book is about two sisters and how they go through life, and I don't think I would be reading this book because it seems like it's plain and I'm not sure what conflict would occur through the story. I will not be reading the book because at the beginning of the story between many people and I'm not sure what the context is or who they are. It seems professionally edited. I didn't see a review, and I don't think that would've affected my decision.
First Ten review added on December 9, 2017, at 2:25 am by jungkookblog.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I would have sampled this book based on the genre, blurb and OBC review. It seems like a story that would interest me. After reading the first ten pages, I won't be finishing this book. There was too much dialogue for me. Some of the dialogue had parts where it stopped saying who was talking, and I had to backtrack to follow the conversation. It did seem to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on December 9, 2017, at 2:07 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Azeline Arcenal
After reading the sample, I decided not to finish reading the book. Although the book is free, the sample didn’t interest me enough. I also read in the official OBC review that there were some sexual content which I’m not comfortable reading. While reading the sample, I didn’t notice any major grammatical errors either. Had I not sampled the first ten pages, I probably would not have sampled this book based on the title or cover because neither looking intriguing enough for me.
First Ten review added on December 9, 2017, at 1:02 am by Azeline Arcenal.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
AA1495
Had I not sampled the book, I would not have read it. I usually read romance books. Having read the sample, I thought that the beginning had more descriptions than necessary. The book seems professionally edited. I found the plot interesting and it made me curious about the rest of the book. Hence, since I liked the plot, I will be reading the rest of the book.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2017, at 6:55 pm by AA1495.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Vickie Noel
I was attracted to this book because of its cover. Turns out I had a totally different idea about the story other than what I actually read. The image of the larger-than-life sized woman and the much shorter one beside her is hard for me to reconcile with Jessie and Carrie. I don't know if its a figurative concept but I thought it to be a story with somewhat supernatural/uncanny angles. The first ten certainly proved otherwise and I'm somewhat at a loss on what to feel. I'm not particularly fond of either sister: Jessie's pretty petty and Carrie's plain stubborn, so character bonding was quite difficult, yet I'm curious to know how their story ends. Coupled with the fact that it's not a very long read, I'll be finishing this book. The OBC review contributed to my initial eagerness to do so. There are some grammatical errors too, making the book not as professionally edited as I would have liked to say it is. The sentence, "For weeks after the funeral.... Jessie heard Carrie's quiet sobs..." is ambiguous because it doesn't explain if a specific period of time (Four weeks) or a general time frame (Weeks after the funeral) is being referred to. I'm gravitating towards the former because, subsequently in the story, another reference to specific time is mentioned (Four months after the funeral). Then, there are cases of missing commas and omitted speech marks for thought. These errors weren't too distracting but should definitely be improved upon.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2017, at 6:10 pm by Vickie Noel.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Izesicle
Had I not actually sampled the first ten pages as part of this program, I would have chosen to read or sample this book based on the cover art.
I am not going to buy and read the whole book because the sample was too pushy religious for me.
Based on what I read, the book seems like it was professionally edited. I didn't notice typo or grammar errors.
What I like the most in the bit I read is the cover art and the story.
What could be improved is nothing. I'm not fond of the too religious bent but other readers might like it.
The book has an Official OnlineBookClub review that I saw.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2017, at 3:57 pm by Izesicle.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Quinto
The quick blurb for today's featured book is piteous.It talks of two orphan sisters who are coming to terms with their new life after the demise of their parents. The book cover projects this semblance with a picture of a taller girl standing authoritatively over a smaller subdued one. This, together with the author's fame in literary circles would constrain me to choose to read or sample the novel. With the book currently on promotion, I took the opportunity to download a free copy which I look forward to reading it wholly. Having read the first seven chapters already, I felt the book was in line with my initial expectations. I found the reading compelling with the other two older Broward siblings reluctant to take responsibility for their youngest under-age sister, Carrie. This responsibility falls on the shoulders of her immediate elder sister, Jessie. I found their story of trying to make it in life sad and at the same time hopeful because of Jessie's belief and determination, even though she is the least financially endowed of the siblings. The book seems not to be professionally edited. I came across some typos or grammar errors: "She had dropped out of high school to work the farm, selling produce roadside and in town markets." (there is a missing word after "produce"); "For recreation Carrie chatted on the internet on Jessie's computer, or watched movies or late-night reruns of I Love Lucy on TV." ("I Love Lucy" should be italicized. There should be a comma after "recreation". There should be no comma after "computer"); "Carrie and Zamel we're staring intently at a painting the size..." ("we're" should read as "were"). I enjoyed reading about the two sisters' positive outlook on life. Jessie is a conscientious girl who gets a job for her younger sister and even guides her when she gets into her first relationship.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2017, at 11:34 am by Quinto.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
ladycraic
I'm not a painter or an artist, so I won't even attempt to thoroughly describe my appreciation for the cover art. All I can say is that it's appealing. That alone would have led me to read the blurb and learn more about the book. I also got excited when I noticed that the author was a familiar name: William H. Coles. Though I never chose to finish any of his books due to graphic content, I still esteem him as a great writer! Right off the bat, I knew the ten pages would fly right past...and they did! I was drawn from the beginning. I chuckled at the siblings bickering, and I felt the tension between Carrie and Jessie when Zamel appeared in the picture. Overall, my reading experience was great.
Unfortunately, I will not be reading due to the official OBC review's mention of sexual content. The book appeared to be professionally edited, and I didn't notice any errors.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 11:25 pm by ladycraic.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CataclysmicKnight
I likely wouldn't have checked this one out from first glance since it doesn't look like one of my typical genres, but I'm glad it was book of the day so I'd check it out! We've been binge watching Party of Five on Netflix so the idea of parents dying and their kid having to raise the younger kids, or in the case of this one, one kid raising the 17-year-old, is familiar. The first chapter was a bit rough to read since the older kids were all jerks, and so far none of them seem to have much personality aside from Carrie and her online boyfriend, but that second chapter has been more enjoyable so far. I also haven't seen any grammatical errors at all, and the 3/4 OBC review is very promising! With the book being free and under 100 pages I'll definitely be finishing it.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 10:50 pm by CataclysmicKnight.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Sarah_Khan
The cover of this book is average. I probably would not have picked this book up because the title makes me think it might be about nuns. The first few pages start at a funeral, which brought emotion. The book is well-written and professionally edited. The OBC review was favorable and mentioned that the plot is unpredictable. I look forward to reading the rest since it is a short novella.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 9:50 pm by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Scerakor
From the cover, blurb, and review of this book, I probably would not have picked it up. Although I have nothing against them, I rarely read pure drama novels. After reading the first 10 pages I didn't change my mind. Although the writing was absolutely excellent, the main story behind the book just didn't interest me. I like my literature with a little bit more action than pure social conflict. That being said, I love the character development, the feeling of isolation given to the siblings,even the approach the author took even within the first few pages. The writing was excellent and I didn't see any errors. I will not however, the reading the rest of this book. The official review did not affect my decision at all.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 9:13 pm by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Catherine Hsu
If I had not read the sample I would not have read the book as I do not seem like it is my genre. After reading the sample I have not changed my mind. It seemed a little slow and boring for me; however, as an artist I really liked how each chapter begins with a little painting. It really matched the cover's artistic style. It was professionally edited and the official review made me want to read it because it said the book was "unpredictable".
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 9:07 pm by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
ritah
Based on the cover and title, I wouldn't have sampled the book because it's not what I would usually go for (it didn't appeal to me). After reading the official review and then the sample of the book, I still felt that the book wasn't for me; which is why I won't be reading the rest of the book. I appreciated the picture at the beginning of the narrative, as it added to the tone of the story. I did not find any errors/ typos on the pages I read.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 8:51 pm by ritah.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
vaz222
Had I not read the first ten pages as part of this program, I don't think I would have chosen this book to read. The title and cover are just plain boring. The genre is fiction which I love but it's not the kind of exciting story that I like to read based on the description. I'm not going to be buying and reading the whole book because I don't like the storyline. A young girl falling for someone over the internet just doesn't sound like something I would read. Based on what I read, it does seem to be professionally edited. What I liked most in the bit that I read was how the classic television show "I Love Lucy" was mentioned. That made me happy for a brief moment. There is nothing in the first ten pages that needs improvement from what I saw.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 8:43 pm by vaz222.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Afuglsan
I would not have chosen this book to read based on looks and title alone. It looks like an old Jane Austin-classic kind of read, which doesn't appeal to me. The reviews are pretty good, but the OBC didn't give it 4 stars. I didn't notice any editorial errors. The writing is fine, but I just couldn't get into it. The premise doesn't appeal to me either. I think I'm just going to have to pass on this one.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 8:19 pm by Afuglsan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CrescentMoon
Based on the blurb, I don't think this is a book I would pick up because it seems really sad. I do like the theme of friendship and sisterhood and family but this subject matter with Carrie needing someone to take care of her really doesn't interest me. After reading the first ten pages, I didn't see major grammar or spelling errors. I do think that the theme of unpredictability may be good for people who like twists and turns and shock in their books. I just wasn't really hooked after reading it, so I won't be continuing to read the rest.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 6:25 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Seraphia Bunny Sparks
After reading a few pages of, Sister Carrie by William H. Coles, I have decided that I will finish reading this book. My first impression when I saw the cover for this book was interest. The cover led me to believe that this story was set back in the early 1900s at most. I was eager to read this book based on this. Once I read the blurb, I felt let down. As I read, I learned this is a more current time story. The story happens during the more modern age of the internet. If I had not read a sample of this book, I would have picked it up. The cover appealed to me as I am a fan of this genre. I am going to finish reading this book. The storyline appeals to my interest. The author pulls me in from the beginning and makes me want to know what happens next. Based on what I have read this book appears to be professionally edited. This book does have an official OnlineBookClub review. The reviewer engaged my interest in the story.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 6:05 pm by Seraphia Bunny Sparks.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Shelle
This book looked interesting and I eagerly sampled it. The OBC review was also quite encouraging. I don't know I would have selected this book had it not been BOTD because I wouldn't have even known about it. Unfortunately, the first paragraph was enough to turn me off. The first sentence contained 41 words and the next wasn't much better. These verbose run-on sentences were exhausting to read and I have no desire to read more. A good editor could clean that all up and make it more palatable.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 5:23 pm by Shelle.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Ashley Simon
The title and cover suggest religious content and I wasn't very interested in that. However, I read the OBC review and thought the premise (Jessie and Carrie's parents dying, Jessie being forced to care for Carrie) sounded interesting. There weren't any major red flags in the sample I read. But I didn't care for Jessie's attitude toward keeping Carrie super innocent and instilling Christian values in her. That's just a personal preference, but I don't think I want to read the rest of the book. I didn't notice significant grammatical errors.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 5:14 pm by Ashley Simon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
micoleon13
This cover doesn't appeal to me, personally. I think it's both the style and choice of colour which puts me off. The reviewer for Onlinebookclub obviously enjoyed the book, but they mentioned that it was a short story. I like books which have some length to them. The character development and unpredictably of the story attracted me though. The pages which I read were well written and edited. The reader is drawn to empathise with both Jessie and Carrie for the situation they both find themselves in after their parents die. While I can see that this book would appeal to a range of readers, it's just not for me. The story didn't succeed in grabbing my attention enough to want to continue reading. I have no ideas for improvement.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 4:44 pm by micoleon13.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Alice Heritage
I might have chosen to sample this on the basis of the description and I will read the rest of it on the basis of the first ten pages because the characters and their motivations were described in an efficient, compelling way. I also learned from the OnlineBookClub review that this is short. The language flowed well and this may have been professionally edited, though I noticed the error "rouge male" in the description and "It's was mother's ..." in the text. I liked the dramatization of the dilemmas Jessie faces in looking after Carrie best. In terms of what could be improved, it's maybe problematic that Zamel is described as being of Arabic appearance at first, but is Iranian.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 3:15 pm by Alice Heritage.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
MarisaRose
I have read a book by this author, and I really did not care for it. That being said, despite the positive OBC review, I do not want to read 'Sister Carrie.' Further, even the OBC review had a few negative points about this book that again make me hesitant to try this author again. This is not a book I would purchase. After sampling the first ten pages, I am sticking to my initial assumption. Although I enjoy the author's writing style and found no editorial issues in the sample, I was confused and uninterested in the initial portion of the story that I read. Although novellas are short by nature, I could already tell this novella was too short as it lacked significant details that would have better drawn me into the story. The children introduced at the beginning of the novella are uninteresting and fail to grip the reader's attention in any way. Overall, I was not interested in this novella, and I do not plan to read any more of it.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 2:28 pm by MarisaRose.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
MsTri
I will NOT be reading "Sister Carrie". Neither the cover nor title grabbed my attention. The synopsis and review only served to confirm my lack of interest. Reading the sample further solidified that gut feeling. Even though I give high marks for the great editing job, I just can't care for either character; Carrie is too stubborn, and Jessie is too wimpy. I cannot imagine reading a whole book with such characters, so I am passing on this one.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 1:33 pm by MsTri.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
va2016
The cover and the title look good, but I would have still
still sampled the book before making a decision to buy.
The book seem to be professionally edited and I didn't find
any mechanical errors. The story is developed well in the
initial chapters which lays a good foundation for the story.
I didn't find anything specific that could be improved in the
book.
Although I found an onlinebookclub.org review for this book,
I would have still sampled the book myself to make my decision.
I am not going to read this book in full, as family fictions
are not usually my genre.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 12:14 pm by va2016.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Heidi M Simone
Without this program, I would not have sampled this read. The cover looks artistic, which is nice; the title reminds me of someone who might be a nun, but reading the blurb proves that this isn't the case. I did find the blurb to be a bit wordy. This might be because there are really long sentences here. However, I don't feel pulled toward the premise. I am also a bit put off that the OBC reviewer mentions there are errors found here. Since this is the only review out there (no customer reviews), then it furthers my conclusion that I would not have sampled this read on my own.
Based on I what I read, I didn't see any glaring errors. I like how the beginning starts right away with the conflict of who is taking care of Carrie after their parents died. However, I felt the beginning was somewhat disconnected and it was tough to tell who was speaking to whom at times. It was also hard to grasp these people's true emotions. Due to this confusion, I do not plan on finishing this read.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 11:48 am by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Yoli García
Even though the OBC review was positive, I was not interested in reading this book before I read the sample pages. The story of two sisters after their parents died did not spark my attention. However, I changed my mind after reading the sample pages. I liked the author’s writing style and characters. The book seems edited. I usually do not like family dramas, but I want to know more about Carrie and why her older siblings are not nice to her.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 9:57 am by Yoli García.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Snowflake
The cover of this one makes me think that it's an English novel set in the past. The title makes me think of Stephan King's horror book and movie, "Carrie". I was not really interested in this book at first. The Amazon blurb was ok but a little unclear. The OBC review was good and added to my interest in the book. I read the sample and at first, I found the style a bit overdone; a bit too much descriptive writing. As I read further, I became more interested in the story and I am now curious about how things will play out. I find it a bit depressing that there seems to be no kindness or compassion amongst the siblings. They don't seem to miss their parents at all. Since this book is free and short, I will likely read the rest so I can find out what happens. I don't usually choose to read books that don't seem to have any hope or humour in them, though, so it is unlikely that I would have read the rest of the book if it weren't free and the OBC review was not so good.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 9:22 am by Snowflake.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Christina O Phillips
The cover, title, and summary were all simple to me. Without this program, I would have skipped this book. The sample opens with things that are very familiar to me: a funeral, talking about a deceased person's possessions. But then there is the added trouble of what happens to the child. The beginning sets up what promises to be an interesting read. There were no errors that I noticed. I just did not get invested enough in the characters to want to know what happens next.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 8:43 am by Christina O Phillips.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
gali
I wouldn't have sampled the book on my own, as it isn't the sort of book I normally gravitate to. I am not fond of short stories. The cover and blurb aren't very fetching, but the OBC review had me intrigued. The sample opened with a funeral and I have to say that I found the attitude of the Broward children rather odd, not to mention cold. They didn't demonstrate any sort of grief and the way they treated their young sister was shameful. I could not relate to any of them. I didn't notice any errors, but the writing felt stilted and didn't flow smoothly. Although I liked the way the info was conveyed to the reader, I didn't find the sample exciting. I won't read the book as I didn't connect with the characters, nor did I care for the writing and subject matter. The positive OBC review didn't affect my decision.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2017, at 8:29 am by gali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 37%
Sister Carrie earned a score of 37%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 37% 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 Sister Carrie
