
The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for The Vilcabamba Prophecy: A Nick Randall Novel
Because The Vilcabamba Prophecy 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.
P_hernandez

This is a fast paced tale of adventure. This book seemed professionally edited. I like that the story seems to move along, however cliche dialogue, extremely predictable plot lines, and some hinting at unbelievable twists makes this difficult for me to personally become engrossed in. This is not my preferred genre. There is merit in the quality of writing, regardless.
First Ten review added on June 30, 2016, at 11:23 am by P_hernandez.
bluemel4

At first glance this book fits all of my criteria for selection. The cover art is appealing, the blurb is enticing, and the reviews are mainly positive. After reading the first ten pages I would not continue reading this book. The writing does not feel polished; the story lacks the urgency the author is trying to achieve. Sentences are unnecessarily wordy and there is a lot of information being spoon fed to the reader.
First Ten review added on June 30, 2016, at 8:42 am by bluemel4.
Gravy

I probably would not have looked at this book, though I found the cover nice enough, it's just not a genre I read heavily, usually just a few authors.
The sample was interesting and I could see reading it, though it wouldn't be high on my list (mainly because it feels a little slow and word dense, especially for the genre, but that's just my preference), if forced, I'd have to say no, I wouldn't go out of my way to read it.
I didn't notice any errors, but feel that the descriptions and interactions could be improved upon, mainly by trimming the descriptions down, and making the character interactions feel more believable.
First Ten review added on June 30, 2016, at 5:35 am by Gravy.
Sarah G

A really fast pace sold opening which pulled me into the story. The front cover of the book is really eye catching and the blurb gave enough intrigue to make me pick up the book and at least try a sample version and after reading that sample I would happily finish the book.
The book had a very clean look to it a day I saw no galling issues.
First Ten review added on June 30, 2016, at 2:25 am by Sarah G.
truebookaddict
Yes, I would have chosen to read it. I actually bought it. I like archaeological thrillers. Anything that involves characters investigating historical/archaeological sites. Throw in some science fiction and I'm sold.
Yes, I will read the whole book. The first ten pages were exciting.
The book seems to be professionally edited. I did not notice any typos or grammatical errors.
The discovery made and the suspense early on made me want to read more. I really have no suggestions for improvements based on the first ten pages. Seems good to go as is. Looking forward to reading the rest. It's on my TBR.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 10:55 pm by truebookaddict.
Rachaelamb1

I like the cover and title of the book. It immediately made me think of Indiana Jones. I don't know if I will read the rest because it isn't really my type of book. I kind of have the feeling it's going in the direction of aliens though I may be wrong.
I enjoy how it quickly gets into the story without a lot of introduction bogging it down. The backstory is good and needed, but if it continues throughout the whole book it will slow the story down. The book also seems to be very well written and professionally edited.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 8:57 pm by Rachaelamb1.
Momlovesbooks

I would have sampled this book based on the cover and the author's blurb. I love action/adventure novels, so when I read that it had an "Indiana Jones" feel to it, I definitely wanted to read it. After reading the first ten pages, I was hooked. The book seems to be professionally edited and easy to follow. I love that the action started at the beginning instead of taking a long time to build up to. I will be reading this entire book.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 8:17 pm by Momlovesbooks.
Shelle

I don't think I would have chosen to sample this book based on the cover and the blurb, however, I'm certainly glad I did. What I read was fast-paced and fun and left me wanting more. I think this would be a great series to get into. It looks professionally edited. I really liked how the chapters were short and intense and how style got me excited for the next scene. When I'm in the mood for a good adventure story, I'll definitely check this one out.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 2:17 pm by Shelle.
CataclysmicKnight

I'm so torn on this one! Before reading anything I was very curious and would have read it. The first few pages changed my mind, though - I was confused by the reason the main character was so looked down on and the opening paragraphs were clunky. However, by the end of the first chapter I kept wanting to read more and more to see what's going to happen. I'm not sure I'll read the whole book, but I'll definitely read more of it, and as such I'm saying "yes" to reading it all.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 2:13 pm by CataclysmicKnight.
gali

Based on the blurb, cover, and reviews I am not sure I would have read the book. The blurb didn't grab me and the cover wasn't very engaging. I found the beginning interesting enough, though the premise isn't very original. In fact, it reminded me of Indiana Jones. I liked the writing and the plot, based on what little I have read. I especially liked the chapters with Dr. Randall, but found the chapters with his daughter less engaging. I liked what I have read, but it didn't interest me enough to read the rest. I think men will find it more to their taste.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 12:02 pm by gali.
L_Therese

This book's description makes it sound exciting - a literary Indiana Jones adventure, but reading the first pages was disappointing for me. The author didn't immerse me in the characters' heads (two narrations). There is plenty of action and excitement already, but I feel like a distant observer instead of a vicarious participant. This "tell-me" (as opposed to "show-me") style is a pet peeve of mine, so I will not be continuing the book. There's plenty of excitement from the very first pages, so this book might fit well for many other readers.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 11:07 am by L_Therese.
bookowlie

The summary blurb on Amazon made me interested in reading the book, although it’s awkward that the characters’ names are in bold print. The cover is bland and didn’t affect me one way or the other. The writing style is long-winded and the dialogue is somewhat flat. There is nothing in the first few paragraphs that really made me want to read the rest of the book. I might be more interested if the dialogue was livelier or there was something else that grabbed my attention right from the start. The beginning is well-written, but slow-paced. There is also a tell vs. show style – for example, “his body language spoke of his reluctance to enter” and “their pursuers had located them.” Based on the sample, I don’t think I would want to read the book.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 11:06 am by bookowlie.
Vermont Reviews

The Vilcabamba Prophecy by Robert Rapoza shows the reader the main character Dr. Nicholas Randall who is sent on a trip to the Amazon rain forest to look for ancient ruins that prove his theories about human technology development. He is financed by a secret individual who wants Dr. Nicholas to make the trip immediately. When the Doctor does not report in to the base camp the person in charge contacts his daughter Dr. Samantha Randall to come to Peru to find him. The story is well written. It has been proofread and edited as I did not see any errors. I read the sample and decided to buy the full book. It was enough to spark my interest to want to finish the story. I would be interested in reading more by Robert Rapoza as he appears to be a master storyteller.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 10:21 am by Vermont Reviews.
Heidi M Simone

Had I not sampled the first ten pages as part of this program, I probably would not have chosen to read this book. The title is a bit confusing and I'm unsure if this is the first book in the series. As a reader, if something is part of a series, I always like to the read the first book first. The reviews are good, so that didn't sway me one way or the other. Unfortunately, I will not be reading the rest of this book because the content is uninteresting to me. That is not to say this wouldn't spark someone else's interest, but just not mine. Based on what I read, the book does seem like it was professionally edited, and I did not see any typos and/or grammar errors. I like the mystery aspect in the bit that I read and how the perspective was changed shortly after Samantha's dad and his colleagues became trapped. One way the beginning pages could be improved is explaining how and why did the men think that the writing will help them escape? If I am being chased after, my first thought would not try to solve the writing's mystery. I would either try to find another exit or wait it out and go out the way I came from.
First Ten review added on June 29, 2016, at 8:58 am by Heidi M Simone.
Total ~ 43%
The Vilcabamba Prophecy earned a score of 43%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 43% 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.
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