The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Ghost Dog
Because Ghost Dog 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 not have chosen to read this book just because I do not really read many books in this genre.
No, I will not buy and read the whole book. After reading the first ten pages, I could tell by the style of writing that it probably wouldn't keep my interest.
The editing seemed professional in the first ten pages. I did not notice any typos or grammatical errors.
For readers of what I would call "cozy mysteries," I thought the beginning was suitably engaging. Since I rarely read this genre, I cannot confidently suggest any improvements.
First Ten review added on August 28, 2016, at 6:21 am by truebookaddict.
CataclysmicKnight
The title had me intrigued, and I love a good mystery, but this one didn't hook me at all in the first ten pages. The book is edited well, I saw no errors of any sort, but without an interesting hook I won't be finishing it.
First Ten review added on August 27, 2016, at 8:33 pm by CataclysmicKnight.
Momlovesbooks
The cover and title of the book led me to think this would be a book about a dog. I love animals and would have been interested in a book of that nature. However, after reading the description and the first few pages, I realized the book was more of a mystery. I couldn't get into the story at the beginning. I don't think I'll be interested in reading further.
First Ten review added on August 27, 2016, at 8:12 pm by Momlovesbooks.
Kia
I would not have chosen to read this book based on the information I was given. This is based solely on the genre, as I am not usually into mystery type books. I must admit though that the first few pages were intriguing, especially as the mystery begins to unfold just a few short pages into the book. While I did find it engaging, I will still probably not choose to continue reading. I did enjoy it, but there are other books that I know I will enjoy more. I did not find any spelling or grammar mistakes.
First Ten review added on August 27, 2016, at 3:05 pm by Kia.
ashley_claire
This is not a book I would look twice at purely based on the title and cover. After reading the first ten pages of this book, I'm very confused about how a ghost dog ties in and it's a little off-putting. Reading the first ten did change my mind and this is obviously a well written cozy mystery that seems more focused on singers and music. For me, this makes the title and cover that much more confusing. I won't be continuing this book, as I like my mysteries with a little more grit and not quite so homey feeling.
First Ten review added on August 27, 2016, at 8:16 am by ashley_claire.
Annelore Trujillo
I wanted to read this book based on the review, but I changed my mind after reading the first ten pages. The first ten pages didn't manage to pull me in. There weren't any errors, and the description was pretty good. It just didn't catch my attention. I won't be finishing the book at this time.
First Ten review added on August 27, 2016, at 2:00 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Gravy
The cover is somewhat catching and makes me wonder about the title. The writing was fine and seemed well edited (save a large gap between a letter and the apostrophe that should have immediately followed). I didn't really like some of the dialogue, but most was in character and fitting.
I may have looked at this book, but probably wouldn't have sampled it. It's not my genre, and there was no specific aspect that would pull me in, so I don't plan to finish it.
First Ten review added on August 27, 2016, at 12:13 am by Gravy.
Serena [Poetree]
I would not have chosen to read this book for two reasons: I do not typically read mysteries, and I haven't read book one in this series. The opening paragraph is awkwardly written and doesn't capture my attention (except for the words "ranch" and "burros"--I'm a horse person). The first three pages feel rushed and jumbled, and I had a hard time getting into the mind of the protagonist, Alice. However, as the story got going, I became intrigued by Tessa, and curious about the incident with Annie. I don't think I'll be spending money on this book, but I won't totally write it off as not wanting to read.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 6:20 pm by Serena [Poetree].
Shelle
The title, blurb, and cover are all very intriguing, so I was glad to have to opportunity to sample this book. Jumping right in to book 2 of the series, I felt a little lost. The characters seem likable and the story is likely interesting. I felt some of the dialogue was choppy and rough. I didn't see any glaring errors. Before I read this book, I would need to read book 1 so I could better understand and and enjoy this one.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 6:07 pm by Shelle.
CrescentMoon
Based on the book cover, title, and genre, I don't think I would choose to read this book. Although I am a huge fan of mystery and crime novels, I typically don't go for the small-town cozy mysteries. I have read these books before and they generally are not my cup of tea. I read the first ten pages and I still would not choose to read the entire book. I like reading books that are more fast-paced and full of action and the pacing was a little bit too slow for me. There was a lot of setting placement and descriptions. However, based on the customer reviews and the rating, I can see that this is a very popular and well-received book. However, it is not my cup of tea.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 5:06 pm by CrescentMoon.
Cjgarland89
After sampling the first ten, I noticed in the first few pages it seemed some of the sentences were just run on, and I had to re-read a few parts to actually understand what was going on. I am not sure I am interested enough to complete the book. The only think I can see improving is making the dialogue a little less confusing at the beginning.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 1:33 pm by Cjgarland89.
braver
Having not read the first book in this series, I would never have just picked up this book on its own, even if it can be a standalone. The book's summary was interesting enough, but as I got started reading, I found it to be way too many characters too fast (Alice and Miranda talking in the car about this and that person). Maybe if I had read the first book, I wouldn't feel that it was so overwhelming. I was oddly bothered by the sentence "Tessa ... sped down the porch steps to her battered red Toyota." Her battered red Toyota what? Seemed like a silly detail to leave out, but it also felt in line with the writing: I was missing details that I wanted and was glossing over some of the details provided. I don't expect to read this book.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 12:41 pm by braver.
Heidi M Simone
Without this program, I am not sure if I would've sampled this read. Even though the dog on the cover is cute, the title and blurb didn't seem like a book that I would enjoy. However, after reading the reviews and sampling the first ten pages, I have decided to finish reading it.
This seemingly well-written book grabbed my attention when Alice and Doctor Joe were praising Tessa on beautiful her song was because I enjoy music very much. At this point, I'm not sure how the author can improve on her book.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 12:15 pm by Heidi M Simone.
Kourtney Bradley
I don't really feel like the first ten pages were enough for me to get a feel of how this book is going. I know there is a vet involved from the very beginning, but I'm totally unsure about the title and when it will tie in to the book. The editing seems to have been done professionally, as I have found no errors. What I have read so far makes me feel like I should read the first book before starting this one, but I am intrigued. For now, I think I'll pass on this one and base my decision on if I enjoy the first.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 12:08 pm by Kourtney Bradley.
Rachaelamb1
I don't particularly care for the cover, but the description sounded interesting. The beginning of this book drew me in and made me eager to find out what happens next. I like the characters and the author's writing style. The book may have some typos in it. I noticed one where there was a space after an apostrophe and before an "s". This would not keep me from buying the book, but I have too many books on my list to justify buying this one right now.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 11:52 am by Rachaelamb1.
Vermont Reviews
Great story. After reading the preview I know for sure that I would love to finish the rest of the book. I love the cover. I did read some of the reviews. Praise for the story on most of them.
Looking forward to reading the rest of the story.
Vermont Reviews
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 11:10 am by Vermont Reviews.
L_Therese
I was pretty excited for this book. It sounded fun and a little suspenseful. The description promised witty dialogue and engaging characters. At first, it seemed to start a little slow, and I was worried about characters being portrayed as too perfect. However, the storytelling settled in, and I became invested in the plot and characters. I ended up reading the entire sample and plan to continue with the rest of the book! I will say, I'm not clear on how a ghost dog is at all related to what I've discovered about the book so far.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 10:13 am by L_Therese.
gali
I probably have sampled this book as I love cozy mysteries. I have actually read another book by this author (the third book in the series) and loved it and its heroine. The cover is nice, though a bit simplistic. The blurb and reviews sparked my interest, and the sample did the rest. I enjoyed the well-written sample, slow paced though it was, and loved the writing. I am very interested in reading the balance of the book and will read it in due time.
First Ten review added on August 26, 2016, at 10:04 am by gali.
Total ~ 22%
Ghost Dog earned a score of 22%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 22% 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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