I don’t have many ‘auto buy’ authors. I can only think of three authors whose books I always add to my to-be-read pile when new books come out. Right now they are Michael Connelley, Elizabeth George, and Julia Spencer-Fleming. That’s it. And that may well change tomorrow. But I have a healthy book diet. A small child has slowed me down, but by no means has ended my voracious appetite for a well told tale.
As a new author, I’m always told, I want to be on a readers auto-buy list. Because readers don’t buy new authors without a personal recommendation. For me it’s not true, and I sincerely hope it’s not true of others.
Every morning, I click on my RSS reader to look at several book blogs. What am I looking for? New books to read. Don’t care who wrote them. Don’t care who published them. If they’re available on Amazon or at the library, then I’m in. Good reviews, bad reviews, indifferent reviews? I’ll buy them. I’m always looking for my favorite tropes: friends to lovers, surprise baby, opposites attract, and if the review indicates it’s halfway decent, with good some good sex scenes, angst, and conflict, then I’m in.
Yes, there are disappointments. Sighs from my side of the bed, and my husband grumbling at me to *put it down* happen in my house. But disappointments are worth it for the great gems that I come up with. Two such authors come to mind, Laura Leone and Fallen from Grace (I so love this book right now), and Cody McFadyen’s thrillers come to mind. For those books, I’d happily sludge through fifty ‘meh’ books.
If I only read a few authors, I fear my bedside table (and now Kindle) would be very lonely. The only way new authors can become auto-buy authors are if people try them. I know I have a dog in the fight, but I urge readers to try new authors. You never know when you’ll be pleasantly surprised.