In a very interesting post Michael Hyatt shares research on why customers of his company Thomas Nelson buy books. The research is really interesting and makes a lot of sense. The most interesting point is that price is actually low on the list… well last to be exact.

The problem is, his list just doesn’t resonate with me. I have never bought a book based on the list his research shows. In fact, if anything the over-riding factor as to when I buy a book is related to price. Can I afford this or not?

The author is the key

One thing Michael notes is that the author is not on this list. This is because the author, if well-known actually becomes the title. If someone is well-known and respected they become more important than the title. Although a good title and the rest of the list will still help, especially when deciding which one of their books someone will buy.

The celebrity cult

We live in a culture that is celebrity obsessed. I have tried to fight this. Honestly I have. I refuse to watch Pop Idol and other celebrity pop-culture shows. If an event is publicised because ‘x’ or ‘y’ is going to be there, I instantly turn off.

However, when I looked at the books I had bought, and why, I discovered something that chilled me to the bone. The main reason I bought books was because of the author! Give me a Seth Godin, Tim Ferris or Stephen Covey and I was there. Anything that had David Allen’s name on and it would be on my wish list.

Well that’s non-fiction and that makes sense, surely I would only buy books that were recommended by others and were the ‘right’ books to buy. But I was the same when it came to fiction.

Social media and the new celebrity

As for fiction I was the same, from Asimov to Iain M Banks and King to Herbert, I was hooked to the cult of what was widely regarded as pretty good. And there is the nub of the matter. To become widely regarded. Actually, the widely is step two. Step one is to become regarded.

Once you’ve discovered the most well-known in your particular genre and exhausted their catalogue, you need more. One way to find more is through the social net. The greatest gift Amazon has given us is the review. Okay, you need to weedle out the author’s girlfriend and the publisher’s niece, but once you’ve done that, you can discover authors who are actually quite good.

Why did the freak buy a book?

So why did I buy a book? Because you said it was good. Tell me, tell others, review.