If you’re trying to decide whether or not to spend money on an ebook, especially if you aren’t familiar with the author, here are some tips to help you determine whether that ebook is a good book.
The Cover
We’ve all heard the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but the truth is, a cover can tell you a lot about a book. It should match the genre and appeal to you; if the cover doesn’t appeal to you, the book may not either. More than that, it shows how much effort has been put into the book: whether the book is traditionally published or self-published, the quality of the cover can indicate the book’s budget, and the budget will also affect the quality of editing and formatting.
The Description
Is the description interesting? Is the story something you think you would enjoy? Is the description well-written, without any typos? If so, you’re one step closer to determining whether that ebook is a good book. Next, you’ll do some deeper research to make a sure decision.
Reviews
The reviews on the book can give you a good idea of whether or not the book is high quality. Of course, different readers prefer different genres and story aspects, so be sure to read over the reviews and determine whether something that bothers another person would also bother you. Or perhaps something that someone loves is something you wouldn’t like. Three- and four-star reviews are great to read over, because they generally list both positive and negative aspects of the book.
Other Books by the Author
Does the author have other books? Are they well-reviewed? If so, this shows that the author has more writing experience, and their book is likely higher quality.
The Sample
By this point, the ebook is likely one you’ll enjoy, so this last step will take more time than the other. Now, you read the sample, which is available for most books on any retailer. Does the sample pull you in? Do you want to keep reading? If it does, then get the book! If it only mildly interests you but passed the other tests with flying colors, you may still want to get the book if it is cheaper (for example, $2.99 or less). Otherwise, it’s probably best to pass on that book.
An Alternative
Does all of this sound time intensive? It can be! Instead of investing all this time in vetting books (which can take quite a while if you keep running into ebooks you don’t end up buying), you can use a service like Book Cave: Book Cave vets ebooks for you and will only tell you about high-quality ebook deals that match your genre and content rating preference. That way, you can spend the time you would have spent vetting the book actually reading instead!
Happy reading!
Reading the description is a good tip, except when the entire description is something like this: "The critically acclaimed author of [book I've never heard of] combines love, mystery, and magic with her first foray into bewitching fantasy with a dark edge." Why do so many description writers seem to have something against talking about the actual story? I'm not going to pick up a book based on what its themes are; I want to know something about the plot and the characters.
That is a very good point!