Happy Thursday, everyone.
I wish my Thursday was happy, but I just had a book I was
looking forward to reading spoiled for me. Here’s what happened—after someone
recommended this particular title to me, I popped over to Amazon.com to check
it out. Sounded great—I was intrigued by the plot, the reviews were good, and
the book even had a stunningly eerie cover (I know, I know, don’t judge a
book…). I almost always read samples of books if they are offered, to see if I
enjoy the first few pages and to make sure I connect with the writing style and
voice. So I checked out the book’s sample. (Not the Kindle sample, but the
pop-up sample you get when you click “Look Inside” next to the image of the
book cover.) And oh, this book seemed promising! A suspenseful murder mystery—I
love those!—with a spine-tingling opening that begins in the dark woods, with
the protagonist finding a creepy blood-soaked cloth on the trail in the beam of
her flashlight. I was sold—after a few pages, I was more than ready to finish
the sample and purchase the book. Then I scrolled, the sample skipped ahead, by
a few pages I figured, the way samples often do, and suddenly I’m reading a
page later in the book. Only, I realize too late, it’s a page really late in the book. A page with
some very critical information. A page that reveals who the murderer is.
?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Who the heck would put a page that reveals who the murderer
is in the sample for the book?!?!
Sheesh—well, yeah, that spoiled my day. I was really looking
forward to reading it, but I doubt I will now. It feels kind of pointless since
I already know the identity of the killer.
As you might have guessed from this post, spoilers are a bit
of a pet peeve of mine. I think many (but not all) people who post online
reviews these days are courteous and considerate enough not to reveal crucial
elements of the book—or at least to kindly post a spoiler warning if they do.
But it seems like spoilers pop up in so many other places. I was reading
comments posted on an author’s website recently, and one described the death of
a main character in one of the author’s books, one of his books that I hadn’t
happened to read yet, although I’m a huge fan of another series. So…that makes
two books ruined for me by spoilers in one week.
I supposed I could just stay away from online reviews, author
websites, comments, etc., but apparently you can’t even read book samples
safely these days. Next time, I will have to watch the page numbers on these
samples more carefully. My new policy is not to read anything past page
ten.
I suppose spoilers seem like a minor concern, but the truth
is they can have an impact on a reader and can definitely cost book sales. I no
longer plan to read or purchase either of the books that were spoiled for me
this week, and I think that’s a sad situation because I was looking forward to
each. And it’s interesting how spoilers can slip out in little ways, as well. I
specifically requested that my publisher change the back cover copy of my first
book because one phrase gave away something I didn’t think the reader should
know about until halfway through the book. I felt knowing this particular plot
point ahead of time undercut some of the suspense of discovering it during the
course of the story, and I wanted readers to have the surprise of uncovering it
themselves.
So yes, I do believe spoilers can impact a reader’s
experience. And yes, I do wish more folks (and apparently whoever selects what
pages are included in book samples) would be more aware of potential spoilers
and take pains not to reveal critical information.
Okay, so now that I’m done ranting about my spoiler-filled
week, please share what you think. How do you feel about spoilers?
-Dawn Lairamore
-Dawn Lairamore
photo credit: Untitled via photopin (license)
I agree. And it's the same with movie trailers. I remember a few years ago watching a movie (I can't remember which one) only to realize partway through the big reveal had been shown in the trailers. Talk about disappointing. In a way, that was even worse, because I *did* pay for my ticket, not realizing until the movie had started that it had been spoiled. :(
ReplyDeleteI would be so disappointed if a trailer let slip the big reveal! I think it's bad enough that many trailers show you all the best scenes in a movie, so by the time you actually see it, there isn't much exciting left.
DeleteI actually complained to the publisher about the Amazon preview thing with my book The Caged Graves (or maybe it was a Google Book preview?). In one or the other, a random sample of the book appeared from the climax, just as the murderer was being revealed.
ReplyDeleteMy publisher responded with something vague, but pretty much said that samples shown by Amazon (or Google) were out of their hands. :(
What a bummer, Dianne!! I wish whoever chooses samples would be a little more careful in their selections. I actually get the feeling the sample pages are randomly selected by a computer or something, given some of the climatic scenes that seem to pop up in previews. It's really a disservice to readers (and authors, too)!
DeleteI would die if my publisher or whoever put in a big spoiler about one of my books, because if I was about to purchase a book and then saw how it ends, guess what, I'm not going to purchase it! I hope for the author's sake it gets addressed or at the very least, people are so excited they just buy without reading the sample pages! Great post, Dawn!
ReplyDeleteMore and more I'm thinking maybe reading sample pages (anything past page ten or so) is a bad idea! Too many possible spoilers. Thanks for commenting, Hilary!
DeleteApparently some people will actually flip to the back of the book first and read the ending, even in mysteries. But I bet those people are a minority.
ReplyDeleteI'll confess I've flipped to the back of a book before, mostly in my younger years when I was a very eager and inpatient reader at times. But I would never do this in a mystery--that would spoil a great deal of the fun!
DeleteApparently some people will actually flip to the back of the book first and read the ending, even in mysteries. But I bet those people are a minority.
ReplyDeleteApparently some people will actually flip to the back of the book first and read the ending, even in mysteries. But I bet those people are a minority.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the rest of you. Who spoils a plot this way?
ReplyDelete