How do you decide when you make a product purchase?

Are you a window shopper? Does the lure of pretty colors draw your eye?
Do you depend upon the brand name to propel you to the checkout counter without first getting a feel for the product?
Or are you more likely to listen to reviews and let other people's opinions sway your ultimate
buying decision?

I can ask these same questions in regard to ebooks.

Do pretty book covers catch your attention and spur you to make an online purchase?
Is it the fact that the book is written and published by an independent writer or an actual
publishing company?
OR do you depend on reviews to make up your mind for you?

Let all three factors persuade your decision. If the cover is aesthetically pleasing, it's obvious time and care was given to the book's commercial appeal. Nothing says 'eh, who cares' than a cover that looks like a kindergartner's wall art. I sit up and take notice when it's obvious money and time were spent to make the cover a work of sheer genius.

Then we have the brand name. Perhaps some of your favorite writers have been discovered under a certain publishing company's logo. However, that doesn't always guarantee the quality of the work. The company might be running on the writer's past selling history. I can think of a wildly popular writer who spread her talent so thin that the last book I'd read by her will be the last one I'd ever purchase with her name on it.

There are some amazing independent writers floating quality work out there. It's a matter of finding these gems in today's deluge of independently published books.

Which brings me to the final, most important factor in purchasing a book: opinions. AKA reviews.

I glance at a book cover, note whether the book is a brand name or not, but it's the reviews that sway my ultimate decision to buy or pass.

 Amazon allows reviewers to rate the books, 5 stars is the highest rating and 1 star is the lowest. I always look at the 1 star reviews first--I want to see if the trolls (mean-spirited people who leave generic, non-detailed comments) have been there. The presence of trolls actually raises my interest in the book. If the writer isn't a threat, the troll wouldn't waste their time leaving a generic comment, right?

What I find most helpful are those reviews that carefully dissect the story, not only mentioning their pet peeves (always great to help sharpen my writing awareness), but also pointing out where the story flopped. Of course, if you're going to give a review, it's nice to balance the bad with the good. Compliments are never a waste of time. A fair review could actually encourage the writer to get better, to write stories fans would wait anxiously for.

Writing a book, no matter if it's a 1 star or a 5 star effort, takes time. Please, be kind and leave a review for books you read, and throw a compliment or two into the mix. You might be surprised. Your words could launch an unknown writer to author stardom.