Chatting with some readers/writers recently, the subject of “I just can’t make myself read anything new anymore” came up.

From the writers’ side, this is a problem. How do you get a reader to take a chance on a book?

From the readers’ side, this is ALSO a problem. How do you not waste time and money on a book that’s going to burn you, just like the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that?

The subject of Boys and Books just did another round on social media. I raised boys. And girls. Modern Mainstream YA largely burns young readers. Some is good for some youngsters, but most is bad for all, and some of the enjoyable to read presents very dangerous actions as normal and safe.

Also-boughts help, to an extent: if you have time and money to take a risk, an author that pops up over and over on the authors you already like is worth risking. Probably the other readers are good judges. (Unless it’s just another form of advertising, and how can a reader tell?)

Word of mouth. Word of mouth from people who like the same books you like is gold. If someone says “This is like a cross between Pam and Alma”, I will probably love the book. The problem with this is reaching beyond the people who already know you, getting potential fans to try something when they don’t have personal relationships with existing fans. The Famous Author Quote on the cover was/is a way of trying to do this.

Things readers can do: get public libraries to buy the books they like. Leave copies on giveaway tables and in little free libraries. Give books as gifts.

Things writers can do: interact (gasp! I know right?) with people. Leave copies on giveaway tables and in little free libraries.

An author can break her reputation with a single book: there is a major example of that in Science Fiction who was brought up by several of us independently and simultaneously (advantage of chat by typing). I’m sure some people loved that novel, but an awful lot of us said she retconned and betrayed who a beloved character had been through the series, and would not be reading her anymore.

If you want to play with your kind of writing, say, go from reliable narrator to unreliable, go from good guys win to good guys lose, I would highly suggest doing it in a new world with new characters and probably using an open pen name at a minimum. People who like your prose can find you, people will feel less burned if they read it with that kind of warning up front: this is not the books you know and love.

As writers, how do you reach new readers past the current barriers of mistrust? How do you convince people to take a chance on your book without giving away the whole plot in the blurb?