Analysis of responses to how readers find out about new books

You will recall I asked around for people to tell me how they find news on new releases from authors. The results from 218 people are below.

Things to remember when you look at this. I am most active on Facebook, hence results may skew that way as many of the people who replied did so after I posted the link on FB. Also the usual provisos with informal statistical analysis apply (bias, duplicates with alternative emails etc).

What the data does suggest is that authors and publishers are reaching the people asked through author and publisher websites and newsletters, with the Facebook checking in between.

A total of 218 people commented on the sources they use to find out about new releases from authors. 

What is most interesting in the other comments people made in the *other comments* area. These are all listed at the bottom of this post.

The raw data of who chooses to look at what is here:

Pinterest      2
Tumblr      10 

RSS Feeds      12 

ARe list of favourite authors      15 

Random searches via search engine      17 

Are you a reviewer who gets books sent to them      20 

Watch the top 100 best sellers list of books on Amazon      28 

Blog Posts that cross post to Goodreads etc      41 

Follow Publisher on Twitter      43 

Join a Goodreads Discussion Group      53 

Find books via review websites      61 

Follow Author on Twitter      63 

Get a Goodreads Newsletter based on authors on your bookshelf      64 

Through Friend recommendation      64 

I have certain authors on autobuy      65 

"Customers Who Bought This Book also Bought..." on Amazon/Publisher      75 

Bookmark and check author websites for news      111 

Check Publishers Coming Soon page      113 

Sign up for Publisher Newsletter      116 

Follow author on Facebook      124 

Sign up for Author newsletter direct from author      151 

In addition I looked at how many places people tended to check and this looks like this:

What this shows that 196 people check seven different places. Only 7 people check just one page, sixteen check sixteen different pages.

* * * * *

• A great website. Fictfact com. I get a weekly email with releases due out that week. They also include stand alone books by the authors I've read in the newsletter. 
• All of the above. :) generally I'll take time when I'm not busy and just search coming soons or the genre of what I want to read. 
• Also there are a few Facebook pages that I liked that allow me to see whats new and what's coming especially new authors. 
• And recommendations from friends and review sites. 
• Always check the publication dates for new books on amazon kindle books 
• Amazon coming soon.. 
• Amazon has a notification system for emails whenever a chosen author issues a new book on Amazon. I follow several authors this way too. I don't mind multiple notifications. 
• Amazon has an option where you can 'LIKE' authors and also click a button to subscribe to new release emails. I don't think they are very good at sending out these emails though plus I don't think they do it until the book is available for pre-order and I've usually already found out about it by then. 
• As an assistant to the review site's owner, I upload the new release titles sent in by the publishers, I read the blurbs, check the author's website and select books to review based on the information. This is my way of finding new to me authors. 
• Author yahoo groups 
• Authors I've met at events 
• Before grad school started kicking my ass and I was able to read more, I would fish through goodreads lists and reviews for new books. Since I don't have as much time, I am mostly just reading from authors I know or books I see coming from publishers I trust or that are recommended by my friends. I also listen to a lot of audio books and since the selection on audible is more limited, if it's on there, I will take a good hard look at it. 
• Blogs I follow directly. 
• check new releases and coming soon section of dreamspinner press, and check amazon ebook section of gay romance daily! Sometimes a few times a day. I check what my fav authours say is upcoming on goodreads, that's why I always ask for dates of publishing works. 
• Check all websites that do ebups as i do not own kindle 
• Every few weeks, I use amazon's search to lookup my favorite authors and series. 
• Facebook freebies and direct emails from authors and publishers-----
• Sid Love, mmbdsm@yahoo,DiDi, MreCondit, mmgoodbookreviews, onTopDownUnder, mmarvelous---
• Facebook groups 
• Get updates from authors 
• Goodreads "recent updates". I see what friends with similar tastes are reading and how they are reviewing it. 
• Goodreads is my main social site. Usually seeing friends add it to their shelves is how I end up finding the new ones. 
• Goodreads listopia. I discovered this while playing m/m bingo - which is also how I find new to me authors. 
• I already checked tumblr, but I thought I'd mention wtfbadromancecovers.tumblr.com - sometimes the covers are bad and sometimes she just makes a hilarious comment about a good one. I've found a few good books on that site! :)
• Overwhelmingly though, my process is to look up a book/author I enjoyed and click on "Customers Who Bought This..." until I find another I like. Very scientific..... 
• I also check out books my favourite authors recommend, especially if they say they have already read it and loved it. 
• I also love and listen when favorite authors recommend other authors or books. 
• I also stalk BookStrand, even though they don't have all publishers. I like that they often list wordcounts and excerpts, as that helps me determine if I'm interested. 
• I am not sure if random searches also included searching Amazon. 
• I avoid email newsletters & goodreads but find I get plenty of notice through RSS feeds & pick up any "slack" through FB shouts 
• I check the book sites themselves for new books coming out, live Dreamspinner, Excasty, Totally Bound, etc and authors who have webpages they sell on. 
• I check the new release page on ARe daily. 
• I also am very active on Goodreads and see my friends feed and reviews/ratings for books.
• I review for a blog and am often sent lists of new and coming soon books. 
• I do check and follow review sites/authors/friends on twitter and see things there as well.
• Newsletters and contests are also good ways to get my attention or if I love a book by an author I will be far more likely to keep an eye out for future work.
• If an author is 'present' on the GR groups, twitter, FB, meets..etc and I feel an affinity I will also keep an eye out. 
• I check the new releases each month on GR, but mostly I find out from GR friends who follow authors and sometimes from the authors' GR blogs I miss too much on twitter because I don't always check it. 
• I check the recommended books on Amazon? 
• I do check ARe daily (I'm a bit book obsessed) I also check Goodreads and Amazon (don't have a Kindle, but I still look) even if I know that "my" authors don't have anything new coming soon. 
• I guess this kind of comes under the follow author on twitter but I have found so many awesome books from fave authors I follow gushing about what they are reading as much as their own books. I like when this happens because it feels more like the author is using twitter to connect with readers more than as a marketing tool. I definitely want to hear ALL about your new books but also about the silly things that happened on the way to the store and what hot new author you are loving on. 
• I have "friended" a lot of my favorite authors on Goodreads, from here I frequently check their recommendations in trying other stories. I only read a couple of blogs (yours of course:). 
• I have a list of authors that I check their websites daily. From there I may find a new book from guest bloggers on the websites that I check. Also I may find a new book through a contest. For example, The Romance Reviews is doing a month long contest with a grand prize at the end and in order to up my chances I have to answer questions about books that can be found in blurbs or excerpts. I have found a few books that way. 
• I have authors bookmarked and check WIPs and coming soon - and often get free reads! I use amazon author pages and continuously check for new books and new authors. If reviewed, I read the reviews, check the first few pages for the reading style and the cover is often important - yours are fabulous! I share book information with family and often buy gift books of my favorites. Websites are also an area of information about new events and I love a good web site especially if the author shows inspiration photos for books. Thank you for many happy hours of reading. 
• I like books to be put up early on Goodreads. That way as people notice them so do I on my home page and I mark them TBR and keep my eye on them. 
• I love when my authors put the Amazon link on Facebook. Quick and easy. Also love getting updates and teasers. With so many authors it's hard to remember when books are coming out. I find this the easiest way :) 
• I mainly read what the authors I follow on FB read or recommend. 
• I mostly just keep checking on Goodreads. I quite often find out about books by searching there, looking at what other people are reading, and looking at group discussions and group bookshelves to find something new to read. I browse through Facebook as well to see of a particular author has mentioned new books, which is generally my "heat of the moment" buys - if they link a book and it sounds good I usually just can't resist ;) 
• I often discover new authors and books through recommendations by, or co-authoring books with, other authors I already know. E.g. I first started reading Aleks Voinov's books because he frequently co-writes with L.A. Witt, who I discovered through the Tucker Springs books, which she co-writes with Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton, the latter of whom was mentioned a couple of years ago by both you and Alex Beecroft, the first MM author whose work I ever read.
• I do also follow a few authors on Tumblr, however I've so far found that they seem to focus more on soft-core porn than book promoting. 
• I think how I find new authors and books has changed as I've been reading longer in the erotic and/or MM genre. I got started getting free books for my Nook through BarnesNoble and All Romance. I looked more if you liked this you would like that. Now that I've got authors or publishers I like I tend to rely more on their newsletters but I still discover new people that way but I hardly every pick up a book now just because it's free. I'm much picker now. 
• I try to keep up with the publishing schedules of all my authors but for new ones I will usually do a search on ARE or use listopia on GR. 
• I used to buy mostly through Amazon which managed to figure out the books that I like and so they came to me as suggestions. I rarely saw things that didn't appeal to me. So I assume their algorithms helped to sift through and give me what would most appeal and most are usually fairly new releases. 
• I usually bookmark an authors website whether I receive a newsletter or not if I like their books. That way I get the most up to date info on my favorite authors; this also helps introduce me to new authors they feature on their website. 
• If I see a post on Facebook or a comment by one of my top authors who I always buy I will mark the expected date in my calender, I also do a quick search usually around once a week on amazon, and publisher sites to see if there are new releases I've missed 
• I'm pretty active on Goodreads with enough friends reading/reviewing the same genre and word gets around quickly there. 
• I'm sure Facebook and Twitter are good ways to find out information, but I don't have accounts for either one so that doesn't really help me much. Sometimes I discover new releases while searching Amazon. For me, the best way to find out if my favorite authors have any new releases is by checking out their websites. I love it when authors post info on their sites and keep them updated (like you do). 
• Jambrea is my book pimp - I get a lot of recommendations and know about new books coming out from her. :) 
• M/M Romance Group on Goodreads! 
• Most all comes from websites from RSS updates thru Feedly. Aunt Lynn's "Reviews by Jessewave". I somehow got on a mail list from All Romance novels where I will glean M/M books from the promotional email. I have discovered a few western M/M books through Romance that I never heard before. I generally check a prospective novel against Goodreads. I prefer buying my books via Amazon kindle to keep my library in one place. If an M/M book is available on audible, I generally do no hesitate buying that version as well. Tumblr blogs are generally in the Abigail Roux realm who has an uneven following but I was weened on the the Cut & Run series that I discovered in audible. Your blog is one of the few author blogs I grab thru Feedly. 
• Mostly through review blog websites that talk about upcoming releases or reviews. 
• My authors that I follow when they have guess authors on there blog. 
• My Goodreads friends/feed let me know what is new and what is good.
• I love hearing about new releases /WIP on twitter. Giveaways on web/review sites always having me looking at the book as well. 
• My main focus is FB groups with people that love the same genre's I do. Okay, really - just ONE genre! Word of mouth means a lot to me. Thanks for this post - now I have new areas to check. 
• New York Times book section every Sunday.
• Publishers Weekly book review section. 
• Publisher and All Romance Books website, new, coming soon 
• Random search on Amazon for Gay/MM ebooks 
• Random searches on ARe and Barnes & Noble. 
• Randomly browsing thematic shelves in real life bookstores 
• search for particular types of books on Amazon 
• Sometimes it's potluck, people buy me books as gifts. I. Often buy a book I have edited, if I've loved it while working on it, then I read it later. 
• I also wander around bookshops, see what I can find in certain sections. 
• The ones I've checked above are the main way I find new authors/new books but I have also just stumbled across interesting books on the internet or when I'm prowling through the local bookstore. 
• There are particular authors that I read everything they write. For these I follow their coming soon pages on their websites so that I know when they have books due for release.
• Via search engine on Amazon e ARe 
• Visit Authors website. 
• When my friends talk about something good, I go take a look.
• And a very dear friend of mine send her my books to read for free..