The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Clevenger Gold: The True Story of Murder and Unfound Treasure
Because Clevenger Gold was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.
Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.
This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.
truebookaddict
Had I not sampled the first ten pages as part of this program, I would have chosen to read/sample this book based on what I read about the story. I like historical stories based largely on fact.
I am not going to buy the book at this time because its price is above my eBook spending limit, especially for a book of this length. If the price ever goes lower, I might consider buying it, as I would like to know how the story turns out.
This book is edited well. I did not notice typos or grammatical errors.
I enjoyed the author's intro, as I feel it did a nice job of setting up the story. Also, the writing in the first chapter is very descriptive. I could visualize what was happening as I read. It definitely makes a reader want to keep reading.
This book was officially reviewed on OBC.
First Ten review added on May 19, 2017, at 9:02 am by truebookaddict.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Cjgarland89
At first glance based on the cover and OBC review I decided I would be interested in reading this book. I enjoy the occasional western setting book, and with the murder and real life aspects of this one I definitely want to finish it! After sampling my opinion hasn't changed, I am already excited to continue reading beyond the first ten!
First Ten review added on May 19, 2017, at 7:27 am by Cjgarland89.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
MarisaRose
This book intrigued me from the minute I saw it. The cover is enticing and the book blurb is interesting. I was excited to learn this book is based on a true family. Further, the OBC review is overly positive; I especially like that the reviewer stated the author does a good job immersing you in the setting. Based on all this, I would have considered buying this book prior to reading the sample. Reading the beginning sample for this program only confirmed what I had already thought. Right from the beginning, the author sets the scene well with dialogue and descriptions reminiscent of the Wild West. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing style and found myself reading far more than the 10 pages required for this program. I will be downloading this book and reading the rest of it.
First Ten review added on May 19, 2017, at 6:52 am by MarisaRose.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Heidi M Simone
Without this program, I would not have sampled this read. This is mainly due to the fact that I don't typically enjoy books set in the Old West. The book does have high ratings, but the title, cover, blurb, and genre are something I am not interested in. Based on what I read, the book does seem to be professionally edited. I think it's interesting that the author included the factual basis of his story (the hidden treasure, the murder of the Clevengers, etc.) toward the beginning. Also, I like how the author begins his story with the men in jail and any one of them could lose their lives; it brings a sense of excitement. After reading, this actually may be something I would be interested in, however, I can't justify myself to purchase another book when I have so many to read. Therefore, I will not be purchasing this book to read.
First Ten review added on May 19, 2017, at 2:50 am by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
jungkookblog
I don't think I will be reading this book because it seems like it would be a book about a trip on a long journey to find gold, which doesn't seem very interesting to me. I am not going to be reading this book because it doesn't seem to be filled with suspense and action, but instead with plot that doesn't seem interesting. It seems professionally edited. I did not see a review, and I don't think that wold affect my decision.
First Ten review added on May 19, 2017, at 1:42 am by jungkookblog.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I would not have sampled this book based on the genre. I don't usually read historical fiction book. I'm also not really interested in old western books. After reading the first ten pages, I won't be buying this book. The content isn't for me. I like that each chapter is labeled with the setting. This just isn't my type of book. It does seem to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on May 19, 2017, at 12:14 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kourtney Bradley
The first thing that caught my attention with this book is that it was based on a true story, making it feel like crime-tv, which I really do enjoy. I am not familiar with the Clevenger family, but reading the first ten pages and the synopsis for this one has me interested to see. It's also interesting to see how this story develops, since the events unfolded in the early 1900's. I'm looking forward to reading this one, and have downloaded my copy!
First Ten review added on May 18, 2017, at 11:12 pm by Kourtney Bradley.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Kdonegan91
At first glance, this book did not spark my curiosity. Although the title and cover are creative and unique, I am not a fan of historical fiction. After reading the first ten pages, my suspicions were confirmed. This book is not for me simply because I am not interested in the storyline. I will not be purchasing this book.
First Ten review added on May 18, 2017, at 4:29 pm by Kdonegan91.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
bookowlie
The cover artwork is intriguing and made me want to know more about the book. Although the summary blurb is free of errors, I didn't care for the choppy writing style with several one-sentence paragraphs. The beginning pages appear to be professionally edited and there is a nice flow to the writing. That being said, I don't care for the Old West genre even though I like true historical stories. In addition to the sample pages, I also read the OBC review which mentioned gruesome and gory scenes (not my cup of tea). Based on my reading preferences and the fact that I don't like reading books with gore and violence, I am going to pass on this story.
First Ten review added on May 18, 2017, at 10:56 am by bookowlie.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
L_Therese
I enjoy historical fiction, and I enjoy historical non-fiction, but I generally do not gravitate toward fictionalized non-fiction. This book presents itself as a novel that is telling a true story, and while that could potentially be very good, my experience with similar books is not encouraging. As I read the first ten pages, I didn't notice any errors (except the deliberate ones in the dialogue), but I wasn't hooked to the story or the characters enough to want to continue despite its purported fiction/non-fiction blend.
First Ten review added on May 18, 2017, at 8:05 am by L_Therese.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Catherine Hsu
If I had not read the sample, I would not have read the book. It does not seem like my genre but the comparison to The Oregon Trail in the review was interesting. After reading the sample, I have not changed my mind. I liked the authenticity of the accents, but I still felt a little confused about who the characters were and what was going on. It was professionally edited.
First Ten review added on May 18, 2017, at 2:06 am by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Gravy
I didn't see any errors. The cover works well, and the overall idea is interesting.
This is not really my genre, so I wouldn't have looked at it. The sample was well written and kept my attention. The characters felt well defined.
Because this isn't my sort of read, I don't plan to continue.
First Ten review added on May 18, 2017, at 1:31 am by Gravy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CarrieMe
Based on my initial impression of the cover, reviews, etc., I was interested in reading this book. It's not my usual genre, but it sounded like it might be good. The cover is nice and very appropriate for the topic. The only thing that slightly confused me was that I initially had trouble figuring out if the book was non-fiction or historical fiction. Perhaps the blurb could make this more obvious for readers.
After reading the first ten pages, I will absolutely not be buying or reading the whole book. The overall quality of the writing in the portion I read was not very good. It didn't feel like it flowed very well. The use of dialect was inconsistent (and, in my opinion, unnecessary). There were also several typos throughout the selection, the first being "U,S." on page 9. However, the main reason I won't be reading any further is the author's use of offensive terms for black people. Yes, those terms are historically accurate for the time period, but they were completely unnecessary in the selection I read. The book is not in first person, therefore there is absolutely no reason to frequently refer to black characters as "Negros" when it's not part of the dialogue. Even worse, the author used the n-word on page 16 as part of a phrase that doesn't seem to have historically existed. This is completely unacceptable.
First Ten review added on May 18, 2017, at 12:24 am by CarrieMe.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CrescentMoon
This story sounds really interesting. After reading the blurb and the first ten pages, I think readers of westerns and fans of historical fiction would enjoy this book. However, I don't think this book is for me. I am not usually a fan of historical fiction so I'll pass on reading this.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 9:10 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kitkat3
The title of this book is not really interesting to me, but the cover fits the genre well. I am not a fan of Westerns. This book has wonderful reviews and a 4/4 OnlineBookClub review. It is also really cool that it is based on a true story. I probably would not have sampled this book without this program, because it is a Western. The first ten pages show me that the book is professionally edited and well written. However, this book probably isn't for me since I don't really enjoy the genre.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 8:59 pm by Kitkat3.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mollymae
The cover and title are both appropriate to the genre. The sample was interesting and had a strong first chapter. I think this one could be an exciting fast-paced read.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 8:52 pm by Mollymae.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Azeline Arcenal
The beginning of the story was suspenseful, but it wasn't enough for me to continue reading the novel. The descriptions of the characters were well detailed and I didn't notice any major grammatical errors either. I read the official OBC review and I read that there is actual treasure still waiting to be found. I thought this was pretty interesting and I wonder why no one has found it yet.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 8:31 pm by Azeline Arcenal.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sarah_Khan
This book has a nice cover and interesting title. The plot sounds intriguing and the Online Book club review was favorable. The novel itself is well-written and professionally edited. Unfortunately, this is not my type of book, therefore I do not intend to purchase it.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 5:57 pm by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Miche Sora
Since I live in said Arizona Territory, I've been reading books about AZ before it became a state. The author has a good feel for what life was like back then, but the preface annoyed me greatly. This is fiction, but no one has found the gold bullion featured in this story, and the author encourages people to look for it. There are still crazy people who come to the Phoenix area looking for the Lost Dutchman Mine treasure and get themselves killed doing so. I do not support that. Otherwise, it sounds like a good story.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 5:43 pm by Miche Sora.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Shelle
I've liked the few westerns I've read and was glad I got to sample this book. The writing seems solid, although in the pages I samples, I didn't get a good sense of the characters and couldn't decide if I liked them or not. The story is probably fine, it just didn't grab me. The book appears to be professionally edited and error-free.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 5:19 pm by Shelle.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
e-tasana-williams
Had I not read the sample as part of the First Ten program, I would not have chosen to read it because of personal time constraints. It is a genre I like, in books as well as movies. Reading the sample has me interested, but I honestly wouldn't buy it right now because I have too much on my plate. The part I read appeared to be professionally edited, with no errors of note, and the best part is the spot on description of the desert southwest. The only improvement I can suggest is to make the opening of the book a bit clearer. I understand the need for suspense as a leader, but it was a bit confusing and hard to follow.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 5:14 pm by e-tasana-williams.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
classicaltwist
Based on just the title, cover, blurb, and reviews, I would not purchase this book. I do like historical fiction, but the blurb didn't really sell it. "their fate took a dark turn" is very vague and not very exciting. There should be more details to draw the reader in and compel them to read the book. For example, I found a few of Erik Larson's books, such as Isaac's Storm and In the Garden of Beasts, to have really compelling blurbs.
The sample vastly improve my opinion of the book. I felt the preface and intro were boring, but I think things pick up once you actually get into the book and start chapter one. It's clear that this book has been professionally edited. Furthermore, it's clear that the author is a great writer. I don't think the blurb and the preface/intro showcased that very well. I might recommend rewriting the preface and intro or moving them to the end as addendums. If this were something I came across randomly and I opened the sample to get a better opinion, I definitely would have stopped at "For real" and moved on.
The book does have an official OnlineBookClub review, which really makes a compelling case for reading the book. I will not be purchasing the book today, but it's definitely on my list of "fun purchases" come next payday.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 4:14 pm by classicaltwist.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Vermont Reviews
Today's book of the day Clevenger Gold by S.E. Swapp was a great historical western book, with a promise of gold. For those who want a great story or possibly the adventure with finding the hidden treasure. It makes for a wonderful story with believable characters. I did notice one mistake in the preview.
His (clothes) not cloths
Other than that everything seemed ok.
Vermont Reviews
Normally I would have purchased the book. Right now my reading schedule is overbooked.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 2:06 pm by Vermont Reviews.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
ananya92
This book can be categorized as historical fiction, which takes the reader on a Wild West adventure. The sample is reminiscent of a typical cowboy adventure set in the 1800's with search for gold, clash with native Americans and action packed scenes. It embodies the essence of such an adventure very well. The book seems to be edited properly. The description and the review of the book were quite helpful in explaining what the book was about. Though the book seems well thought out, I found some references a bit too harsh for my taste. The premise of the book seems interesting but currently since I'm not up for reading such adventures, I'll skip this one.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 12:44 pm by ananya92.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Christina O Phillips
Yes! I read the title and thought, "Meh." But I got excited when I read the summary. I love that the book started with an attention-grabber: there is treasure in the mountains. Who doesn't love a story about hidden treasure? From the introduction to the card game to the introduction of John, I was interested right away and borrowed the book through Kindle Unlimited. I even returned a book just to borrow this one!
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 12:18 pm by Christina O Phillips.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Scerakor
From the review, blurb, and cover of this book, I was immediately interested. I hadn't read a good "wild-west" book in a little while and this seemed promising. After reading the first ten pages, I was not disappointed. I loved the characters and the conflict that the author was able to put together in such a short period of time. Although I may not buy the book today, I am definitely adding it to my to-read list to tackle in the near future. The book seems very well written and edited. The official OBC review, although complimentary, didn't affect my decision at all.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 12:06 pm by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
James Craft
The cover of this book looks like a western and really sets the stage well for what the book is actually about. The opening couple of chapters that I sampled are clean and easy to read, and the characters seem like they could be compelling later in the story. It got a perfect review and won awards so I definitely think it is a worthwhile read. All in all, I won't be buying a copy of this book but I think a lot of people will really enjoy reading it.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 10:50 am by James Craft.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
gali
I probably wouldn't have sampled the book on my own as the cover and blurb aren't very appealing. The official review had me hooked though. The story started well enough, after a dry preface, but I wasn't drawn into it. I don't read that many westerns, so the ones I read should be able to enhance me. This one didn't, unfortunately. I won't buy the book as the tale didn't interest me enough to want to finish it.
First Ten review added on May 17, 2017, at 10:47 am by gali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 18%
Clevenger Gold earned a score of 18%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 18% plan to read the whole book.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.
Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.
Go to main Bookshelves page for Clevenger Gold
