The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for The Wolf of Dorian Gray: A Werewolf Spawned by the Evil of Man
Because The Wolf of Dorian Gray 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 it not been a part of this program, I still would have chosen to read/sample this based on the genre, and the fact that it's a spin on one of my favorite stories.
I will not be buying the book at this time, as its price is above my eBook spending limit. However, I would buy it if the price was lower. I found the first ten pages exciting and engaging.
The books seems to be professionally edited. I did not notice typos or grammatical errors.
As I said, I found what I read to exciting and engaging. The writng is flows nicely, is not stiff in any way. That scene at the end of the prologue was spine tingling.
This book was not reviewed on OBC. That fact had no bearing on my decision.
First Ten review added on December 9, 2016, at 9:42 am by truebookaddict.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CataclysmicKnight
I've never read or heard the original story of Dorian Gray, but I've always been curious, so I was intrigued by this one immediately. The author clearly has some great skill with setting scenes and the first ten pages are full of build-up and already has a suspenseful scene. I'll definitely finish this one!
First Ten review added on December 9, 2016, at 2:40 am by CataclysmicKnight.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Cjgarland89
At first glance I would not have read this book based just on the cover and Amazon reviews. Because there was not an OBC review I didn't have a lot of information about the book to go on. After reading the sample I found Sage to be an interesting character and very loving. I didn't really feel a connection after sampling this book so I won't be finishing it. I didn't see any errors, and was written as an easy read.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2016, at 9:47 pm by Cjgarland89.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
MarisaRose
The great reviews as well as the blurb for "The Wolf of Dorian Gray" intrigued me right away but I was a little hesitant about reading this book because there are few reviews and no official OBC review. Dorian Gray is one of my all time favorite literary characters. I do love a good fantasy every now and then so I figured the mix of this genre and character might be fun. I was a little worried that a book of this sort may not be well written so I was on the fence about reading "The Wolf of Dorian Gray." After reading the first ten pages, my mind was made up, I am definitely going to purchase and finish this book! The author's writing style is very good and the book appears to be well edited. In addition to the writing, the author admirably created a sense of suspense within the prologue. I did not find anything I did not like in the portion I sampled that I disliked about the book. I'm excited to see how this story progresses.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2016, at 4:14 pm by MarisaRose.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Vermont Reviews
I very much enjoyed today's preview. Dorian Grey the wolf pup survives his mother being trapped in a trap. Meanwhile Lady Helena Wootton and artist Sage Goldsworth, meet Dorian Gray philanthropist. Some of my favorite lines. "The purpose of life is to develop and grow, to reach the heights of one's potential, and to experience all the pleasures and joys that the existence has to offer." And "To not do something because of fear is really just a deception of self."
At this time I am overbooked with reading projects. I will not br downloading this book.
Vermont Reviews
First Ten review added on December 8, 2016, at 3:10 pm by Vermont Reviews.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Momlovesbooks
The title and cover of this book caught my attention. I enjoy books about werewolves and vampires ( basically, this genre in general). The blurb seemed interesting. I read a few pages and found the characters to be entertaining and full of life. I'm curious as to how the werewolf fits into this storyline. At this point, I'll have to get this book and continue reading.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2016, at 3:07 pm by Momlovesbooks.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
chocomeiske
This is totally something I would read! I've never read the classic Dorian Gray but I like that this has werewolves.
The sample was enjoyable and left me wanting more. The prologue was action-packed which would convince me to read further.
I can't say that I noticed any glaring editing issues.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2016, at 12:33 pm by chocomeiske.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Rachaelamb1
The cover is great and the book has a clear description. I'm not really a werewolf fan and I have never read Dorian Gray so this is not a book I would normally choose to read. The sample is good. I really enjoy the author's writing style and was curious about Sage and Helena. However, I still feel like I will not enjoy the main story line which is why I am not going to buy the book. Perhaps if there was an OBC review, I would have a better idea of whether or not to read it. The book appears to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2016, at 10:11 am by Rachaelamb1.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Gravy
I'm not the biggest fan of this type of retelling, but this seemed to use the source material well. I didn't notice any errors, and I could get behind the werewolf twist. However, I likely would not have looked at this because of the cover. It's poorly executed and would be much more appealing with a better cover.
I'm not interested in reading this at this time, but I may choose to later on.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2016, at 7:18 am by Gravy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
L_Therese
When I first saw this book as Book of the Day, I was taken off my guard a little bit. I've heard of authors borrowing characters from classic literature, but I never envisioned werewolves and The Picture of Dorian Gray fitting together. I wasn't too enthused because it doesn't seem like a harmonious fit, and I was afraid that it would be a distraction from the real conflict/villain from Wilde's original story. The sample wasn't too helpful. Ten pages didn't get me too far into the book, and it was hard to make a judgment. It would have been very helpful to have a review for this book. In the end, I decided not to put this one on my list. I'm just not sold on the idea.
First Ten review added on December 8, 2016, at 3:10 am by L_Therese.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
jungkookblog
I don't think I would've read this book based on the cover and title because romance and paranormal sounds like a very weird genre together. I would not read this book because it's not my cup of tea. It seems like it was professionally edited. I loved all the details in the book, and something that could be improved would be more explaining of the whole experience of the person. I did not see a review, and that has affected my decision.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 11:43 pm by jungkookblog.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
CrescentMoon
I think the blurb of this story sounds very unique and intriguing. I probably wouldn't pick it up though mostly because I have to be in the mood to read historical fiction. After reading the first ten pages, I really do enjoy the writing style. The writing flows very well and the author uses great descriptive imagery. This book also seems like something I would enjoy. I do like romance, adventure, and mystery all wrapped in one. However, I haven't really gotten hooked into this book or made to feel like I want to read this so I probably will not continue reading it.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 4:31 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kdonegan91
I am not interested in anything about this book. Even though the sample was written well and professionally edited, I am just not interested in this genre or storyline. I am not attracted to the cover and the title did not intrigue me.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 4:08 pm by Kdonegan91.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kourtney Bradley
My first thought on this book is that I would not have sampled it on my own. I don't like the cover, mainly because it looks more like a cartoon than something I would be interested in reading. I'm really not a fan of werewolves either, and from the first ten pages there is already mention of werewolves and hunting. I'm going to pass on this one, it just doesn't seem like something I am interested in reading.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 1:26 pm by Kourtney Bradley.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
AA1495
Had I not sampled the book, I wouldn't have read it. The cover and title didn't seem interesting to me. Further, I generally read pure romance books and this didn't seem like one. Having read the sample, my opinion remains. I thought that the characters' actions and thoughts were described well. The sample was easy to follow. However, the sample didn't make me curious about the plot. The book seems to be professionally edited. I did not come across an Onlinebookclub review for the book, but I don't think the absence of one affected my decision. While I'm sure people who like the Genre would love the book, it isn't for me.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 12:34 pm by AA1495.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Heidi M Simone
The cover is pretty scary, though the title is eye-catching. I do feel the blurb was a bit lengthy, especially with all the quotes that came from those who read the book. Even though there is only a few reviews, they are all positive, which is a good sign. However, without this program, I would not have picked up this book. Based on the bit that I read, the book does seem to be professionally edited. When reading the sample, I like the mystic the author brings, wondering what/who the prey is. However, when entering the first chapter, I think the description about how the wolf pup was obtained is a bit long though interesting. Overall, I am not sure if this read is for me, therefore, I will not be purchasing the book today to finish reading it.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 12:25 pm by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Rachel1019
The story immediately causes interest because of the title of it. Dorian Gray is a fairly well known character in literature, so a retelling of the tale in a different sort of story is intriguing. From reading part of the book, it is easy to see that the story almost parallels the original story in a way. It did read in the way of a classic piece of literature. I am normally not terribly interested in reading stories that are adaptations of classic novels. This one could be interesting, but I probably will not take the time to find out for myself. If there was a good and detailed review of the book on OBC that strongly recommends the book, then maybe later I will reconsider my opinion.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 12:10 pm by Rachel1019.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
bookowlie
The summary blurb is confusing to follow with the first paragraph highlighted in bold right after bolded excerpts from reviews, then quotes in between other parts of the summary. Also, stating that this is an expanded edition of the Oscar Wilde classic makes it seem like it the original story in an expanded version. That's misleading since this is a book by a different author. It should be described as "inspired by" or something to that effect, instead of saying the book is an expanded edition of a previous book by another author. The beginning pages are written in a long-winded, flat style and I was unable to become absorbed in the story. The sample doesn't appear to be professionally edited - there is an incorrect line break in the last sentence of the Prologue. Based on the summary and sample pages, I am not interested in reading further.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 11:28 am by bookowlie.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I would not have sampled this book based on the title and genre. Also, there was not an OBC review. I generally don't read books without this review. I also noticed that there is not much of a description of the book on Amazon, so I wasn't entirely sure what the book was about before sampling it. Because of all of these factors, I would not have sampled this book if it weren't for this program. After reading the first ten pages, I will not be buying this book. The content isn't for me. It started off with a hunt right away, and I just couldn't get into it. It did seem to be professionally edited. It also would be a great book for a lot of people. I enjoyed the style of writing; I'm just not interested in the content.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 11:25 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sarah_Khan
At first glance, I felt that the cover art of this novel could use some help to make it look more professional. Having already read The Picture of Dorian Gray and being an avid fan of classic novels, I was excited to start reading this.
After reading the first few pages, I can say that this book is well-written and professionally edited. Not much of a connection between werewolves and Dorian Gray is made in just the first ten pages and the blurb was a little confusing so I still did not know what to expect if I read the whole book therefore I will not be reading it.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 11:02 am by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 15%
The Wolf of Dorian Gray earned a score of 15%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 15% 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.
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