The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for 1 Man, 3 Hearts, 9 Lives: A story of hope, resilience, and survival
Because 1 Man, 3 Hearts, 9 Lives 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.
Rachaelamb1
I personally do not care for the cover. The initial impression it gives me is that the book has to do with gangs or drug dealing. I was actually interested in reading this book a while back because I enjoy inspirational memoirs. I started the book, but was never able to finish it due to the slow pace. For some reason, I just couldn't connect to the story or find it relatable in any way. There were also some grammatical errors in it.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 9:58 am by Rachaelamb1.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Cjgarland89
Based on the OBC review alone I want to finish this book beyond the sample. I don't know much about transplants or what patients must go through that need them. This is a great story of perserverenece and motivation to keep going despite the odds. After the sample I felt a real connection and empathy for the author and I am absolutely hooked. It is well written and free from errors. I look forward to finishing this book.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 5:37 am by Cjgarland89.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
truebookaddict
I do not typically read memoirs so would not have chosen to read/sample this had it not been part of this program.
I would be interested in buying this if the price wasn't above my eBook spending limit. As I said, I do not read many memoirs, but the first ten plus pages of this one definitely captured my interest. That being said, I will not be purchasing the book at this time.
The book seems to be well-edited. I did not notice any blatant typos or grammatical errors.
This book starts off right away with an attention grabbing story. The prologue really illustrates what the author has gone through each time he is hospitalized. The first chapter was harrowing. As a mother, I couldn't imagine a scene like what was happening to Chris. If the rest of the book is this engaging, it must be a truly great book.
This book was officially reviewed on OBC.
First Ten review added on December 7, 2016, at 3:31 am by truebookaddict.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
jungkookblog
I think I would've read this book based on the title, cover, etc. because this seems like it has a very emotional story to it. I am going to read this book because it shows so many lessons that you can learn. It didn't change me from my original guess, it just proved me more. It seems like it was professionally edited. I loved the detail and the meaning it gave. I did not see a review, and that has not affected my decision.
First Ten review added on December 6, 2016, at 10:08 pm by jungkookblog.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
MarisaRose
This is not a book I would normally choose to read. Despite the great reviews, the blurb, cover, and genre are really not my cup of tea. I enjoyed what I read in the first ten pages of "1 Man, 3 Hearts, 9 Lives," and the book appears to be well written and properly edited. I liked how the author grips the reader from the beginning. A man wakes up in the hospital restrained, unaware of why, only to find he had a psychotic break and attacked a nurse. I was intrigued. After the opening scene, I wasn't as enthralled with the story. I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading about this person. I read the official OBC review and enjoyed the reviewers comments. Despite the positive reviews, I am not going to finish reading this book. I don't typically care for inspirational stories and don't think this one will change my mind.
First Ten review added on December 6, 2016, at 9:14 pm by MarisaRose.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Annelore Trujillo
I was interested in sampling this book based on the title and the OBC review. It sounded very inspirational. After reading the first ten pages, I have decided not to buy the book. It still seems like a great book. I just struggled a little getting into the style. It might even be a book that I go back and purchase later on; I just couldn't get into the sample as much as I would have liked. I also noticed a couple of punctuation errors in the first part of the book. It was nothing major- just a few missing commas. While this does seem like a very inspirational book, I will not be purchasing it at this time.
First Ten review added on December 6, 2016, at 6:58 pm by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
chocomeiske
What an interesting title! It urges me to at least read a sample to see what it's all about.
After reading the sample, I can honestly say I'm intrigued. We meet Chris as he is rushed to the hospital, falsely diagnosed with appendicitis. Thankfully that diagnosis is corrected by a very observant second-year resident doctor and after careful examinationk, it is determined that he was suffering from complete heart block.
All the drama surrounding Chris and his illnees makes for an intriguing, immersive read. I did not encounter any obvious editing mistakes.
I would really like to read this but time nor my impossible TBR doesn't allow for this.
First Ten review added on December 6, 2016, at 11:25 am by chocomeiske.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Heidi M Simone
Everything about this read shows that I would greatly enjoy reading it. The title, the cover, the genre (nonfiction/memoir), and the absolutely wonderful ratings (perfect scores on both OBC and Amazon). Based on the bit that I read, the book does seem to be professionally edited. I found the beginning such a powerful way to open this novel - to have Christophe wake up in the hospital unable to remember what has happened. It is very moving. Then, I like how the author reflects back to when it all started in the first chapter with what seemed like a typical tummy ache. As I am reading, I do not find any more for improvement. I already own this prior to it being BOTD. Because I am entranced, I do plan on reading the rest of this book.
First Ten review added on December 6, 2016, at 8:12 am by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Gravy
This is the type of book that would catch my interest. I noticed a few errors, but nothing that would effect the readability, in my opinion. Oddly enough, I read this review awhile back, even though I don't look to reviews before already being interested in the book. I would put this directly on my to-read list if it wasn't already so full. I may decide to read it sometime down the road, when I've cleared my list a bit, or if it stays with me.
First Ten review added on December 6, 2016, at 6:44 am by Gravy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Catherine Hsu
If I had not read the book sample, I would have read the book. The blurb sounds extremely interesting even though it does not fall into a genre I usually read. After reading the sample, I have not changed my mind. The writing was very engaging and realistic, and the differences in tone were very powerful. It was professionally edited. I did not read an official review but this did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on December 6, 2016, at 1:12 am by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Kdonegan91
Even though the cover is not eye-catching, the title left me curious. Before reading the sample, I was not going to read this book. However, it completely changed my mind. The sample flowed nicely and kept me wanting more. It contained a large amount of medical information but the author explained it simple enough for the reader to easily understand. Inspiring!
First Ten review added on December 6, 2016, at 1:01 am by Kdonegan91.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
L_Therese
When I first saw this book on Book of the Day, I was mildly intrigued. The reviewer was extremely enthusiastic, which fueled my interest somewhat. I was concerned, though, that I might have read any number of similar books before- not precisely the same, but similarly-themed. I would definitely want this one to stand out if I was going to add it to my already-too-long list. As I read the first ten pages, it was fairly enjoyable.I noticed no errors, and the book seemed to be beginning to take shape already. However, I wasn't hooked to the book.I could still put it down, so in the end,I did.
First Ten review added on December 6, 2016, at 12:20 am by L_Therese.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
amybo82
Prior to sampling this book, I would not have picked it up. While the reviews were all very positive, they did not convince me that I needed to read the book, and I was not swayed by the book's description. I have been steering clear of books that are too heart-wrenching and serious. However, the passionate Online Book Club review was so persuasive that it made me want to give the book a shot. After sampling the book, I have decided that I'm going to give it a go! I am prepared to experience a wide range of emotions while reading. I really liked the author's writing style, and I found that the story moved very quickly. I'm excited to read the rest of the book!
First Ten review added on December 5, 2016, at 11:18 pm by amybo82.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
CrescentMoon
I love the title, it is so fitting for the author and what he goes through. After reading the blurb, I'm not sure this book is for me. It sounds really hard to read and since this is a memoir, I typically don't read those as I like to read fiction. So I wouldn't pick it up. After reading the first ten pages, I actually like the writing style. I love the first-person perspective which gives this a more personal feel and it makes sense considering the author is talking about himself. I'm not sure this book is for me though.
First Ten review added on December 5, 2016, at 6:04 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
bookowlie
The summary blurb is well-written although the story seems a little depressing for my taste. I also don't like to read about people who are addicted to drugs. The cover is eye-catching, but it's a little too revealing with a photo of a bare-chested man. The sample pages appear to be professionally edited and the author does a good job of introducing the main character (himself). However, the subject matter of starting off with a psychotic episode was a little harsh for me. Although the Official Review is very positive and the beginning pages have a nice writing style, this story doesn't seem like my cup of tea.
First Ten review added on December 5, 2016, at 5:00 pm by bookowlie.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
AA1495
Had I not sampled the book, I wouldn't have read it. I generally read romance books. Having read the sample, I thought that the author has expressed his thoughts and feelings well. However, I would have liked to read an introduction on him. The book seems to be professionally edited. It has a favorable Onlinebookclub review. I think I will read this book further.
First Ten review added on December 5, 2016, at 4:34 pm by AA1495.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Sarah_Khan
At first glance, I found the cover art and the title of this book very unique, they certainly grab attention. The premise is interesting, although I probably would not have picked this up by myself because I do not usually read non-fiction.
After reading the first ten pages, I can say that this novel is well-written and professionally edited. The author tells his story in a clear, easy to understand way. I can see how this might appeal to fans of this genre but personally I do not intend to read the rest of this book because it is just not my cup of tea.
First Ten review added on December 5, 2016, at 12:01 pm by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Vermont Reviews
Today's book of the day 1 Man,3 Hearts, 9 Lives by Christophe Lafontant shows that Christophe has the determination to overcome many health problems. With the support of his family and the medical profession he has lived through many complications. I found the story very well written. The author has shown his readers that he has many miracles that he has experienced in his life. At this time my reading schedule is quite overbooked and I will not be downloading this book. I also like the cover of the book. The other thing that impressed me is that all the reviews were 5 stars.
Vermont Reviews
First Ten review added on December 5, 2016, at 11:07 am by Vermont Reviews.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kourtney Bradley
The cover on this one is more than an attention grabber for sure. The sample and the review that I read gave a real insight to what this book has to offer, and it sounds very inspiring. I can only imagine the strength it took for this writer to publish his story and allow others the opportunity to read it. While I feel like I may regret this later, I am going to pass on this one for now until I get caught up on my reading list.
First Ten review added on December 5, 2016, at 10:59 am by Kourtney Bradley.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Rachel1019
From the cover and title, this is a book that I would want to read when I wanted to learn about other people's feelings about transplants and medical issues. The review on OBC is very touching and allows a prospective reader to make a good decision about whether this book will interest them. I sampled the first part of the book, and I love the way that it is written. So far, just from reading the the prologue and first few chapters, I feel such empathy for the author. I would like to finish this book when I get some time.
First Ten review added on December 5, 2016, at 10:44 am by Rachel1019.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 35%
1 Man, 3 Hearts, 9 Lives earned a score of 35%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 35% 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 1 Man, 3 Hearts, 9 Lives
