Online word of mouth and how Amazon recommendations sell books

In 1988 a first-time author, British mountaineer Joe Simpson, wrote of his disastrous climbing accident in the Peruvian Andes. His book, Touching the Void, got good reviews, but wasn’t too popular outside England. It sold modestly and then, like most books, began fading into obscurity.

A decade later, another climbing book was penned by Jon Krakauer, an American journalist who scaled Everest but barely lived to tell the tale. Into Thin Air, with a boost from its conglomerate publisher, was an instant No. 1 bestseller and worldwide blockbuster.

And then something really interesting happened. Bookstores started getting requests for the earlier book, Touching the Void. Weeks before, stores couldn’t give it away, and now the book was sold out. Library copies went missing. The original hardback, if you could find one, was going for $375. Harper Paperbacks rushed a new printing onto shelves, and Touching the Void started outselling the new “blockbuster” by two to one.

What happened? Was it a stroke of brilliance by some publishing mogul? No, it was Joe Six-Pack, reacting to book recommendations from Amazon.com. The online store began suggesting the older book to millions of people who Amazon knew liked mountaineering books, based on their previous purchases. If you’ve shopped on Amazon, you’ve seen these recommendations yourself: “People who bought this book also bought … that book.”

Many of the new readers liked Touching the Void so much, they wrote rave reviews on Amazon’s site. These “amateur” book reviews, written by real climbers and armchair explorers, resonated deeply with the next wave of shopper. More sales, more good reviews.

Word of mouth, amplified by Internet power, lifted Touching the Void onto the bestseller charts, where it spent 14 weeks on the New York Times list. The story was adapted for an acclaimed docudrama. Simpson, his writing career turbocharged, followed up with four successful true-adventure books, a novel, and lecture tours—so far.

Does all this make sense? Yes, and it’s just the beginning. Readers are finally able to find the books they want, even in the smallest niches. Readers are finding their books at Amazon and other online retailers, not at regular bookstores, where you might get a scolding if you try using the computer.

All this is a godsend for authors, who finally have a way to effec-tively, inexpensively build their audience. Never has it been so practical, so straightforward, for writers to earn a living at their craft, and build a loyal audience.

Today book readers are helping decide which books sink or swim. As an author, you can hope to be swept along with the tide. Or you can take advantage of this new environment.