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Old 10-01-2010, 12:39 PM   #1
koland
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Over 50 Smashwords Free Books Hit Kindle Store?

There is a flood of free books appearing in the Kindle store this morning and I recognize many of them as independently published books that are free over on Smashwords. As of my last count, there are now 58 of them on the free book list, that you can find HERE. I started seeing the new books around page seven, but you may want to just skim the other pages to see if I missed one. Also, some of the books will show a price, such as $0.99 in the search list. But once you click on the book, it will actually be free (at least in the US). If it isn't, wait a few minutes and refresh the page (press F5); I know the Repairman Jack story first appeared for 99 cents, but was free only moments later.

Last edited by koland; 10-01-2010 at 12:58 PM.
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Old 10-01-2010, 01:22 PM   #2
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I wonder if this has anything to do with Amazon's new 70% royalty rules which state that any book offered at another bookseller cannot undercut the Amazon price in order to qualify.

And while it's nice that Kindle users can get syncable versions of these books free, I hope Amazon doesn't make a habit of it. Considering just how many Smashwords books are out there, it could quickly become tedious to find the new time-limited special promo freebies*.

* Cf. the current state of Inkmesh's Barnes & Noble free books list.
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Old 10-01-2010, 01:39 PM   #3
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ATDrake:

Amazon has always had the rule that publishers (and indie authors) cannot offer a book at a lower price somewhere else. It doesn't matter if it's in the 70 percent option or not.

That refers to LIST price, of course. The DISCOUNT price is not in the writer/publisher's control so it's allowed, though Amazon reserves the right to match it (at Amazon's discretion). The thing that is different about the 70 percent option is that if Amazon discounts a price, the author/publisher only gets 70 percent of the discount. Those who are in the old 35 percent program are supposed to get their cut no matter what the discount is.

I don't know if "free" is at all excluded from the payments to 35 percent deals. I guess this will tell us.

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Old 10-01-2010, 01:40 PM   #4
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I definitely agree. And they are all (I think) on that list, which means the price drop was instituted by Amazon.

I hate trying to get thru Inkmesh's lists for all the other stores, as the Smashwords (and iUniverse and one other, I think) books all end up there for free as well.

But, I think Amazon had a no-undercutting clause even in the old 35% royalty contract for indie authors.
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Old 10-01-2010, 01:42 PM   #5
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I recognize some of the listed books on there as well, and the main link I see is that many are high up on the free downloads section of the iBookstore (myself included). Perhaps Amazon is experimenting? Or perhaps they are trying to counter some of the free books that are popular and available elsewhere? There's still a lot we don't know (Amazon certainly didn't send me an email or anything). Right now, I'm just enjoying the show and watching my downloads skyrocket.
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Old 10-01-2010, 03:13 PM   #6
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After talking more to people on Kindleboard, I find that the "non-compete" clause may not apply to free books that are not in the 70 percent option. (or at least is not being enforced.)

I've been wanting to put my short story collection at free for some time, considering it works as a sample of my published short mystery fiction. I guess it's okay, then, so I just now put it at free on Smashwords. Let's see how that goes....

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Old 10-01-2010, 04:39 PM   #7
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I'm not sure why they are free. Since they are on the limited time promotion page, it is something that Amazon has done on purpose.

I now have a complete list with links on my blog (minus one "book" that was described as a list of book titles, which even then got a one-star review for being full of shorthand). A few are short stories (some very short), a few erotica, but most appear to be fantasy, scifi, romance or thriller/horror. Quite a few are full length books and the start of a series. A couple of authors have multiple titles involved.

Since there are 58 titles (+ the one I skipped), I won't repeat them here (plus, my fingers are now officially tired and on strike).
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Old 10-01-2010, 05:14 PM   #8
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There are most likely a rash of new Kindle owners thanks to Best Buy (raises hand) and I wonder if that has affected the release of so many free eBooks? Reading material to suck people in to other books by the same authors?
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Old 10-01-2010, 06:09 PM   #9
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I'm sure that is part of it, at least on the major publisher freebies. But, these are from Independent authors who are self-published. They can't set their books as free and I've seen at least one comment that said David Dalglish had no idea his book was going to be free today (or ever).
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Old 10-05-2010, 03:38 PM   #10
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There is a slightly new development in this situation. Over the last 1/2 hour or so, it seems that Amazon has pulled these books and made them unavailable.

My guess is, initially, they sought to price match the iBookstore and/or Smashwords. Afterwards, they realized that "punishing" the authors by those means really did very little to dissuade/upset them.

Hopefully, they won't decide to yank all of the downloaded copies, out of spite or something else. I heard they've done that before, in different circumstances.
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Old 10-05-2010, 05:07 PM   #11
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I wouldn't worry about that, seeing as they're mostly back at full price (some still $0.00, but likely to change). In any case, everything there is still free at Smashwords.

Though I'm mildly curious as to whether Amazon will deduct that filesize-based transfer fee I think I've read about from the usual 70% royalty payments for those who got the "sales" boost for their sudden freebies.
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Old 10-06-2010, 08:18 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Kemp View Post
Hopefully, they won't decide to yank all of the downloaded copies, out of spite or something else. I heard they've done that before, in different circumstances.
They have done this once, because the book could not be legally sold.
They compensated the buyers.
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Old 10-06-2010, 09:39 AM   #13
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And they gave the book back during the apology, then promised never to yank a book again, even if it was offered illegally by someone. That brought in the long delays in DTP for authors & new titles to be investigated.
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Old 10-06-2010, 11:09 AM   #14
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Hopefully, they won't decide to yank all of the downloaded copies, out of spite or something else. I heard they've done that before, in different circumstances.
As noted, it wasn't spite.

And when it happened again recently (someone uploaded an unauthorized book), purchased copies were not removed from buyers' devices when the book was yanked. As they promised they wouldn't be.
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Old 10-06-2010, 12:57 PM   #15
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Eeesh, didn't mean to cause any offense. My awareness regarding their promises was not complete, and I and the other indies still don't have any concrete notion as to why they were briefly available for free before being yanked and put back as normal. My paranoia was running a little high when all of those books became unavailable.

Though I don't doubt Amazon's promise, and wishing no offense upon my fellow indy-pubbers, it seems likely that many would not notice a yank. The statistic for actual readers of free books is like 5-10% of downloads, so a disappearing freebie would seem less likely to cause a stink. On the other hand, the corporate giant stomping all over the itty bitty indies wouldn't look so good either...
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