Live Forever - from Smashwords - Page 3

Ed_ODell · 05-29-2010, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

I have read the post of both Jake_Drake and Ed_ODell.

Perhaps the "one hour only" is intended to build excitement. I find it repulsive irritating annoying pestiferous.

@ SameOldStory: Love the word you ultimately chose!

@ Jake: Hope you're extending for your own reasons! Obviously, my post set a precedent that some (perhaps many) find potentially troubling. It has elicited a number of remarks similar to one above, but also a number in favor. While I/we bear the brunt of the ire, my guess is that these are aimed to cut off future similar posts. And that may not be a bad thing. An overabundance of similar posts would have readers scrambling about, trying to decide which to choose. That wouldn't be beneficial to readers or authors.

In the end, it is your work. Do with it what you feel is best! The vast majority understand that we are not marketing professionals, and the vast majority will give us the benefit of the doubt. But you are never, ever, ever gonna please everyone, no matter what you do. "To thine own self be true!"

mbelec · 05-29-2010, 07:15 PM

Hey, thanks! It looks interesting . . . are there more coming?

Dr. Drib · 05-29-2010, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake_Drake

I understand. I hadn't thought of any of that when I made my offer. With that in mind, if I don't upset anyone here for changing the hours of my offer, I will allow this book to remain free all day. Que? Just trying to work with those who can't be here for one hour. So I suppose I should change or perhaps post a new thread to that effect?

Just now read your post and made the requested change to your Title.

I'm one Moderator trying to keep this Forum ["Freebies"] a sane and enjoyable place for all Members, and also try to keep people informed about Posting Guidelines for Members who may occasionally be forgetful about playing fair. Having said that, please PM me if you would like me to change something in the Title Thread.

Don
(Moderator)

cbell · 05-29-2010, 09:15 PM

Deleted, just read other thread about same topic.

SameOldStory · 05-29-2010, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake_Drake

You're right. I wasn't absolutely sure what time I would make the freebie when I first posted. That's what happens when I get distracted by everything around me while I'm posting. I thought I had made it clear. My apologies.

You did make it clear - "it most likely will be from 1pm-2pm (Pacific time)."

Unfortunately if anyone wanted it (for free) they would have to double check your timing and sit at their computers waiting for the right time in their local. That, I think, is what caused the turbulence.

On top of that I read a page of the book and it looked interesting. "So what time will it be here when it's about 1pm-2pm (Pacific time)? What if he gets up early! Hmmm. Can I cancel the wedding today?"

If it was a stinko book who would care?

The fact is the book has already been changed to free and I will leave it free for longer than originally intended for those who can't work around one hour. I understand time constraints. My offer was made as a marketing ploy, not to aggravate anyone. I hadn't realized there would be anyone who would be aggravated by my making it only one hour. Never occurred to me. Guess because I'm not like that. I go with the flow a lot better.

Sorry if my freebie offer offended you.

Free for 3 minutes sometime between 4:26 and 9:31 local time in Tongoy, Chile? Now that would REALLY offend me. I would have to cancel heart surgery.

I can see putting a "first" book up for free or "free Saturday only". That’s up to you. I also think that $.99 to $1.99 for a first book is good, because I feel that some will download a free book and never read it.

It's like that old computer game - lemonade stand. Price too high - no one buys. Price too low - you're out of business.

Your other books at $5 each are the right price for me. Because if the writer IS good then I want them to start making enough money to write full time. Just remember us little folks when you're a top 10 best seller.

As for "having a 4 & 5 year old trying to be quiet in the morning" . Try this.

DixieGal · 05-29-2010, 09:50 PM

Hi Jake!

I just now got it, in several formats. Usually I don't care for vampire books, but the description, reviews, and first couple of paragraphs make it enticing. I have a big road trip coming up and plan on reading it in the car.

THANKS!

Bambi

Jake_Drake · 05-30-2010, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Hi Jake!

I just now got it, in several formats. Usually I don't care for vampire books, but the description, reviews, and first couple of paragraphs make it enticing. I have a big road trip coming up and plan on reading it in the car.

THANKS!

Bambi

Hope you enjoy Live Forever. Let me know either way, all right? I intend on writing a sequel to it and want to know what works and what doesn't.

Jake_Drake · 05-30-2010, 03:48 AM

Hey Ed - Can't please 'em all. How true. No, I just tend to do a lot of things on impulse and figured I had the time for it so why not make it available all day. It worked for me and seems to be drawing a lot of readers, which ultimately is what I want, eh? Another of my books, Pumpkin Jack Skull and Other Tales of Terror I had listed at Smashwords for free a long time and received almost 8,000 downloads on it before I started charging. Some people have purchased it even then, so that's a good thing.

Orochi · 05-30-2010, 05:35 AM

After reading all the posts, I thought I needed to jump back into the fray.

Jake - I completely relate to your impulsive nature. My original post was not intended to be harsh. I was trying to be concise and offer not only my personal feelings on the matter, but also some alternatives that would be more appealing. I was also trying to reflect what I believe alot of other people may feel about 1 hr promos. I understand that you ultimately want to generate interest in your writing, and there is some trial and error in the process.

I have gone to your page and downloaded your book. Vampires are not usually my thing, but the decription looks enticing and the reviews are very good. These are the things that really peak my interest regardless of price. I also have to compliment you on the artwork for the book cover, something else that also draws me in to a book . Infact the artwork for all of your books is excellent. Do you do it yourself?

Anyways, the book is next on my reading list, once I am finished with what I am reading now. If I like it I will not only be back for more, but will recommend it to others.

Ed Odell - you said, "my guess is that these are aimed to cut off future similar posts. And that may not be a bad thing. An overabundance of similar posts would have readers scrambling about, trying to decide which to choose. That wouldn't be beneficial to readers or authors."

I think your dead on the money with that comment. Such insight has caused me to have a look at your work as well.

So now both of you have mange to pull off a promotion here, maybe your actually working in cahoots and it was all some mad devious plan to generate interest through controversy?

Regardless, it seems to have worked. LOL

astra · 05-30-2010, 08:16 AM

It was not free 20 minutes ago.

SameOldStory · 05-30-2010, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astra

It was not free 20 minutes ago.

Sorry astra, but the thread was started on the 27th. The original headline was that the book was free for one hour (on Saturday). Then it was changed. I think that it should have been changed to "Free Saturday Only". Such is life.

The book does look interesting. It seems to be about a socially responsible vampire. I only read 4 or 5 pages so could be wrong.

Strangely enough all his other books (7) have 5 star ratings (Well. One is only 4.8). And it looks at first glance that it’s the same people reviewing them. But I suspect that it’s just because there are so few reviews. He needs more reviewers.

Having noted that, I must say that "Pumpkin Jack Skull and Other Tales of Terror" is Exceptional. Read the first short story in the collection (Free online) and see if you can disagree!

Jacob Drake may not be my cup of tea, as they say, but "Pumpkin Jack Skull" and "Live Forever" are exceptions.

Poppa1956 · 05-31-2010, 01:44 AM

OK, so I even missed the 24-hours free book offer. No time to boo-hoo, nor to berate the author for a generous offer during a time for which I decided I had other more important things to do.
Meanwhile, I was made aware of his existence, and of his books. I finally registered SmashWords, and I downloaded a free sample of "Live Forever." I'm sure it's no "Ducks of Doom," but neither is anything Shakespeare wrote.

lene1949 · 05-31-2010, 04:03 AM

In the time I've been an MR member, I've only ever seen two books promoted as free for 1 hour only

Is this something new, or maybe I've just not seen it before?

thafrogggg · 06-01-2010, 01:38 AM

Jake,

I would have left a review over at smashwords, but I cannot because I have not purchased it.

Overall, I really liked the read. I thought it would take me a bit longer to read the book, but it kept me very interested and I finished it in about 3 days.

The book flowed nicely through the story line and did not feel like there were any gaps, like some books that I have read recently had.

I only noticed about four or so grammatical errors, but I forgot to bookmark the pages to refer to them in this reply (I need to do that in the future, so I can give a better review), but it did not make reading less interesting.

I look forward to the sequel when it comes out.

Dr. Drib · 06-01-2010, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astra

It was not free 20 minutes ago.

Title now corrected.

Don
(Moderator)

05-29-2010, 09:15 PM	#34
cbell Frenetic Posts: 590 Karma: 8181 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Australia Device: iLiad V2	Deleted, just read other thread about same topic. Last edited by cbell; 05-29-2010 at 09:28 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
PRS-300 Loading forever	stevemc	Sony Reader	18	12-19-2010 10:13 PM
Marketing Edge Will Not Last Forever	Ron46	Ectaco jetBook	10	01-29-2010 10:43 AM
Too many books ? loading forever -	vv01f2009	Sony Reader	19	09-03-2009 08:59 PM
disney copyright forever	UncleDuke	News	44	12-06-2008 09:02 AM

05-29-2010, 07:15 PM	#32
mbelec Addict Posts: 209 Karma: 1165996 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Maine Device: sony prs-350, Ipad 3	Hey, thanks! It looks interesting . . . are there more coming?

05-29-2010, 09:50 PM	#36
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Hi Jake! I just now got it, in several formats. Usually I don't care for vampire books, but the description, reviews, and first couple of paragraphs make it enticing. I have a big road trip coming up and plan on reading it in the car. THANKS! Bambi

05-30-2010, 03:48 AM	#38
Jake_Drake Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 30000 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Olympia, WA Device: Kindle	Hey Ed - Can't please 'em all. How true. No, I just tend to do a lot of things on impulse and figured I had the time for it so why not make it available all day. It worked for me and seems to be drawing a lot of readers, which ultimately is what I want, eh? Another of my books, *Pumpkin Jack Skull and Other Tales of Terror* I had listed at Smashwords for free a long time and received almost 8,000 downloads on it before I started charging. Some people have purchased it even then, so that's a good thing.

05-30-2010, 05:35 AM	#39
Orochi Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 5138 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kobo, Ipod Touch	After reading all the posts, I thought I needed to jump back into the fray. Jake - I completely relate to your impulsive nature. My original post was not intended to be harsh. I was trying to be concise and offer not only my personal feelings on the matter, but also some alternatives that would be more appealing. I was also trying to reflect what I believe alot of other people may feel about 1 hr promos. I understand that you ultimately want to generate interest in your writing, and there is some trial and error in the process. I have gone to your page and downloaded your book. Vampires are not usually my thing, but the decription looks enticing and the reviews are very good. These are the things that really peak my interest regardless of price. I also have to compliment you on the artwork for the book cover, something else that also draws me in to a book . Infact the artwork for all of your books is excellent. Do you do it yourself? Anyways, the book is next on my reading list, once I am finished with what I am reading now. If I like it I will not only be back for more, but will recommend it to others. Ed Odell - you said, "my guess is that these are aimed to cut off future similar posts. And that may not be a bad thing. An overabundance of similar posts would have readers scrambling about, trying to decide which to choose. That wouldn't be beneficial to readers or authors." I think your dead on the money with that comment. Such insight has caused me to have a look at your work as well. So now both of you have mange to pull off a promotion here, maybe your actually working in cahoots and it was all some mad devious plan to generate interest through controversy? Regardless, it seems to have worked. LOL

05-30-2010, 08:16 AM	#40
astra The Introvert Posts: 8,307 Karma: 1000077497 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United Kingdom Device: Sony Reader PRS-650 & 505 & 500	It was not free 20 minutes ago.

05-31-2010, 01:44 AM	#42
Poppa1956 Evangelist Posts: 487 Karma: 344188 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Oregon, USA Device: Verizon Ellipsis Tablit w/Kindle and Nook apps.	OK, so I even missed the 24-hours free book offer. No time to boo-hoo, nor to berate the author for a generous offer during a time for which I decided I had other more important things to do. Meanwhile, I was made aware of his existence, and of his books. I finally registered SmashWords, and I downloaded a free sample of "Live Forever." I'm sure it's no "Ducks of Doom," but neither is anything Shakespeare wrote.

05-31-2010, 04:03 AM	#43
lene1949 Wizard Posts: 1,952 Karma: 213930 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Middelfart, Denmark Device: Kindle paper white	In the time I've been an MR member, I've only ever seen two books promoted as free for 1 hour only Is this something new, or maybe I've just not seen it before?

06-01-2010, 01:38 AM	#44
thafrogggg Rabid Book Weasel Posts: 84 Karma: 1678 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Acer Iconia A500 Tablet (lovin' it!!)	Jake, I would have left a review over at smashwords, but I cannot because I have not purchased it. Overall, I really liked the read. I thought it would take me a bit longer to read the book, but it kept me very interested and I finished it in about 3 days. The book flowed nicely through the story line and did not feel like there were any gaps, like some books that I have read recently had. I only noticed about four or so grammatical errors, but I forgot to bookmark the pages to refer to them in this reply (I need to do that in the future, so I can give a better review), but it did not make reading less interesting. I look forward to the sequel when it comes out.