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Originally Posted by markstani
I don't agree at all. You're right that having 100 downloads doesn't mean you have 100 readers. But it almost certainly means you have more readers than the single reader who buys it for USD2.99.
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It doesn't mean that at all. You can *hope* it means that, but 1 definite sale beats 100 downloads.
In the indie software arena (once known as "shareware"), which is where I've been making my living since 1999, a popular bit of data is the "1% conversion rate". That is, 1 out 100 downloads of the free trial version of the software results in a sale. It's not entirely accurate (some people do better than 1%, most do much worse), but it's a good rule of thumb. If you want one sale, you need 100 downloads of your trial version.
But what you're talking about isn't even "try before you buy" situation. You're just giving the book away. In which case, no amount of downloads equals any amount of sales.
Quote:
Originally Posted by markstani
But if you plan on sticking around in the e-book game - perhaps if your big novel is yet to come; perhaps if you're serious about one day making a living out of it, then surely it's better to speculate to accumulate in the hope of attracting and establishing some kind of readership base, some kind of blog traffic, some kind of hype?
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If you're planning to make a living off of writing, then you're not pinning your hopes on one book. You're working on your next book, with plans to do a book after that, and then another, and so on. Each book builds on the audience of the previous book and you end up with a sum that is greater than the parts.
In that case, if you want to give away your first book, go for it. Don't let anything I say or anyone else says stop you. Just don't count downloads as readers. That's wishful/hopeful thinking. I would look for feedback from readers as the metric. Actual emails or people leaving comments on your blog or FB page. That sort of thing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by markstani
The idea that you can just arrive out of nowhere and plonk a book up on Smashwords or wherever and expect people to part with money for it is, I think, seriously flawed - irrespective of the quality of your book. Sure you could quote odd example - but not many.
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The quality of the book is the main point, I think, combined with your efforts at promoting the book (beyond making it free), accumulating reviews, and then writing the next book (and the next).
People will pay for something they enjoy. That is not in question.
-David