MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Making Money Writing (But Perhaps Not In The Way You'd Think)

anamardoll · 09-24-2011, 02:08 PM

I was reading a self-publishing guide this week and couldn't help but be a little disconcerted by how much the (indie) author was still locked into "Traditional Publishing" mindset, by which I mean zie seemed to feel that the ONLY way to make money from a book was with the One Price Per Admission model, i.e., slap it onto Amazon for $2.99 or what-have-you.

Now, I'm not talking about piracy. (Seriously, if you make this another thread about Piracy I will glare at you and shake my finger sternly. Don't do it.) Specifically, this author seemed very dismissive of the idea of giving out book coupons or posting a book online for "free" or for distributing free podcasts/audiobooks of same on YouTube.

Now, I'm a blogger first and an author second if you go chronologically, so this surprised me. I'm coming off the high of finding out that I made about $100 in Amazon referral fees and another $100 in Google Adsense fees since I started my blog early this year. (MUCH OBLIGED, INTERNET.) So I'm in THAT mindset over here, reading THIS $2.99-is-the-only-way-to-make-money mindset over there. Kind of a trip.

Now, the author is entitled to zie's opinion that giving away books "devalues" art. But I think this advice greatly limits the earning potential of the indie author. Let me give a few examples, just off the top of my head as a blogger:

1. Author posts a blog post with a free coupon/deal for their book. The description of the book is "It's like [AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKED BOOK] mixed with [AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKED BOOK] with a sprinkle of [AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKED BOOK]." Every person who clicked over to Amazon to figure out what your book is like just enabled a cookie in their browser that gives YOU a percentage of everything they buy in the next 24 hours.

2. Author sets up a blog site with their entire book "free for online reading", carefully sprinkled with Google Adsense ads.

3. Author sets up audiobook recordings or podcasts of their book on YouTube with Google Ad Revenue Sharing enabled.

I would actually think you could make a lot MORE money that way, if only because while I as a buyer rarely buy from a complete unknown (I wait for a promotional copy and then buy the rest of their work if I liked it), I *do* read and listen to stuff "for free" online and at least some of those places are getting paid for my eyeballs.

I'm wondering if anyone else has tried anything like that, and what kind of results they've seen in terms of "free book, paid eyeballs"? OPEN THREAD. (Except for piracy conversations because I'm sick of them.)

09-24-2011, 02:08 PM	#1
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Making Money Writing (But Perhaps Not In The Way You'd Think) I was reading a self-publishing guide this week and couldn't help but be a little disconcerted by how much the (indie) author was still locked into "Traditional Publishing" mindset, by which I mean zie seemed to feel that the ONLY way to make money from a book was with the One Price Per Admission model, i.e., slap it onto Amazon for $2.99 or what-have-you. Now, I'm not talking about piracy. (Seriously, if you make this another thread about Piracy I will glare at you and shake my finger sternly. Don't do it.) Specifically, this author seemed very dismissive of the idea of giving out book coupons or posting a book online for "free" or for distributing free podcasts/audiobooks of same on YouTube. Now, I'm a blogger first and an author second if you go chronologically, so this surprised me. I'm coming off the high of finding out that I made about $100 in Amazon referral fees and another $100 in Google Adsense fees since I started my blog early this year. (MUCH OBLIGED, INTERNET.) So I'm in THAT mindset over here, reading THIS $2.99-is-the-only-way-to-make-money mindset over there. Kind of a trip. Now, the author is entitled to zie's opinion that giving away books "devalues" art. But I think this advice greatly limits the earning potential of the indie author. Let me give a few examples, just off the top of my head as a blogger: 1. Author posts a blog post with a free coupon/deal for their book. The description of the book is "It's like [AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKED BOOK] mixed with [AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKED BOOK] with a sprinkle of [AMAZON AFFILIATE LINKED BOOK]." Every person who clicked over to Amazon to figure out what your book is like just enabled a cookie in their browser that gives YOU a percentage of everything they buy in the next 24 hours. 2. Author sets up a blog site with their entire book "free for online reading", carefully sprinkled with Google Adsense ads. 3. Author sets up audiobook recordings or podcasts of their book on YouTube with Google Ad Revenue Sharing enabled. I would actually think you could make a lot MORE money that way, if only because while I as a buyer rarely buy from a complete unknown (I wait for a promotional copy and then buy the rest of their work if I liked it), I do read and listen to stuff "for free" online and at least some of those places are getting paid for my eyeballs. I'm wondering if anyone else has tried anything like that, and what kind of results they've seen in terms of "free book, paid eyeballs"? OPEN THREAD. (Except for piracy conversations because I'm sick of them.)