MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - "With Kindle, the Best Sellers Don’t Need to Sell"

Randolphlalonde · 01-24-2010, 02:33 PM

I only offer so much work for free, especially since I've already listed a book that sold about 2,000 copies before it became free on Smashwords. The First Light Chronicles Omnibus already had a modest following, and it's moved up to the third most downloaded book on Smashwords.

Considering its popularity, I decided to pick up the pace on the final revision of that book, it was like getting a couple thousand phone calls all telling me; "we're here, we're interested and some of us might actually read this, so you'd best hurry the hell up!" So I did, and the final revision replaced the old one a few weeks ago on Smashwords.

The First Light Chronicles Omnibus is up to 7,777 downloads (no kidding, I just checked!), and I can't help but wonder if what I hear more and more on the boards is true; that only about 10% of all eBooks downloaded for free are actually read. The rest just dwell on the reader list, collecting digital dust.

When I think of a number like 7,777 downloads, I immediately assume 90% of people won't read it. Then, since it's hard core science fiction (so several reviewers have told me), I expect only 25% of those readers will go on to read the next two books, which are priced at $1.99 apiece due to their respectable, but small-ish size. The retention from there is about 82% from what I've seen over the last two years, and the rest of the books are priced at $4.99, which is reasonable because they are much larger. [Prices are different outside of Smashwords, where I have varying degrees of control].

So, from that 7,777 download count, my math puts my resulting readership at roughly 159.5. On one hand, those are readers I may have never found if I hadn't made the First Light Chronicles Omnibus free, while on the other, the Omnibus still sells regularly on Mobipocket for $7.99, holding a rank in the top 10, and I'm sure many authors would wonder if putting a price tag on that book would reap greater rewards on Smashwords as well.

Myself, well, I've been self publishing actively since 2004, and even through mid January, new readers are finding me and I sell books every day. I've never had this degree of success, and even though I'm still living from month to month, it's nice knowing that I'm entertaining people well enough to live off what I love doing. I don't have any regrets about making my most popular book free, but on the other hand, I won't be releasing more free material this year or changing prices. I do this for a living, after all.

What I suppose I'm looking for at the end of this long post, is for people to disagree with anything I've said, because I REALLY want to hear about experiences from other authors!

RL
www.randolphlalonde.com

01-24-2010, 02:33 PM	#19
Randolphlalonde Author Posts: 55 Karma: 284 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: iPhone	I only offer so much work for free, especially since I've already listed a book that sold about 2,000 copies before it became free on Smashwords. The First Light Chronicles Omnibus already had a modest following, and it's moved up to the third most downloaded book on Smashwords. Considering its popularity, I decided to pick up the pace on the final revision of that book, it was like getting a couple thousand phone calls all telling me; "we're here, we're interested and some of us might actually read this, so you'd best hurry the hell up!" So I did, and the final revision replaced the old one a few weeks ago on Smashwords. The First Light Chronicles Omnibus is up to 7,777 downloads (no kidding, I just checked!), and I can't help but wonder if what I hear more and more on the boards is true; that only about 10% of all eBooks downloaded for free are actually read. The rest just dwell on the reader list, collecting digital dust. When I think of a number like 7,777 downloads, I immediately assume 90% of people won't read it. Then, since it's hard core science fiction (so several reviewers have told me), I expect only 25% of those readers will go on to read the next two books, which are priced at $1.99 apiece due to their respectable, but small-ish size. The retention from there is about 82% from what I've seen over the last two years, and the rest of the books are priced at $4.99, which is reasonable because they are much larger. [Prices are different outside of Smashwords, where I have varying degrees of control]. So, from that 7,777 download count, my math puts my resulting readership at roughly 159.5. On one hand, those are readers I may have never found if I hadn't made the First Light Chronicles Omnibus free, while on the other, the Omnibus still sells regularly on Mobipocket for $7.99, holding a rank in the top 10, and I'm sure many authors would wonder if putting a price tag on that book would reap greater rewards on Smashwords as well. Myself, well, I've been self publishing actively since 2004, and even through mid January, new readers are finding me and I sell books every day. I've never had this degree of success, and even though I'm still living from month to month, it's nice knowing that I'm entertaining people well enough to live off what I love doing. I don't have any regrets about making my most popular book free, but on the other hand, I won't be releasing more free material this year or changing prices. I do this for a living, after all. What I suppose I'm looking for at the end of this long post, is for people to disagree with anything I've said, because I REALLY want to hear about experiences from other authors! RL www.randolphlalonde.com Last edited by Randolphlalonde; 01-24-2010 at 02:41 PM.