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Sampling doesn't raise prices, Sufue. It mearly increases exposure and, therefore, sales potential. Cetainly in the book market, it's one form of free advertising. No special preparation is necessary, editorially or technically.
And it follows the tried-and-tested tradition of back cover text, reviews and, of course, leafing through treebooks in a high street store before deciding to buy or not. The only difference online is that the prospective buyer has more time and more material to browse.
Of course, you can go the extra mile, too -- but even then, it's not too difficult for the author or publisher and all it costs is a little time and imagination.
For instance, if you pop into my own BeWrite Books publishing site (linked below), and visit the book store section, you'll find that when you click on a title's cover, you're offered a whole heap of stuff to help you decide -- before buying -- whether or not your dollars and reading time will be well spent:
Back cover text, reviews, extracts, paperback and ebook format options and prices, and even information on the author and his/her publishing history. You can also read there about the publishing house itself and how it selected the title you're interested in and the editorial, design and technical work invested in it.
I think this is only fair. Depending on the length of a work, we might be asking someone to invest ten or twelve hours of precious free time in what's on offer.
Cheers. Neil
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