Are you more or less likely to read a free book?

[Angst]

Do you "get what you pay for" as the adage claims?

Are you more likely to read a book if it's free, or if you find it on "sale"? I've downloaded a number of free books, but have only read one or two of them. Speaking for myself only, I am more likely to read a book if I find it on sale. Maybe I feel the book is more valuable if i pay for it, or maybe I am too cheap to waste my money by buying a book and not reading it.

I've noticed three strategies by authors to entice people to buy their book.
1. Give the book away and hope for word of mouth sales.
2. Sell the book for $.99 or $1.99
3. Sell the book at a steep discount (40-60%)

Which strategy works best on you?

[ficbot]

I have so many books to read that I prioritize the ones I have paid for first. I do check out free samples and then if I like it, I buy it. But I am trying to read my paid for books first.

[Elfwreck]

I'm more likely to read free books because I'm more likely to acquire free books.

I have both paid & free books in my reader that I haven't read. Admittedly, only a couple of paid ones, which I bought fairly early in my ebook-collecting days. I'm now a lot more careful about what I buy; I'm not prone to paying money for an ebook unless I'm certain I'll enjoy it.

I don't pick up books from author enticements unless they come with some indication that *I* would want to read this book. Sometimes, the description itself is enough--but that's very rare. Although I have (I like to think) reasonably broad tastes, I'm selective about writing quality, and a short blurb like a messageboard post isn't likely to convince me that I'll like the author's writing.

Bad grammar or punctuation in the promo pretty much guarantees I won't bother. An author who tells me "Your going to love it!" isn't getting any more attention from me.

What convinces me to buy an ebook by an author I don't already know I like:
1) Recommendation from someone who knows my reading tastes,
2) Blog by the author, giving me a way to discover I like this person's general writing style on several subjects,
3) Book blurb that *really* hits my reading preferences and my whim of the moment.

#2 is the one the authors have the most control over. Of course, any blog that convinces me I like the person's writing, is going to convince other people they don't, especially if the blog contains any remotely controversial opinions.

I don't particularly look at price. Okay, I do; over $6 is probably not going to catch my attention no matter how fascinating it seems. And if it's DRM'd, I don't need to read it. But other than that, I'm not more likely to buy a book on sale than one at full price.

[DMcCunney]

My vote in the poll was that both my reading and my purchases were governed by content, not price.

The limiting factor in my case isn't money to buy - it's time to read. I decided years ago that buying books and reading them were separate and distinct pleasures, and I needn't feel guilty about buying six books and finding time to read two.

I have a large number of free ebooks, sourced from Project Gutenberg or the like. But I didn't get them because they were free. I got them because I wanted to read them, and they were generally things I might have purchased if a free electronic edition wasn't available.
______
Dennis

[Dellaster]

a) Of course I'm more likely to acquire ("buy"/download) if it's free. There's no downside to taking a minute to download an ebook and add it to my Calibre library.

b) What I actually get around to reading depends entirely on the content and what I'm in the mood to read. One of the best Young Adult SF novels I've read in the past several years was absolutely free. So I don't judge by the cover price.

c) Authors I've read and enjoyed before usually get priority. Naturally.

[wallyworld]

The more reviews a book has, the more I consider it. A good review will tell a little more about the book....it helps.

[dreams]

Under $2 and free will entice me to look at or try a new author. Even then, I will not just download a free book if it is not something that I think will interest me. I will pay more, if I trust the person recommending the book.

A higher price has nothing to do with better content. Just because it costs more does not mean it is better. I've read some extremely good novels that were free and others I've purchased from major publishers that were full of errors, poorly formatted, and did not live up to those 5 star reviews.

I use to look for and read reviews, but lately I've found that I am starting to question some of the reviewers. Are they friends, family, or other supportive authors just trying to get reviews up? I've been sadly disappointed by purchasing a book based on some reviews. Now, I look for a review of a book by someone that I know has the same reading tastes that I have (something I did with pbooks). Since becoming a member of MR, I will look for reviews / comments by other members on this site.

I've even noted that whether I love a book or not depends on my mood when reading. Sometimes, I just want something light or fun to fill the time, or even short stories, and at other times, I want to be fully engaged in adventure or something to make me think. I've started a book and didn't like it enough to continue, then later picked it up again and found that I was surprised to really like it.

The one thing I will do after reading a new author is look for other books by them.

[Vintage Season]

I base both my purchases and reading habits on content, not price. That said, if I get a good deal on something that looks interesting (or even get it free) I am more likely to go ahead and take a chance on it.

As an author, I feel an obligation to deliver quality content. As a relatively unknown author (at least so far) it is to my advantage to give a few things away free. This demonstrates to those willing to take a chance that I am indeed attempting to offer the same level of quality I would want to read.

- M.

[animedude01]

I'll frequently download it if it's free, but for purchase and reading, it's based on content.

The free books can include samples, first volumes in a series, older books released such as by Baen, or PD books.

[GraceKrispy]

I will download and read any free books that look interesting to me. To purchase a book, it has to be easy, cheap and seemingly worth it. I will buy authors I really like for books I know Iʻll like to read over and over, but I mostly am a library user, so free is what appeals most to me. Iʻve enjoyed a lot of free reads that make me want to buy the authorʻs other works if I can find them at what I consider to be a reasonable price. Since I have always been a library reader and not a book collector, reasonable price to me is a few bucks, unless itʻs a book I *really* really love. So giving away free books as an enticement does work on me, to some extent.

[neilmarr]

Classics apart, I'm unlikely to invest precious reading time on a free or cheap book. I work on the principle (not always accurate) that cover price is likely to reflect careful manuscript selectivity on the part of a publisher and professional editorial input. It comes as no surprise to me that only about half those in this poll who download freebies actually get around to reading them. Neil

[FlorenceArt]

I often download free public domain books, and read them (but not always).

I sometimes download free contemporary books, but I am less likely to read it than a book I purchased. That's because before I purchase a book, I make sure I actually want to read it. If it's free, I may download it "just in case" and forget about it. Also, it's hard to disconnect the link in our mind to the intrinsic value (if there is such a thing) or something and its monetary value.

We tend to have a bias toward being happy with something bought for a relatively high price, and being unhappy with something free or cheap. Anything that can be gotten for free, or very cheap, is automatically degraded in our mind, or at least suspected of having low intrinsic value. Of course that judgment may change with time, but you start with a negative bias.

In short, the statement "You get what you pay for" is true, at least in our minds.

I have downloaded and read several free (contemporary) e-books. I'm not sure how many, but probably around 15-20. I can remember only one case where I bought another book by the same author. Many of these books were just bad, to my taste, or at least not good enough for me to seek another. But some were OK and a few even good. If I had paid for those books, how would I have judged them? I honestly don't know, but I am pretty sure that the price I paid them (nothing) played at least some part in my negative response to them.

So, even though I checked "I base my purchases on content, not price", this is not 100% true. There are books that I don't purchase because they are too expensive (especially e-books; I am more ready to pay a high price for a paper book, even though I prefer to read e-books - go figure ). There may also be books that I don't purchase because they are too cheap.

Sorry if this sounds a bit confused, I am only trying to be honest, and honestly I do not know how much the price really influences my buying decisions. I just know it does

[mikaelalind]

I admit, I am picky. Yes, price is an important part. But so is the content. I am more likely to download something free by a new author. But it is less likely that I would buy it, if it cost more than 5 dollar.

Now, authors that I like, is another story. *grins* There I am willing to pay a lot more

[animedude01]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Classics apart, I'm unlikely to invest precious reading time on a free or cheap book. I work on the principle (not always accurate) that cover price is likely to reflect careful manuscript selectivity on the part of a publisher and professional editorial input. It comes as no surprise to me that only about half those in this poll who download freebies actually get around to reading them. Neil

Well... to be truthful... my TBR queue is long enough that there are plenty of books I've paid for that I still haven't read, even after 2 years!

Although I do agree that freebies can frequently be of so-so quality, most of the freebies I download are samples and first novels in series. Many of these have been good enough that I've purchased the subsequent novels. Of course, there are plenty that I didn't like enough to keep as well

[joycedb]

I agree with the poster who said you get what you pay for. I feel if the author doesn't value his or her work enough to put a price on it, I don't value it enough to try it out. Especially since I've sampled some of this free content. I do understand trying to get a head start in the biz, but I would give more credibility to a writer's work if it had a price attached.

Joyce