"With Kindle, the Best Sellers Don’t Need to Sell" - Page 3

Marcy · 01-27-2010, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC Beacham

For me the free samples available at Smashwords and Kindle are plenty. But it seems that for some the internet is seen as a place to get free stuff.

I almost never download samples of books. All my books are things that sounded interesting, that I took a chance on, or freebies. And since I have so many backlogged books, if a book is offered for free I will download it and stick it on my reader for the future. However, any portion of a book would be ignored. I have enough stuff already that I don't need any snippets or partial books.

So, to capture my interest in your book that otherwise wouldn't have caught my attention, it would have to be free. It's not that I'm averse to paying for ebooks, because I'm not, I've bought well over 500. But to get me to invest the time in reading something that I'm not sure is my thing, I want the entire book. Perhaps just my quirk, but it's why a free book gets me to download it, but samples mean nothing to me.

-Marcy

nomesque · 01-27-2010, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcy

But to get me to invest the time in reading something that I'm not sure is my thing, I want the entire book. Perhaps just my quirk, but it's why a free book gets me to download it, but samples mean nothing to me.

Mmm... I'm similar. I HATE reading just part of a book. I'll download a free ebook, but rarely a sample. To me, finding an author I like is about the whole book - not just the writing style but the ability to end a book properly. So I'll read one book and put its author on my 'to buy' list for future books, rather than read half a book then buy it.

I should point out that I haven't actually bought ANY ebooks, yet. I'm waiting til my cash flow gets out of the negatives

TC Beacham · 01-28-2010, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcy

I almost never download samples of books. All my books are things that sounded interesting, that I took a chance on, or freebies. And since I have so many backlogged books, if a book is offered for free I will download it and stick it on my reader for the future. However, any portion of a book would be ignored. I have enough stuff already that I don't need any snippets or partial books.

So, to capture my interest in your book that otherwise wouldn't have caught my attention, it would have to be free. It's not that I'm averse to paying for ebooks, because I'm not, I've bought well over 500. But to get me to invest the time in reading something that I'm not sure is my thing, I want the entire book. Perhaps just my quirk, but it's why a free book gets me to download it, but samples mean nothing to me.

-Marcy

So many different kinds of shoppers online! I only download one at a time so there's rarely anything unread on my Kindle - guess I'm a clutter freak! lol

TC Beacham · 01-28-2010, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomesque

Mmm... I'm similar. I HATE reading just part of a book. I'll download a free ebook, but rarely a sample. To me, finding an author I like is about the whole book - not just the writing style but the ability to end a book properly. So I'll read one book and put its author on my 'to buy' list for future books, rather than read half a book then buy it.

I should point out that I haven't actually bought ANY ebooks, yet. I'm waiting til my cash flow gets out of the negatives

I'll download several samples of the type of book I'm looking for (mystery, literary, whatever), then choose one and delete the samples.

I need to take more notice of all the freebies out there, especially classics that I'd like to read again!

Marseille · 01-28-2010, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC Beacham

So many different kinds of shoppers online!

Definitely. I buy around 75% of my books for the next year at year end (for the sales), so most of the time I have a ton of unread material awaiting me. I can't stand to read one thing at a time either. I never know what I'll be in the mood to read at any given moment.

JSWolf · 02-05-2010, 02:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC Beacham

What would you consider too high for an indie author's subsequent books?

Given the discounts I get from Borders, I'd say $5 max. Above that is into the realm of buying a paperback.

JSWolf · 02-05-2010, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Just an interesting note - Sony does not include free books in their bestseller list.

Could be that free eBooks don't actually sell.

delphidb96 · 02-05-2010, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Could be that free eBooks don't actually sell.

Yeah... They don't 'sell', but they sure move off the Baen Free Library!

Derek

DrZoidberg · 02-09-2010, 06:55 AM

I've bought plenty of books in my life based on the name, cover or just being in the mood for a new book. Some of them I read three pages of and say, "holy moley what twaddle" and chuck it. Before e-books I even did it in book shops where I can physically read it since I have it in my hand. I know I should do that less, but it's so little money, even a book costing $10.

Scott Nicholson · 02-09-2010, 02:19 PM

Like most indies, I've found $1.99 to be a fair price for an ebook, because I still make more per copy than I did per NY paperback. I am so pleased with how it's going that I am releasing an original novel to ebook on March 1--The Skull Ring. It is an exciting time to be a creator!

Scott Nicholson
The Red Church
http://tiny.cc/SMAKb

jseay · 02-22-2010, 02:19 PM

I found the article in the NY Times most interesting. I think that offering some of your work for free is a good strategy for building readership. Many consumers do expect internet content to be free. Offering a full sample (i.e. a full ebook) for free could help build author brand recognition which could lead to sales of your priced work.

catherinecondie · 02-22-2010, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shayne Parkinson

My own experience, FWIW. I originally charged for all my ebooks, and got a trickle of downloads. I decided to make the first one free, and fairly rapidly found it getting thousands of downloads - and hundreds of sales of the later books.

Readers are presented with a plethora of unfamiliar names when they go searching. And people are used to having quite vast amounts of free content on the 'net. Even $1.99 can be a barrier when it comes to trying the unknown.

Hi Shayne - enjoying your book very much. I recently published and purchased GlobalReach on Lulu - is this where you're making your sales? I am wondering how I make the publicity push from free giveaways on Smashwords and Feedbooks and convert them into sales . . . Best wishes, Catherine

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02-09-2010, 06:55 AM	#39
DrZoidberg Connoisseur Posts: 72 Karma: 345846 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Sony PRS-600	I've bought plenty of books in my life based on the name, cover or just being in the mood for a new book. Some of them I read three pages of and say, "holy moley what twaddle" and chuck it. Before e-books I even did it in book shops where I can physically read it since I have it in my hand. I know I should do that less, but it's so little money, even a book costing $10.

02-09-2010, 02:19 PM	#40
Scott Nicholson Scott Nicholson, author Posts: 363 Karma: 2029337 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Boone NC Device: Kindle	Like most indies, I've found $1.99 to be a fair price for an ebook, because I still make more per copy than I did per NY paperback. I am so pleased with how it's going that I am releasing an original novel to ebook on March 1--The Skull Ring. It is an exciting time to be a creator! Scott Nicholson The Red Church http://tiny.cc/SMAKb

02-22-2010, 02:19 PM	#41
jseay Devotional Writer Posts: 25 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Motorola Droid	I found the article in the NY Times most interesting. I think that offering some of your work for free is a good strategy for building readership. Many consumers do expect internet content to be free. Offering a full sample (i.e. a full ebook) for free could help build author brand recognition which could lead to sales of your priced work.