Extra content in a book

ekster · 10-27-2011, 01:45 PM

Looking over the ads in ebooks thread, I see some people complain about books where the real story ends at 60%-90%, and the rest is promotional material, samples, etc.

As someone who is in the process of writing a first novel, I'm curious to know if the reaction of disliking that only comes in when it's promotional material, or in is it in general?

My idea was to add 3-5 short stories at the end of my novel. They might not be part of the main story, but they would be related to the world. They could be short stories about showing the past of a character, or how a certain area came to be as it is, or show a certain event that is often referenced but does not take place during the story, etc. It's little bits that could add to the story, but would not fit into the story itself.

Let's say these short stories take 10%-25% of the total ebook. Would you still dislike that, preferring that they be put up somewhere separately, or would you like that idea?

I obviously wouldn't say that the book is about 350 pages when only 250 is the story. I would be upfront about how many pages/words is the story and how many pages/words is the extra material.

I know I heard a publisher doing something similar (Harlequin. I believe?) where they'd show a plus at the end, meaning bonus material. But I never read any of those books, so I am not too sure on exactly what they did.

Anyhow, I would love to see everyone's opinion on whether they would like that, or not.

Keryl Raist · 10-27-2011, 02:09 PM

As long as somewhere in the book description/table of contents there's something about a few short stories, I'm cool with it.

For me the annoying part was trying to get a feel for what should be coming next. The book felt like it should have been coming to a close, but there was still 20% left according to the little bar at the bottom of my kindle. And then suddenly it was done. That was the annoying bit.

The fact that the extra stuff wasn't really related to what I had just read was a bit bothersome as well, but not horrendously.

I'd say the rule of thumb is this: let people know exactly what they are buying. Don't sell them coffee and give them tea.

Pinecone · 10-27-2011, 02:46 PM

IMO, for ebooks, just put in the book and the needed copyright stuff and things.

If you ahve some short stories, think about offering them separately or maybe even for free to promote your writing.

RichL · 10-27-2011, 02:59 PM

I agree with the above. I simply do not care for padding of any kind.

In ebooks I strip the stuff out without even reading it and pbooks, both hard and soft backed I take an x-acto blade to it.

jersysman · 10-27-2011, 04:33 PM

As was stated in the other thread, I do based a lot of my purchase on word count. For example, I purchase a lot of my books from non-mainstream vendors who usually base prices on word count. I would pay 5.99 for an 80,000 word novel, but would feel very ripped off if the novel was actually 60,000 with the last 20,000 being ads... short stories, etc. The reason being is because the actual novel is 60,000 words and I should have been able to get that one for 4.99 or less. With my budget, every 1.00 counts and I am very aware of the word count.

xg4bx · 10-27-2011, 05:12 PM

i dont mind it provided that theres a heads up given in the description and maybe a word count given for the main story.

the price should also be adjusted accordingly since most are paying for the main story and not any bonuses the author tossed in.

ekster · 10-27-2011, 08:36 PM

I would give the actual story word count in the description. And the extra content wouldn't affect the price. The short stories would be free either way. I'm just wondering if everyone would prefer them added at the end as a bonus and already conveniently downloaded, or put up somewhere for free like smashworld and be up to the reader if they want to bother or not.

VydorScope · 10-27-2011, 08:49 PM

I think the two ideas I seen mentioned are both viable..

1) Go head and do it, but disclose what is actually in the book. I.e. "Story is 50,000 words, and I am including 3 bonus short stories free!"

2) Leave them out of the book and give them away to promote the book.

ilovepurple2234 · 10-28-2011, 03:46 AM

I think you could provide the short stories as a preview to your writing. Maybe if you have a website, put the short stories there and in the boom say that people can go to your website for some short stories about you. If people like the book or want a sample, they'll go and read the short stories for free.

What I hate is the preview at the end of a book, specially the three/four chapter preview. I mean, sometimes I get into the new book from those three/four chapters and then I have to wait about until I buy the previewed book. It's just annoying.

DuskyRose · 10-28-2011, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VydorScope

I think the two ideas I seen mentioned are both viable..

1) Go head and do it, but disclose what is actually in the book. I.e. "Story is 50,000 words, and I am including 3 bonus short stories free!"

2) Leave them out of the book and give them away to promote the book.

For me, I'd rather an author/publisher do #2.

If I like the book and there's an author URL at the end, I'll go to the web site for the short stories and see what's new and what's coming up.

I don't tend to like the short stories included, because it does mess up the size of the book and that's easy to miss when purchasing, and because I like to 'digest' a book a bit before getting into the other stories. Which means I might want to read a bit of something else before I read them. Then I'd have to dig them up again.

If they're separate they're easier to keep track of, and gives me an excuse to look up the author's web site. Otherwise I don't tend to go there.

howyoudoin · 10-28-2011, 05:02 AM

I don't purchase books by word count, but I do use page numbers (thank you, calibre) to gauge my progress through the book, and it would piss me off no end if the story suddenly ended 20-30 pages before I thought it would.

ekster · 10-28-2011, 09:39 AM

Thanks for the replies everyone!
Seems the consensus is that it's better to keep it separate.
Glad the subject popped up... otherwise I would've done the opposite.

Wait_For_It · 10-28-2011, 11:40 AM

I don't mind it as long as I'm aware there's bonus content and it's related to the book. I've downloaded a couple books that are a part of a series where the bonus content is simply the first few chapters of the next book and I like that. I wouldn't be too crazy about short stories with the book though.

10-27-2011, 01:45 PM	#1
ekster Currently without a title Posts: 203 Karma: 3209914 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Canada, Qc Device: Kobo Touch	Extra content in a book Looking over the ads in ebooks thread, I see some people complain about books where the real story ends at 60%-90%, and the rest is promotional material, samples, etc. As someone who is in the process of writing a first novel, I'm curious to know if the reaction of disliking that only comes in when it's promotional material, or in is it in general? My idea was to add 3-5 short stories at the end of my novel. They might not be part of the main story, but they would be related to the world. They could be short stories about showing the past of a character, or how a certain area came to be as it is, or show a certain event that is often referenced but does not take place during the story, etc. It's little bits that could add to the story, but would not fit into the story itself. Let's say these short stories take 10%-25% of the total ebook. Would you still dislike that, preferring that they be put up somewhere separately, or would you like that idea? I obviously wouldn't say that the book is about 350 pages when only 250 is the story. I would be upfront about how many pages/words is the story and how many pages/words is the extra material. I know I heard a publisher doing something similar (Harlequin. I believe?) where they'd show a plus at the end, meaning bonus material. But I never read any of those books, so I am not too sure on exactly what they did. Anyhow, I would love to see everyone's opinion on whether they would like that, or not.

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10-27-2011, 02:09 PM	#2
Keryl Raist Zealot Posts: 140 Karma: 379182 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Charleston, SC Device: Kindle for PC	As long as somewhere in the book description/table of contents there's something about a few short stories, I'm cool with it. For me the annoying part was trying to get a feel for what should be coming next. The book felt like it should have been coming to a close, but there was still 20% left according to the little bar at the bottom of my kindle. And then suddenly it was done. That was the annoying bit. The fact that the extra stuff wasn't really related to what I had just read was a bit bothersome as well, but not horrendously. I'd say the rule of thumb is this: let people know exactly what they are buying. Don't sell them coffee and give them tea.

10-27-2011, 02:46 PM	#3
Pinecone Guru Posts: 902 Karma: 1660722 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Maryland Device: PRS-650, PRS-600, PRS-350	IMO, for ebooks, just put in the book and the needed copyright stuff and things. If you ahve some short stories, think about offering them separately or maybe even for free to promote your writing.

10-27-2011, 02:59 PM	#4
RichL Evangelist Posts: 407 Karma: 1096520 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: back to x51v	I agree with the above. I simply do not care for padding of any kind. In ebooks I strip the stuff out without even reading it and pbooks, both hard and soft backed I take an x-acto blade to it.

10-27-2011, 04:33 PM	#5
jersysman Wizard Posts: 1,747 Karma: 3761220 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Device: T1 Red, Kindle Fire, Kindle PW, PW2, Nook HD+, Kobo Mini, Aura HD	As was stated in the other thread, I do based a lot of my purchase on word count. For example, I purchase a lot of my books from non-mainstream vendors who usually base prices on word count. I would pay 5.99 for an 80,000 word novel, but would feel very ripped off if the novel was actually 60,000 with the last 20,000 being ads... short stories, etc. The reason being is because the actual novel is 60,000 words and I should have been able to get that one for 4.99 or less. With my budget, every 1.00 counts and I am very aware of the word count.

10-27-2011, 05:12 PM	#6
xg4bx Are you gonna eat that? Posts: 1,633 Karma: 23215128 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Phillipsburg, NJ Device: Kindle 3, Nook STG	i dont mind it provided that theres a heads up given in the description and maybe a word count given for the main story. the price should also be adjusted accordingly since most are paying for the main story and not any bonuses the author tossed in.

10-27-2011, 08:36 PM	#7
ekster Currently without a title Posts: 203 Karma: 3209914 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Canada, Qc Device: Kobo Touch	I would give the actual story word count in the description. And the extra content wouldn't affect the price. The short stories would be free either way. I'm just wondering if everyone would prefer them added at the end as a bonus and already conveniently downloaded, or put up somewhere for free like smashworld and be up to the reader if they want to bother or not.

10-27-2011, 08:49 PM	#8
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	I think the two ideas I seen mentioned are both viable.. 1) Go head and do it, but disclose what is actually in the book. I.e. "Story is 50,000 words, and I am including 3 bonus short stories free!" 2) Leave them out of the book and give them away to promote the book.

10-28-2011, 03:46 AM	#9
ilovepurple2234 Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: Kindle for Mac/ Adobe Digital Editions	I think you could provide the short stories as a preview to your writing. Maybe if you have a website, put the short stories there and in the boom say that people can go to your website for some short stories about you. If people like the book or want a sample, they'll go and read the short stories for free. What I hate is the preview at the end of a book, specially the three/four chapter preview. I mean, sometimes I get into the new book from those three/four chapters and then I have to wait about until I buy the previewed book. It's just annoying.

10-28-2011, 05:02 AM	#11
howyoudoin how YOU doin? Posts: 1,100 Karma: 7371047 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: India Device: Kindle Keyboard, iPad Pro 10.5”, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Libra 2	I don't purchase books by word count, but I do use page numbers (thank you, calibre) to gauge my progress through the book, and it would piss me off no end if the story suddenly ended 20-30 pages before I thought it would.

10-28-2011, 09:39 AM	#12
ekster Currently without a title Posts: 203 Karma: 3209914 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Canada, Qc Device: Kobo Touch	Thanks for the replies everyone! Seems the consensus is that it's better to keep it separate. Glad the subject popped up... otherwise I would've done the opposite.

10-28-2011, 11:40 AM	#13
Wait_For_It Member Posts: 23 Karma: 3960 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Albuquerque, NM Device: Kindle 3, Kindle Fire	I don't mind it as long as I'm aware there's bonus content and it's related to the book. I've downloaded a couple books that are a part of a series where the bonus content is simply the first few chapters of the next book and I like that. I wouldn't be too crazy about short stories with the book though.