The freebie dilemma

[Synamon]

As mentioned, a short story will work for some readers, but not for others (myself included). With the "look inside" option people can already sample a short section of writing, so giving away a whole novel might cover the bases by attracting those who want to know if you can plot a longer story.

There is another factor, goodwill. If an author is willing to give me some of their work for free, I'm more inclined to buy other books. If the blurb is appealing enough for me to download the freebie, sometimes I'll quickly read a few pages and immediately buy the next book in the series or another of their books, while I'm still on their author page and they have my attention.

One more intangible. The freebie averages down the cost of another book, so I end up thinking of the books costing $2 each, rather than one free and one for $3.99.

[John F]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Just be aware that there are plenty of readers, like myself, who do not like short stories and never read them.

...

+1

If I really like an author, I might read a short story, but short stories are usually lower on my TBR list.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by kennyc

You make me very very sad.

Sorry, Kenny. Many years ago (many, many) I read short stories but I found them always frustrating. If it was well done, I became interested in the characters or the story, simply to have it end. I guess it is one of the reasons that given a choice between a standalone novel and a novel that is complete in itself but part of a series, I prefer the latter.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Unfortunately that's what all writing is about for the most part, so it makes me wonder if a simple blurb or "look inside" by Amazon doesn't do just as much in that regard.

I don't like the look inside or read a chapter samples. First, I usually have to read them on my computer, something I am loathe to do. Second, I donot have the patience. I have certain times of the day when I like to read for an extended period of time, usually in my LaZBoy, which means I am not connected to the Internet. Once I get started on a book that I like, I don't want to stop. I've learned that most books require reading more than a few pages to get a flavor for whether the writing and the story is to my liking, which is something that I find difficult to do with the look inside/sample chapter route.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Sorry, Kenny. Many years ago (many, many) I read short stories but I found them always frustrating. If it was well done, I became interested in the characters or the story, simply to have it end. I guess it is one of the reasons that given a choice between a standalone novel and a novel that is complete in itself but part of a series, I prefer the latter.

Well, we all have our preferences. It's okay, but still makes me sad since I'd much rather read a great short story than spend ages wandering through a tome that ends up no more (and often less) fulfilling than a story.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

To the OP, I'd suggest that whatever you put up, you should take all steps to make sure it is in the best quality that it can be; you don't want a free document that may be the deciding factor in checking out your other works to be riddled with typos and grammatical errors. Think of it as an advertising brochure of sorts, representing you to the world... make it count, it may be your only shot at some people.

I have free short stories and a full novel out there. When it was suggested I put out a free novel, I picked what I considered one of my better stories, not the most acclaimed, but fairly popular, with a lot of passages that represented my current writing style and quality. I've further edited and proofed the book, twice, to make it as clean as possible, and I think it represents me very well. (Of course, with over a dozen books, it was easier for me to pick one than it will be for someone with only 2 or 3 books...)

[DrNefario]

I think you should give away the best of your works (as long as it makes sense in series terms). If I really like it, then I'll buy more of your stuff, even if it's not quite as good, whereas if the freebie is weak, why would I pay for anything?

[ASparrow]

I give away all of my work these days, and will keep doing so indefinitely. I don't write novels of the sort that would ever be commercially viable so why bother to charge? That way I don't have to worry about taxes and such.

[kennyc]

No Dilemma for you then.

[charlesatan]

It depends on your overall strategy, IMO.

If you write a series for example, what immediately springs to mind is to make the first book available for free but some publishers made the second book available for free, convincing readers to shell out for the first one.

As for the Amazon Look Inside feature, the preview is based on the amount text, so if your book has images, Amazon won't count that.

[VydorScope]

I did the first book free, followed by book 2-4 costing $2.99. The free book went wild, when it was mentioned on some blog some where (still not sure why) and that drove sales of book 2, and now 3. I do not think I would be getting checks from Amazon every month now with out that first book... which was my only book for a long while and has always been free.

I see it as marketing.

I am like most readers in that I am unlikely to buy a completely unknown book. However if it looks interesting and is free? I have found plenty of new authors that way AND told others about those authors. I think is wise for a completely unknown author to put out a book that is a good solid story/etc, for free. FAR more people will download said book then read it (even this thread has people like that in it ) but some will, and if your stuff is good that will seed your fan base.

That is just my take. It might be hard to give away 100's of hours of your work in the form of a book, but if you want to be in this business (or any) you need to think long term.

[kennyc]

So Vincent, your first book has always been free, even in the beginning? I thought Amazon had a minimum price (99c) other than the designated "free download times" ... I have not looked into it that much at this point.

Sounds like it has worked great for you.

And yes...raising my hand....I'm guilty. I downloaded your book and have it unread in my TBR pile.

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by kennyc

So Vincent, your first book has always been free, even in the beginning? I thought Amazon had a minimum price (99c) other than the designated "free download times" ... I have not looked into it that much at this point.

Well, there was a few months when it was 99 cents on Amazon, but free on B&N, Smash, Apple, etc... aka the rest of the world. Amazon still has it at 99 cents but has "price matched a competitors sale" since May 2011 I think it was. It did not sell all that well at 99 cents. Looking back, I wish I had known about the price match trick sooner... but no sense crying over that. The DAY it went free "sales" went crazy on it. At one point I was at #5 on their top free books.

And yes...raising my hand....I'm guilty. I downloaded your book and have it unread in my TBR pile.

*sobs* BTW - I did release an edited version of it. (something else that I would have changed if I only knew what I do now would have been to get it edited first... and just eat the cost somehow) So go get a fresh copy (it will say edited by Elian) so at least you can have a better copy taking up space in your list...

BTW I am guessing someplace between 10 and 15 to 1 is the ratio of people that download free books, and read them. Meaning if I have 100 downloads today, I expect 10 or so to read it. I am guessing that based of the sales of book 2. It is not a very valid number since its full of assumptions, but its best guess I can make given my data.

So, at least in my experience, the free first book works. I am very new at this so not claiming expertise.

[kennyc]

Thanks Man!