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#91 | |
Addict
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Karma: 1010202
Join Date: Mar 2010
Device: iPod Touch
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Amazon has put us authors in a difficult position. Amazon is where most of the sales come from, so we really must offer books there - but they don't allow Indie authors or very small publishers to offer books for free, and it's also in the contract that you can't offer a book anywhere else for cheaper than you offer it at Amazon. I understand their reasons, and I wonder if we authors should start a campaign for them to let us "earn" the right to offer freebies. Even if it's a high threshold, like allowing us to offer one of out ten free or something. At the moment, all we can do is offer Smashwords coupons. (Smashwords is a gem - both with the coupons and allowing the 50 percent samples.) Camille |
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#92 |
Zealot
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Karma: 184000
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Colorado
Device: Nook classic, Nook Simple Touch, Nook HD
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I was simply describing how I buy, not saying authors owe me anything. Since I can't check out an indie ebook writer at my local library, the free work takes the place of the library book. If they don't want to provide something like that I'm cool with that, I'm just less likely to buy something from them because I don't know if I'll enjoy it or not.
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#93 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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Karma: 7185064
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Linköpng, Sweden
Device: Kindle Voyage, Nexus 5, Kindle PW
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#94 | |
Maria Schneider
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Karma: 26439330
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Near Austin, Texas
Device: 3g Kindle Keyboard
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I do offer a few short stories for free, but that is because they were published by various e-zines. In general I think all my work has fairly decent sample sizes available too. Of course...we can't please everyone all the time!!! |
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#95 | |
Novelist
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Karma: 452032
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Arizona
Device: Nook
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Quote:
And yes, I think Smashwords is a gem too. A lot of what gets published there qualifies as non-gems (trying to be polite), that is true, but Smashwords itself has become a wonderful home for a lot of very good writers who either can't get the traditional publishers to give them a whirl, or simply want to keep control of their own destiny and income. |
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#96 |
Marion
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Karma: 70000
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: NY NY
Device: KindleDX
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I just ended a "freebie" promotion. Lots of takers especially after it hit this forum and the kindle board. But so far no feedback from readers. It's a long book, and I expect it would take a while for people to finish it, but let's face it, we live in a culture where people don't value giveaways, and this may not "pay off." To those of you who dislike author self promotion, what would you as readers suggest indie-writers do to get their work known?
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#97 |
Scott Nicholson, author
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Karma: 2029337
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Boone NC
Device: Kindle
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goodly writering
Thanks, Grace--why does anyone assume the average reader cares about "good writing"? They clearly don't. Twilight is not well written. Patterson is merely competent on a craft level.
In fiction, most people love great stories, which is why we have to beat kids over the head to get them to read "classics" in high school that are "good for them." The most common result being we have teens who despise reading. The average reader is pretty good at knowing what he or she likes, though. It's one of the growing pains of the era, and worth it to have a little crap for the chance at lots of fresh voices and experimentation. Some people are happy to say my stuff is crap, and if they buy it and try it they've earned the right and I support it. Oddly, I very rarely get three-star reviews, so people usually love me or hate me, which I am grateful for. The worst offense of a writer is to bore you or waste your time. Scott Nicholson http://www.hauntedcomputer.com |
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#98 |
Guru
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Karma: 3537194
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite
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Giving away a free book is fine if you have other books to sell. Me, I just have one, so that won't work. So I make the first 50% available at Smashwords and that's as generous as I can be.
Someone may read the first half and still think, "Yeah, but it could fall apart in the 2nd half." But you know, there's nothing I can do about that. "You want a guarantee, buy a faucet," as the saying goes. ![]() |
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#99 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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Karma: 25133758
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA
Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)
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Okay, it's possible the author does great buildup for the first 75% of the story and then rushes an ending together and leaves a bunch of plot-threads hanging. But there are plenty of professionally-published books that do that, and plenty of readers who like that style (at least, judging by those books' sales). I don't believe there are any ebook authors who are saying, "bwa-ha-ha, I shall write 2/3 of a novel, and not bother with a decent ending--I'll just slap together a few pages of 'and then they got married and all lived happily ever after', and since the first half is all they can read for free, they'll pay me for the rest and I won't have to write a decent ending!" |
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#100 |
Groupie
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Karma: 200001
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: London
Device: Kindle keyboard
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If a writer can't snag the reader in the first half of the book, he/she needs to try again.
Readers are to be trusted, long term at any rate; Jane Austen and Dickens are still read, Walter Scott and Marie Corelli, huge in their day, are not. |
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#101 | |
Addict
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Karma: 1041222
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: UK
Device: Kindle
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Quote:
... and three pieces of feedback. Though two were five star reviews. |
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#102 |
Wizard
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Karma: 4132096
Join Date: Sep 2008
Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App
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Not to rain on the parade here, but nothing (to me) says amateur like begging for feedback. Do not be surprised if you get zero reviews. Many people download freebies for later and don't get to them right away. Many people are not reviewers anyway. Many people dislike writing 'bad' reviews and if they did not love the book, they will be silent. Imho you really cannot *expect* them or be disappointed if you don't get any
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#103 | |
Cheese Whiz
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Karma: 11677147
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Springfield, Illinois
Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Tab A 10.1(2019), Pixel 6a.
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#104 |
Addict
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Karma: 500001
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Georgia, USA
Device: Kindle2
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IMO a review doesn't need to be some long drawn out summary + deep analysis of a story. A sentence or two about what you liked or didn't like would be sufficient.
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#105 |
Wizard
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Karma: 4132096
Join Date: Sep 2008
Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App
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I have no trouble writing reviews, even critical ones. But authors who come on here and say things like 'it has been three days and nobody has reviewed my book yet' are, I have to admit it, a bit of a pet peeve of mine. It reminds me of those in the fanfic community who will beg and plead for reviews and then threaten to withhold future chapters if they don't get it
![]() ![]() I think many authors who self-publish ARE amateur---it doesn't mean they aren't potentially writing good books, but I mean in a business sense they are. This should not be undertaken as the instant path to fame and fortune. If they mean this to be a career, they have to look long tail and realize they a) need to put in some serious time and effort and work into promo and b) they need to be patient and pay their dues. Even in the 'old days' it worked that way---Stephen King toiled for years at slave wages as an English teacher while submitting stories to lad magazines. The Eragon kid sold books out of the trunk of his parents car at homeschooling conventions. It takes *time* to build an audience, and if this is your *job* then you have to devote that time. If you don't want to, or are too impatient, or whatever, then maybe this is not the job and career for you and maybe it will just be a nice hobby and whatever you sell, you sell. Certainly, that is a valid lifestyle decision. I myself made it---I just do not have the heart of a business tiger, so I went into a day job I enjoy and whatever writing I do is for fun, on the side. I just really, really get tired of the 'you downloaded my book, now where is my review?' attitude. People have lives too, and the book may be your baby but to them it's one more thing to get to. Give it time, build up some good will and reputation, and if your book is good, it'll get out there. But don't beg for reviews, seriously. It just makes you look immature. |
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