 I've been tossing the idea around of putting Being Human up for free for a little while. I know it will get downloads and hopefully new readers, but I'm a little hesitant for various reasons. First because I don't want to see all the downloads and think "If the book was priced I'd make this much." I'm pretty sure all authors think that too when their books are free. There is that moment when we cringe at the what could have been for our bank accounts. Seeing all those downloads can also bring up insecurity. Isn't my book good enough to spend money on? Which isn't true. I'm still a relatively new author who is searching for her fans. Freebies can be a good way to find those fans. My second worry is I don't have enough books available. Snapshots is my only other release and no other story is going to be ready for publishing anytime soon. The authors who do well, I noticed, are the ones who have lots of books out. Am I shooting myself in the foot?
The last worry is Amazon. I would have to lower the price on Smashwords and wait for Amazon to price match. Then when I raise the price back up, I have to wait again. Amazon doesn't always seem to pay much attention to prices at times. They can take their sweet time. So there is this fear that what if they never raise the price back up? I know the chances of that happening are slim. Eventually, Amazon would put the price back up. You can see why I'm hesitant. Or maybe just paranoid. I know if I want to sell books, I'm going to have to give some out. It's a business fact that you have to spend money to make money. There will be an initial loss, but the hope is eventually more money will be made than spent. I think maybe I will wait until next year. Might be too close to Christmas for me to really benefit from having a freebie. I'm not sure. Anyone have any input?
8 Comments
It's a good question, Patricia, and one I'll have to face soon enough with "The Truth Beyond the Sky"... Are you going to use the KDP Select program to do this? I've heard that you can set aside a few free days and from what I've read on some other indie blogs, it really helps exposure for new authors. 11/15/2012 09:38:42 am
The good thing about getting a bunch of downloads, though, is that people may see that and go, "Hey - X amount of folks have gotten this book, it must be good." 11/15/2012 10:09:48 am
@Andrew, I've heard that about KDP but I really hate the exclusivity of it. I know it's only for 90 days, but I wish they hadn't done that.
Scar
11/27/2012 04:55:28 pm
I say don't put it up for free. I read it and I think that you should put the first of the chapters up, leaving a cliff hanger to it and then it would probably get more readers. if its cheap and a reader gets a feel for what the book is about, they'll probably read. Leave a Reply. |
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