FREE vs PAID
It's almost 3 years since I released my first book, and more than 8 since I put myself on the road to literary ruin... Truth be told, I dabbled with several books well over 20 years ago, but none ever made it past the stage where I could develop it into something enjoyable to read.
Anyway, the writing bug took hold during a period of unemployment and from it came a plethora of ideas, characters, scenarios... even titles and names for things and places I would need in the sci-fi universe I would have to create... things were looking good!
I dabbled, stopped, played, rewrote, dabbled again, binned, outlined, re-outlined, rewrote, played and tantrumed myself through various versions of what would eventually become The Chronicles Of Jenson Quest... supposedly a long series of short stories about an alien race and their search for resources to keep their space-faring population alive. There were no humans in those early works, you see. All that changed and in 2011, I finally hit the self-publish button.
As a 'new' author, with NO idea what lay before me in the self-published world, I set out to 'make new friends and meet the world'... wow! No, seriously... WOW!
Using Amazon Discussion Threads was a huge wake-up call to what went on behind the scenes in the real world. There are some outstanding people out there who can, and will, support you on your writing journey... many of them far better than I can.
I'm alright for a bit of advice and maybe aiming you in the right direction to the 'proper' help, but I found brilliant advice and support from The Writers Corner and from individuals like Shirley Hicks, Tim Greaton, Tammie Clarke Gibbs, Barbara Ivie-Green and many, many more I would love to name if I had a little more time...
Other groups played their part too, and a load more individuals; this time readers, not authors, and it was a remarkable process learning both sides of the same equation.
Yes, I know. I'm rambling... but the background is important, so bear with me.
One of the BIG things in those early days was to get your name out there... get your book seen and read. In a perfect world, this meant lots of reviews and fans desperate to read your next offering. Okay... reality check here. It rarely works like this.
If writing really is your vocation and you can make a living from your books, all the better... but don't go into this thinking you will be on easy street inside a few months. The truth, whether you like it or not, is that you need to work at it... A LOT!
So... getting my name out there... Yes, well. As a newbie, that is one bugger of a job!
I was published exclusively through Amazon, so I took advantage of the Select programme, offered my book in free promotions, put links on a number of 'permitted' threads and set myself up a Facebook Page and Twitter account.
Another thing I learned about some readers (no, not all of them. Just a select few) was that there is a small core who really DO believe that Independently published authors should be willing to give away their books at the drop of a hat. How DARE they assume they can compete with established (wait fot it) 'REAL' writers who work so hard to earn their livings through 'REAL' publishers!
Now, I fought ardently against authors who supported the cause of writing their book and then making it free. To me this made little sense and served no good purpose, however it did strike me that there are several authors out there who write works in a series, and as they introduce a second and third instalment, they offer the first one free.
Not a perfect scenario, but (you may argue) it does potentially introduce a lot of readers to your work and your series, and from there you can grow a fanbase.
Great ideas come with sacrifice.
Last year, I published my Jenson Quest works on Smashwords, made book 1 free and asked Amazon to price-match.
Prior to this, the book was selling an average of 3-a-day. Not too bad, so I figured that if (as a free book) I only doubled that to around 6-a-day, it would surely be a good thing.
In the first month, downloads were indeed up to about 8-a-day; same in month 2; then again in month 3. Meanwhile, sales of books 2 and 3, and the subsequent trilogy book, were nothing special... and so, I set out my experiment.
Other than general, occasional advertising and posting through my own outlets, downloads of my free book have not really done anything more than settle back to an average of 2.2 per day. There has been no discernible rise in the sales of the sequel books.
Now, obviously, it could simply be that those many people who have downloaded the book didn't like it. No loss to them, but they don't come back for more.
After a few months, I began asking the odd reader here and there, whether they often went for free books. A good majority said they did, but also admitted that they usually placed the free books behind those they purchased in their reading lists... and the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I have done precisely the same thing.
From time-to-time, if I happen to see a book I have a passing interest in, and it is free, I get it. That book then sits in my Kindle until I get around to it. It's far from ideal, but it does prove that, because I didn't pay out for the book, I don't prioritise it as a read.
So, even if that same author has perhaps another 3 or 4 books in that series, I may not read part one for months... years... ever...?
This week, my debut Jenson Quest novel has reverted to its ORIGINAL paid status of $2.99 (£1.99) across Amazon and Smashwords.
Perhaps the next chapter in this experiment may see an increase in interest; maybe a boost from the present 23 reviews the book has received over almost 3 years, despite an estimated 8,000 copies being out there somewhere.
I wonder how many of those thousands have actually been read?
There are many successful independent authors. From a writing point of view, I'm not one of those... well, not yet anyway.
For the most part, these success stories have come from humble writing beginnings but have adapted and not allowed the rest of the world to influence their marketing decisions.
Does this prove Free Books don't work? No, because there are examples of both.
My advice (for what little it may be worth) is to make sure you don't give away everything too cheaply. Just because you don't sell thousands every month, does not mean you have an inferior book, or that you must continually reduce the price and make it free.
Promotional offers are one thing, but if I see an author who has a pattern of moving their prices too regularly, I'm going to wait until they make one of their titles free. Eventually I will get their whole collection, though it may take months of careful vigilance but in the meantime I will always have a few good 'purchased' books to read. And I'm not the only one who does this.
There are a number of very savvy readers out there, and although they do actively support us scribbling lunatics, they are never going to pass up the chance to save a few dollars or pounds here and there.
Too many authors (usually those who aren't selling many copies) will argue that 2 or 3 dollars (or pounds) is not a lot to pay for a book. I agree.
I, personally, think that price should be determined by length of book. If yu have a 20,000 word novella or a few thousand words stuffed into a short story; by all means sell it for a dollar; go for it. Knock yourself out... But if you are genuinely putting in the effort to produce a well-written, properly edited, 60, 70, 80, 90 or 100,000 word book, surely Amazon and their ilk should be putting a minimum price range on these at the $2.99 level... hell, why not $4.99 if you are putting out a 100,000 word book??
I don't think that is unreasonable, and I pay that for probably a book each week.
Yes, you may be an unknown, independent author with a few kids, a day job and a writing schedule that runs from 9pm to midnight, 4 days a week... but does that mean your efforts are worth less?
Free books serve a purpose. And I have no doubt that there are those indies out there who have a 'perma-free' book which is generating MASSIVE download figures and promoting their other books to the tune of thousands of sales every month.
Believe me... those authors are a tiny minority, who may just have enough extra time in their lives to spend three hours a day touting their wares around the interweb.
I'm not blessed with the time or the knowhow to do that, so I plod along and sell a few books each day... IF I'm lucky.
How we are perceived is a massive part of how we are treated. Bear this in mind next time you want to give your works away. You also need to be honest with yourself... Is the result of your work the best possible quality you can manage? Have you had it proof-read, edited, reviewed? Have you read it yourself??
Don't laugh. That last one can be far more revealing than you will ever know. I once spoke with an author who, after a dozen really terrible reviews, bought and purchased his own book, only to find it was not the final, edited version he had published.
The book never recovered. He withdrew it and has never re-issued it or any other works.
Being an independent author (if you want to make a living from it) is a long, hard slog of never-ending work. The lucky few will make their way to the stars. The rest of us? Well, it's not so bad down here.
