What I Learnt Over The Weekend

You can waste a lot of time chasing a dream. That a small outlay can equal sales if you give your book away for free, but… yes, well you knew there would be a BUT… That’s to say when you’re not earning any money from your writing apart from a tiny amount which wouldn’t buy you a takeaway meal, a pint at the local pub, or a cheap bottle of wine to have with the takeaway meal if you could afford it. Anyway, I digress.

Right, I decided that giving away free books without a new book ready for the readers to read, isn’t a sound investment. A free book should be like a teaser. A kind of Here read this for free and if you liked it this one is available next… Of course, I don’t have a second novel ready yet. Over the two free giveaways weekends I’ve done so far I have let go of over two thousands books.

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Some could say, yes but you’ll be paid by the number of pages turned. Under normal circumstances I would be excited at the thought all these readers choosing to download my novel, but what makes me nervous is the fact reader, being one myself, will download books when they are offered for free to read later. All readers have a to read pile, whether that be physical pile be side your bed or on your kindle. I know I have several books sitting on my kindle unread, which I did pay for, and they have been sitting there for a few years now.

Just like the books besides my bed, I have to be in the mood to read a certain type of book at a certain time. Time isn’t on my side here. My contract with my publisher is for two years. After two years, I don’t see a return on my investment. The reader will still have a copy of my book to enjoy. They may leave a review on Goodreads as my novel will no longer exist on Amazon. All those pages turned will disappear and not be paid out.