Why I’m deciding to sell my books for FREE

Am I insane? Probably.

It wasn’t too long ago I decided to make all the books I’ve written, thus far, free, and the moment it was announced, I received some positive feedback. But for every one positive email, I received at least ten negative. They weren’t extremely negative, and most were complimentary. However, a few choice comments made it out to seem that I was a complete idiot and fool. Any other day I would’ve brushed them off. Opinions are called opinions for a reason, and I can’t force someone to change theirs, but I would like to take a moment to just clarify my reasons for doing this. I don’t believe I properly explained myself, but hopefully this will clarify some things. Onward we go!

I NEVER SET OUT TO MAKE A PROFIT

Writing has always been a labor of love for me, and while the extra money was nice, it wasn’t like I was counting on that money. When I visited the middle school, there was a kid who came up to me and told me they couldn’t get my book because their mom/dad didn’t want to pay money for it. That hurt me. I want my books to be available to EVERYONE, even those who can’t afford to pay for it. Her parents still might not want to get her the book, but at least money isn’t the issue.


I HAVE A JOB. I DON’T WANT WRITING TO BECOME A JOB

It is my dream to one day quit everything I may be doing in life and just spend my days writing and publishing until I die. Today isn’t the day that happens. Tomorrow isn’t the day that happens. I work as a cashier at Academy. THAT’S my job. Writing for profit, going to school, and working all the time made writing seem much more of a chore. I was worried about taxes I would have to pay, and YES, I would have to pay taxes on everything I made rather than receive any kind of return. So taxes, piled up on paying for college, on top of working to pay for all of that really made it hard for me to enjoy writing. Now that I don’t have that extra stress, writing is much more fun.


SELF-ESTEEM

Those who have read my book and said they enjoyed it are great. They’ve made me feel like I can actually achieve what I want to do, but every time someone pays for my book, I feel this huge amount of guilt. Did they just pay money for a book they’re probably going to hate? Did they just spend hard earned cash on a nobody? And that final question brings me to my next and final point.


I AM A NOBODY

It’s true. The amount of people who know me as a writer are very few and far between, and I’m okay with that. What’s the best way for someone to get to know me as a writer? I’m going to give my books away! There’s no risk in them getting a free book. If they like it, then plus for them. If they don’t, well, at least they didn’t spend anything on it, which is why I am taking armloads of my books and donating them to local libraries around my state. It makes me feel good to be able to do this.

I love having the ability to give my books away. From an economic standpoint, it may not make sense to most people reading this, but as an author, it helps me out emotionally and socially. I’m a much happier person when I’m not having to worry about all the extras. I just want to write books, maybe not bestsellers, maybe not perfect works of literature, but good books, at least. If you still don’t understand or still want to send me an email about how nonsensical this all is, then go for it. I won’t mind. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it any clearer for you. In the meantime, thank you for reading. Happy reading! Happy writing!

-Lissy

Filed under: Personal Posts