Why I’m a Little Afraid of Free
Full disclosure: I use permafree currently, and I’ve done free promotions for a number of my books. (Permafree is what authors call it when an ebook is always free to download.) I realize that free is an incredibly useful and probably necessary tool to get my name and my books in front of new readers. I will very likely continue to have a permafree book and use free promotions in the future. And in fact, I use two free books to promote my new releases newsletter. So I’m familiar with free.
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Judy
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Apr 29, 2015 05:41PM
I download a lot of free ebooks. If I really like an ebook, I'll pay to read the rest of a series or more works by authors I like. I used to spend a lot of time in bookstores reading covers and scanning books, deciding what I wanted to buy. Free ebooks give me a chance to sample authors and decide who I want to spend my money on. I've discovered some really great authors that I never would have without their free ebooks.
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You make great points and you're the perfect example of how free can work well. I don't plan to move away from free. Authors like me need it to make ourselves known. And I agree that it's easier than sifting through a lot of covers and blurbs to decide. Though I always love spending time in a bookshop.
What are some of the better free discoveries you've made?
K.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVED bookstores, but COPD has left me homebound. I was always an avid reader, but depression and other disabilities sidelined me for (too) many years. My sister got me a tablet for Christmas, and a whole new world opened up for me with the internet (and my Kindle app). Gosh, there are so many interesting writers out there. Some I've been reading lately are Mark Tufo, Chris Dougherty, Perrin Briar, Roger Hayden, Angela White, Erica Stevens, L.T. Ryan, Deirdre Gould, A.R. Wise, Jason D. Morrow, Kate L. Mary, Jason Brant, Bryan James, Kristen Middleton, Chrissy Peebles, Bobby Adair... and YOU, of course! I'd recommend checking out any of these talented authors.
Oh, and thanks for the response... and the free ebooks!
I get a daily newsletter of free and cheap ebook deals from genres I'm interested in. My backlog (I'm a developer too) is so long that I usually only download the free ones with 4.5+ star reviews. That's a really high bar to meet to not make any money. I have bought books from authors I've discovered this way, but I don't spend as much on pleasure reading as I used to. That means less of that money going to authors.
