Why Write a Book For Free?
I’ve done free promotions, before, through KDP. But this is the first time I’ll be giving a book away, in its entirety. Possibly forever. Because although I absolutely do plan to release Book of Shadows in actual book form (e-book and paperback), I’m not planning to ever remove it from Wattpad. So the question becomes…why am I doing this?
Well, a couple of reasons.
First, I’m hopeful of reaching an entirely new audience. Few writers are so successful that they can afford to just sit back and say, “oh, everyone who might want to read my books has heard about them.” I might be more or less paying my bills with this writing thing, but I’m no Stephenie Meyer. Wattpad is a goldmine of readers, all looking for something interesting more than they’re looking for a name brand. And there’s a lot to be said for, as a coach of mine put it when I was in high school, going where you’re wanted. If your claim to fame is that you’re new and undiscovered, then your best bet is to go somewhere where people are looking for…you.
Second, I’m excited at the possibility of what amounts to unlimited beta readers. Feedback on every chapter! Potentially, at least. I’m not sure I would have taken them out, but it was a bit of a shock that literally everyone who took issue with The Demon of Darkling Reach took issue, among other things, with the handful of paragraphs on cheesemaking. Something my editor, and every other reader, found fascinating. But, you know, people who’ve chosen to work with me…however honest they’re being with me, they’re also going to have the bias of shared interest. They liked my writing well enough, in the first place, to bet on my success.
Readers, meanwhile:
Which is priceless.
The best feedback, I’ve learned from doing this as a professional for awhile, is from people who don’t know you and don’t wish to. Even if you have hundreds of them, the beta readers you pick are people who already know you. Who already talk to you, more or less of their own volition. They like how your mind works; they like how you express yourself. So of course they’re going to like your writing! It’s the difference between joking with friend and standing alone, on stage, at a comedy club. Both have their values, but the two should not be confused.
Finally, there’s the dubious issue of money.
The first time I ran a free promotion for The Demon of Darkling Reach, I gave away about three thousand copies. Now, it’s very easy to look at that as 10,500 USD in lost revenue, but that’s a red herring. At the time, I was completely unknown. Now I am still more or less completely unknown, but at least there is the “more or less.” No one was breaking down my door to buy my book. Rather, it was I who had to do the convincing.
So the choice wasn’t between 10,500 USD and no 10,500 USD but between selling one book a day and maybe enticing some new readers into giving me a try and maybe, just maybe, if I was really lucky getting a couple of reviews. I’ve since calculated that I receive roughly one review for every 750 copies I sell (and Amazon keeps taking them down!). But why some books attract reviews and others don’t is a topic for another day. My point here is that imagining all the money you’d make if your book cost more is pointless. It doesn’t matter what something costs, or doesn’t cost, if no one wants to buy it.
The fact that so many bestsellers (from The Martian to Fifty Shades of Grey) started life as freebies should bear testament to the claim that, apart from free being a draw, it isn’t hurting anyone’s bottom line too much in the long run. Books that are any good build followings, regardless of how they’re released. The question becomes, in the long run, how long building a following is going to take.
There are no shortcuts, to anything, but free allows one to reach an entirely different set of people than Amazon. Or even an end cap at Barnes & Noble. One source of exposure is not a replacement for the others, and should not be viewed as such. Nor does letting a certain group of people read a book for free mean that one has somehow “used up” all one’s chances at selling it.
I like to experiment with new things. I know what it’s like to release a book the regular way, and generally what happens after. This will be a new experience, with a whole new group of people. As a reader, too, I’m excited to see what else is out there. I like reading other people’s stuff, good and bad. I also find Wattpad’s open community platform very appealing. It’s casual, and that’s on purpose.
What about you, dear reader? What are your thoughts? Are you on Wattpad, either as a writer or a reader?
