To Free or Not to Free?

[Joel]

That is the question. Most of us who write books want others to read them. For that to happen, people have to know the books are out there. One way we try and get the word out is through mass freebies.
But I wonder if readers have gotten so used to watching for freebies they've stopped looking for books to buy. Freebies for reviews and contests aside, are indie authors doing themselves more harm than good by giving away the store?

[Lisa]

Freebies for reviews and contests aside, yes, I do think authors are doing themselves more harm than good. First, yes, many readers do download the books but someone recently did a study and found that most of the freebies are never read after downloading. Second, there are so many free books out there that the pool is diluted, making it hard to find a good one. Third, if writers continue to discount the value and worth of their work, everyone else will continue to discount it and never want to pay what it's worth. Finally, fifth, most free books still carry that stigma of being poor quality, and I have to say I agree. I have downloaded several and have only been able to finish 2 because the writing was so bad. I gave up on them and now I never download freebies. An aside -- thanks for posting this. I need to put my review out!

[Will]

I don't think the quality problem is restricted to freebies. There seem to be just as many bad priced books out there as bad free ones.

I think freebie books can have a place provided that they hook readers into reading a priced book - eg if the first book of a trilogy is free but the next two are priced. If anything that seems to be quite an honest way of doing it. Try before you buy.

[Joel]

I just wonder if they try and, instead of buying, look for the next freebie.

[G.D.]

Thank you all for covering this subject. I have not as yet done any freebies and was wondering if I was in the minority. It can be time consuming trying to market yourself as a scribbler. I do quite a lot of sales at farmers markets with my paperback "Stay Cheeky" and I enjoy the banter but of course my buyers cannot leave reviews on Amazon this way. Mmmm food for thought.. Stay Cheeky

[Melki]

Joel wrote: "I just wonder if they try and, instead of buying, look for the next freebie."

As a reader, NOT a writer, I certainly appreciate a freebie, both e-book and paperback. I always promise a review in return, AND I tend to be much kinder to the self-published writer than I am to a "professional" who's got an agent and an editor to look out for him/her. BUT, like you say, Joel, I do tend to sit on my butt and wait for the freebies to roll in.

[Joel]

Melki, you are the self-published writer's best friend! You may not buy all the books, but you pay in kind with reviews (and nice ones, at least in my case!). Reviews are extremely valuable for stimulating future sales. Few of us will be able to quit our day jobs to be full-time authors, but we're always trying to figure out ways to generate sales without the advantages of a large publisher's advertising budget. I'm just not sure gazillions of mass freebies are helping in the long run.

[Kathy]

I go back and forth on this issue, too, and am glad you raised it. Today (only today) I think freebies have their value. (That said, not a lot of value.) Only in the sense that they can catapult you to the top 100 freebies in less read and purchased genres, (i.e. Westerns, English read German mysteries). I'm probably misusing the word genres but you get it, right?! As for reviews, meh.

[Ward]

I self published an ebook and sold it for a couple of bucks. Barely anyone noticed. Then gave it away free and thousands downloaded it. It got me a little attention, although I really hoped for a bigger push to my website and blog.

Then I got a mainstream publishing deal and had my novel released. I was surprised how few people followed along once I had a published novel they had to pay upwards of ten bucks to get. 15 in stores.

So I'm still torn. Yeah, free copies got me read a bit, but didn't get me the loyal following I was hoping would follow me into the bookstores. It was kind of like starting over.

[E.I.]

This is slightly related, but has anyone had any success with "price pulsing?" (Frequently hanging the price of an ebook)

[Lisa]

From what I've noticed, price pulsing seems to work best when heavily promoted--as in paying for BookBub, Whizzbuzz, Riffle, etc. Your initial ROI will probably be negative and it takes a very clear crystal ball to know if it will have a good long-term impact. Unfortunately, mine is too cloudy.

[Rebecca]

Yeah, I keep wondering about paying for ads of various sorts, on the "you have to spend money to make money" principle. But I am very reluctant unless I have a clear view of how it's going to pay off in the long run.

I just keep trying to spread the word wherever, including learning not to be afraid to mention what I do. I got the annual fundraising call from one of my universities last night, and told the caller about my books (well, she asked about my employment, so it made an opening). You never know. . .