The Something-For-Nothing Mentality

[Lady Echo]

Fact: Editing is a job worthy of compensation.
Fact: Cover design is a job worthy of compensation.

The entitlement issues of writers expecting something for nothing is a turn off to the professionals able to help in the creation of a worthy product...as well as any reader watching. Why? Because you want us to eventually spend our money on a book that you yourself will not.

You want to be a writer? Take that dream seriously. Invest in it. Become the professional that this profession demands. Stop expecting something for nothing. Any dream worth chasing is worth taking the time, investing the money, and finding a way.

I'm not saying you have to go broke. Half the freelance editors charging $1500 for a 100,000 word manuscript still miss punctuation and grammatical errors. There are cheaper alternatives. FIND THEM. Because so many refuse to put in the legwork, here are some tips from someone who took the time for you.


Editing
Wattpad, Figment, and Writing.com are writing websites that thrive on an active community. You will not get something for nothing here. Feedback comes from YOU taking the initiative. Critique others work first. Writing.com offers points for doing just that, and these points are redeemable for such things as editing from actual, retired publishing professionals. Figment offers "swaps," where you offer your opinion on anothers' work, and that person then returns the favor. If you are willing to put in the time, you can refine an entire manuscript using these sites.

Covers
Deviant Art is an invaluable resource of incredible images from talented artists and photographers. These people want (and deserve) compensation, but the prices are reasonable. Commission art students for help with fonts and text placement. Divide the work, and do what you can yourself. Experiment with photo imaging software (many programs available free online), and study covers in your genre. Decide what you like, what you don't, and learn whatever you can do aid the process.

Beta Reading
These people aren't accustomed to being paid, but I thought they deserved a little help, anyway. If someone I didn't know walked up to me on the street and begged me to read 400 pages they wrote, I would walk away. Quickly. Unless you have a fan base eager for your next work, you are likely imposing on strangers for a very time consuming task. This is rude. My alternative? Advertise a brief summary of your novel and offer the first chapter to anyone willing to give an opinion. If they want more, great. Give it to them and pat yourself on the back. If not, little time was wasted on an unpleasant job...and you've learned something from the lack of further interest.

[K.P.]

i agree. i had to start charging after getting swamped with work and impossible deadlines (having incompetent employees dont help either). yet despite my low rates folks still gripe about price. i can barely keep the company afloat and pay workers ... its a tough job

[Stuart]

Lady Echo wrote: "Fact: Editing is a job worthy of compensation.
Fact: Cover design is a job worthy of compensation.

The entitlement issues of writers expecting something for nothing is a turn off to the professi..."

This is well written advice that every writer should consider, especially those that might so much as wonder if their work is of sufficient quality to warrant anyone reading it, let alone paying for the privilege. Thanks Lady Echo for providing it.

Without question there is a compelling need for produced and published work to be of a high enough standard that will not diminish the reader's experience, or detract from their desire to consider new, or as yet unproven writers. Published work containing poor editing, grammar, spelling and structure are detrimental to the well being of the entire community of writers, even when offered at a low cost, or for nothing - a price that occasionally reflects the value.
'Become the professional that this profession demands'. Those words say it all.

[Michael]

For my cover design, I discovered fiverr. While services begin at $5, I opted for add-ons that set me back a whopping $20 for a professional quality cover for my first novel, including front/back/spine for the paperback as well as an ebook cover.

[Jim]

The concerns and logic expressed by Lady Echo, pertaining to editing, cover design, and beta reading, may be applied to some authors' practices as well.

So many authors consistently give their books away for free that many readers have adopted a personal philosophy of "Why pay anything for something that can be had for nothing?"

[Dwayne]

Jim wrote: "So many authors consistently give their books away for free..."

I've done some testing on this and found that when I don't give away free books, my sales drop. Significantly. I have not given anything away this month and I've made very few sales. Last month I had gave four books out for free and had about ten times the sales.

Either way I'm not getting rich, but it's been an interesting experiment.

[Michael]

Dwayne wrote: "I've done some testing on this and found that when I don't give away free books, my sales drop."

There is something to be said about free book promotions using tools like Kindle Select or Goodreads giveaways. My book was published a couple of months ago, and I can say that my exposure (in terms of Kindle downloads) is up 10x based on my free Kindle download promotion.

[D.D.]

I have found exactly the same thing. Free book drive future sales, and actual sales during the month. My only wish is that those that download and read them, would give the book a rating. I not asking for a written review, but at least a rating would be nice, especially since they got it for free.

D. D.

[Anfenwick]

Lady Echo wrote: "Beta Reading..."

I think there are a couple of groups on Goodreads where you can advertise for beta readers. Since that's what the groups are for and everyone is a volunteer, I would say go for it. From what I've seen authors aren't swamped, but it kind of works.

[Dwayne]

D. wrote: "Free book drive future sales..."

Yep. When you're still virtually unknown, it's a good way to get the attention of readers. If they like the story they got for free, they may return for more.

D. wrote: "My only wish is that those that download and read them, would give the book a rating."

It would be nice, but I've learned not to expect it.

[Stuart]

Maybe one day I'll change my mind on the notion of giving books away for free, but that day isn't today. Free is just a zero percentage number that generates nothing but the potential for future consideration. It is also a number arrived at simply because too many others are pricing their work at that price point.

Is there any reason why .99 shouldn't be considered as the base number no one will go below, or is the concept of everyone getting at least something for their efforts just too alien to accept?

[R.F.G.]

@Stuart, Too many people think free is good and then complain about what they got for free.

Some people do take it to ridiculous extremes.

[Brenda]

And free books are frequently worth exactly that. Lord knows there are people here on GR with a zillion free books in their Kindles or devices. They're not readers. They're collectors of freebies.

[Dwayne]

Stuart wrote: "Is there any reason why .99 shouldn't be considered as the base number no one will go below, or is the concept of everyone getting at least something for their efforts just too alien to accept? "

As I mentioned, I'm not giving anything away for free this month and my sales have dropped. So, at least for me, giving it away for free does have a strong advantage. If giving stories away for free now and then isn't your thing, don't do it.

If one of my stories makes someone smile a little bit, that's the "at least something" for me. I'm in this for the love of writing. The money is just a nice bonus.

[Jim]

Research and statistical analysis provide a far more accurate measurement of the success rate of any marketing tool than subjective opinion will.

A comparison of the profiles of those authors who support the free-book theory with those who do not reveals a consistent pattern. Those who tend to give their work away for free usually have far fewer fans, receive far fewer reviews, and their books are on far fewer To Read shelves than those who do not.

[Dwayne]

Jim wrote: " Those who tend to give their work away for free usually have far fewer fans, receive far fewer reviews, and their books are on far fewer To Read shelves than those who do not. "

Fans, shelves, money, reviews... I don't write to claim some kind of high status. I'm just a writer. I love to write. I love to share my work. I give stuff away free once in a while. I like to. I don't need gauges like fans and reviews to make me feel like I'm more of a writer. I am just having a ball with it.

[[deleted user]]

Stuart wrote: "Is there any reason why .99 shouldn't be considered as the base number no one will go below, or is the concept of everyone getting at least something for their efforts just too alien to accept?..."

When I started out as an indie publisher I offered my novel for free over a weekend. I'd never do it again. I received nothing for it, no boost in sales, no reviews, nothing whatsoever. It didn't take long to recognize that the more books that are offered free, the fewer books people will be willing to pay for. Ninty-nine cents as a baseline would be a good start.

[Anfenwick]

Stuart wrote: "Is there any reason why .99 shouldn't be considered as the base number no one will go below..."

I'd imagined creating a freebie which was essentially a set of tales complementing the novel I don't intend to give away (the telling of tales being an important theme of said novel). It probably wouldn't cost me much in time since most of it was already written as a by-product of the novel. And I suppose you could argue that 'it's worth exactly that' but hopefully not because it's badly written. I would like it to be a fun taster for those who might read the novel and a relevant complement for those who already read it. I've seen other authors adopt a similar strategy with short stories written around their main novels. Fair marketing strategy? Or not?

[Tom]

Stuart wrote: "Is there any reason why .99 shouldn't be considered as the base number no one will go below, or is the concept of everyone getting at least something for their efforts just too alien to accept?"

Bear in mind that Amazon kind of does put a price floor at $0.99, and you have to go through a whole process to get it price-matched down to zero, which starts with putting it for free elsewhere (Smashwords is a popular choice for this). One reason for the rise in freebie giveaways might be because authors don't realize how ineffectual this method can be for debut authors without proper marketing buildup or a transplanted fan base from elsewhere.

Anne wrote: "Fair marketing strategy? Or not?"

Shorter works are a great way to introduce a reader to your style of writing, and there's nothing more enticing than a freebie. In this case, length matters: even free books might be avoided when a reader doesn't want to commit to 400 pages written by an unknown author. The shorts-from-the-series format works well for this kind of introduction.

From what I've heard, giving away free books is much more beneficial when you've developed a series, or when you have at least established several different books that the reader can go to after enjoying your freebie. Otherwise, they'll likely read the book and forget about you before another one gets released. Basically catch-and-release fishing at that point, and now your bait won't work on that fish.

Referring back to the original post, though, quality edits and cover art are definitely worthy of some compensation. There are so many sources you can go to for help, and a bit of shopping around will give you a good idea of what's out there. Plenty of affordable editors exist who can deliver outstanding results (*self-conscious cough at shameless plug*), and I've spent entire afternoons looking through the incredible commissioned pieces that can be found on DeviantArt.

TL;DR — Shop around, make a great product, and charge what you think the market will bear for the work you've produced.

[Mellie]

Jim wrote: "A comparison of the profiles of those authors who support the free-book theory with those who do not reveals a consistent pattern. Those who tend to give their work away for free usually have far fewer fans, receive far fewer reviews, and their books are on far fewer To Read shelves than those who do not. "

Jim, I would love to know what research you looked at to reach this conclusion? Since by your statement my numbers would be far lower than anyone else's, I am quite happy to compare sales, number of reviews and TBRs with you.

I set one of my books to free in December, I gave away several thousand copies and have already received messages from people who enjoyed the free book and went on to purchase the rest of my catalogue. I use it as a marketing strategy to drive sales to my other books and yes, it does work. If it didn't work and have a positive ROI for me, I wouldn't do it.

[Michael]

I definitely appreciate the frustrations of hard-working authors towards those who give away free books, but not all authors have the same goal in mind. For me, creative writing is a hobby, and I don't intend to make money off of it. I write, because I enjoy it, because I find it fulfilling, and because I learn a lot as I'm doing research. If others enjoy reading my works, then that is just the icing on the cake. I suppose that if royalties would offset my costs, then that would be the cherry on top.

That said, I offered my book for free using Kindle Select's free promotion tool, mainly so friends and family could download it without expense. Even though free downloads have eclipsed paid versions by about 10-to-1, the majority of paid copies occurred after the promotion.

[David]

I'm in complete agreement with A.W.

As part of a calculated marketing strategy, giving books away does work (least for me it does). My books simply weren't selling in any numbers to write home about, until I made the first book of my trilogy permanently free. Every so often, I even push it with a paid listing. One such recently cost me $15 and resulted in 1880 downloads over the course of two days. I've lost nothing to those who don't read it, because they likely wouldn't have bought it anyway. As a result, sales of books one and two of that trilogy rose by 55 over those two days and the following third day. The free book now rides high in the chart where casual browsers stumble across it, which then makes it a serve as a front-line advertising feature on Amazon (how much would that cost if it were to be paid for?). Sales of my other titles have also increased as a result of this free title, and I have attracted fans who contacting me thanking me for the freebie, stating that they wouldn't have discovered my work otherwise, and wanting to know when more titles will be available.

So, used properly, free can work. People shouldn't really knock out of hand something that has proven to work for some, and the claim that it harms the sales of other writers' work is a nonsense. If an author's work isn't selling it is not because of the marketing strategies of someone else, but because people either don't want to read that book, or because that book hasn't been adequately promoted.

One thing I will agree with though: If the writing that's given away does not appeal to readers, then they certainly are not going to pay for the next book. That can harm the efforts of other authors.