PermaFree

[Adam]

I decided to make the first book of my series permanently free on Google Play. The entire series will remain cheap (sequel at $0.99). Link will be below. I noticed there are a lot of great indie authors using this strategy and it's a great chance for readers to give you a shot without the pressure of cost.

https://play.google.com/store/books/d...

[Ron]

I've never heard of Google Play (for books). I see there are books listed there that are also available from other sources (eg. Amazon). Is Google Play link the purchaser to a retailer where your book's located or do you have to load it up on Google Play separately? Are there any issues with ISBNs that you know of?

[Adam]

Hey Ron,

I'm actually pretty new to Google Books as well. I uploaded my books separately with a non-exclusive deal and they aggregate it to multiple retailers. They offer a free ISBN but you can also use your own. I hope this helps, and can definitely try and help some more if need be.

Best,

[Ron]

Hi Adam

You say Google Play aggregate to multiple retailers. Is it the case that you provide Google Play with your book and they then distribute it in much the same way as Smashwords does? If so, I'm just wondering how that works if there's an overlap between Google Play and Smashwords, or any other distributor for that matter.

I suppose, if a book is listed with Smashwords (who provide free ISBNs) then presumably the same ISBN can be used with Google Books. I'm not up on all of the detail with ISBN but I presume the same book should have the same ISBN wherever it's sold.