But You're Giving It Away!

Some friends are horrified at me giving away free copies of my book. ‘You’re not making money!’ they cry. Of course, they haven’t realized how valuable ‘free’ is.

‘Free’ is a wonderful word everybody loves to hear. Nobody loses with ‘free’ – you’re getting something without spending money, so you’re likely to take a risk. If it’s not for you, you’ve lost nothing. If you love it, you’ve been exposed to something new you may not have tried if not for that magical word. ‘Free’ is the indie author’s friend. 

I’m not saying give every person a free copy of your novel, but running a giveaway offering a number of copies can really generate interest. Lowering the price of your eBook to £0 for 24 hours can see your readership increase because people are more likely to pick it up. Many readers specifically look for free eBooks. With money tight and book prices rising, unless it is a known author they adore, they stick to free eBooks because it is a way to get their literary fix without breaking the bank. And if one person likes it and recommends it to a friend, that friend could be a paid purchase.

I also distribute free copies to people who are specifically reading to review. There are numerous people willing to do this, such as the wonderful team at Rock the Book. Reviews are gold. Not only can they be an ego boost (or a sobering reality) but they are one of the main things customers look for when purchasing novels (along with cover and blurb). Utilizing services offered by people who are happy to read and review in exchange for a free copy is an invaluable investment. 

There is a line between profitable ‘free’ and giving it away to everyone. You need to be using ‘free’ to generate interest, gain readership and hold attention. If it is always free, the hype will burn out and people may question why it is priced at nothing. 

Top tips:

Use ‘free’ sporadically – drop the price to nothing for 2 to 5 days every 6 months.

Time ‘free’ right – coincide it with a specifically high reading time: winter, back to school, summer vacations, a holiday your book is associated with (Halloween Horror, Valentine’s Romance).

Promotion – Generate hype! Create Facebook events, update your website/social media, produce a countdown, post daily during the ‘free’ event. Get people interested.

By Chloe Testa
 Chloe is of British-Maltese descent and grew up in the small, seaside town of Brugibba with her mother, grandmother and two arrogant cats. She now lives in Surrey, UK, dividing her time between writing novels and teaching English, with almost no time to sleep in between the two. She is a lover of great books, good company and bad puns.

Find out more about Chloe on her site, or find her book on Amazon.

Amazon, Hachette, Pricing, and You

If you are an author who publishes with Kindle Direct Publishing, you might have gotten a lengthy email last week from Amazon.

The email recapped how the advent of paperback novels revolutionized the book world. Books suddenly became more affordable and available to a much wider audience. Critics feared the lower prices would ruin the publishing industry, but we now know that just wasn't true. 

A parallel was drawn with today and e-books. Often, these books are cheaper than paperbacks and much cheaper than hardcover editions. Sometimes they are even free.  Once again critics (AKA: the Big New York Publishers) believe this will harm the industry.  Some are actively fighting e-books by making a digital copy just as, or almost as expensive as the printed copy.

This is ridiculous since an e-copy of a book is significantly cheaper to produce than the printed copy. The email went on to identify one publishing group in particular: Hachette.

Amazon’s response was a call to action. They want authors to email the CEO of Hachette, Michael Pietsch at Michael.Pietsch@hbgusa.com  and copy them at: readers-united@amazon.com

They ask us to consider including these points:

- We have noted your illegal collusion. Please stop working so hard to overcharge for e-books. They can and should be less expensive.

- Lowering e-book prices will help – not hurt – the reading culture, just like paperbacks did.

- Stop using your authors as leverage and accept one of Amazon’s offers to take them out of the middle.

- Especially if you’re an author yourself: Remind them that authors are not united on this issue.

I don’t think Amazon’s motives are entirely altruistic. If you have been paying attention at all to pricing and Indie sales, you know lower prices can translate into more sales which will put more money into Amazon’s coffers.

Whether or not you decide to email Hachette, it’s up to you.

What does this mean for Indie Authors?

We already have an edge over the big publishers by having the power to set our own prices! Use that power responsibly by setting competitive prices.  You know the drill. Look at what a similar title in a similar genre is selling for and price accordingly.

This little lesson in the history of the publishing industry has confirmed my belief that the future in publishing is the e-book. 

Today is a good day to be an Indie!

My Two Cents on Pricing

One of the fabulous things about self-publishing is having the freedom to set your own price. For many, setting the price for their book is quite a conundrum. There are lots of opinions out there, and I am weighing in with my two cents.

I like to take a look at similar self-published e-books in my genre and price accordingly. I don’t price much higher than that. Some publishers are getting hip with their e-books and are pricing them much lower than paperbacks. For example, Harlequin prices most of their e-books under $4. So I try to stay competitive by checking out prices of kindred books.

I'm willing to be flexible with my price. You can often drive sales by lowering your price for a certain period of time and promoting it through social media. I like to do this over the holidays, when readers who might normally think $0.99 = Crap, now think $0.99 = Holiday Deal.

You might want to give away the first story in a series, a short story or some other special treat for your readers. If you want to make it free permanently, list it with an online retailer that allows you to, like Smashwords. Then alert retailers that don’t permit you to list it for free, like Amazon. Eventually, they will match your price. This takes a while, so I wouldn’t do it for a temporary giveaway.

For temporary giveaways, try using coupons with Smashwords. You can set the percentage off or choose 100% to make it free of cost.

Pricing a book for free is a tough call. Many like to load their e-readers with free books and then never get around to reading them. I know I've downloaded free books that I've never read.

If you don’t like the idea of giving away the first book in a series, try setting the price at $0.99. $0.99 books have had their moment in the sun. I wouldn’t price my book at that price point nowadays, unless it is a shorter story or the first book in a complete series. Again, the idea is to let readers know this is a deal, not crap.

For paperbacks, make your book as cheap as competitively possible. Most Indies make the majority of their sales with e-books. So don’t sweat a big royalty with your paperbacks. Again, look at similar self-published books in your genre to get a good idea.

So those are my two cents. 

Do you have any ideas that have worked for you? 

Please share!