To ‘free’ or not to ‘free’…? That is the question… and one that polarises reaction within the Indie community as much as it would coming face to face with a viper. Some swear that giving books away at cut-price or entirely free is the way forward, others stand by the principle of ‘over my dead body!’ Both perspectives have merit. It all depends on how, when and why…
It has never been easier to get into print, either in physical or electronic form. More books are now published in a day than would have been printed in a year when the first presses began to operate. This is a wonderful opportunity for the voices and stories of the world to be shared. It also makes it exceedingly difficult to get a book noticed.
You have done your absolute best, as most Indie writers do, to ensure that the finished book is as well produced as you know how. You have edited, polished, pruned and proofed… the cover is the best you can make or afford… you have read conflicting advice until you no longer know what to think… and you are sitting there looking at that page that allows you to offer your book for free….
What you want from your book will play a large part in how you proceed. We all want to be read, though for some it matters more that a legacy is written and left for the child and grandchild who will follow or simply because you are passionate about your subject. Others pursue a career in writing and here numbers matter… so does income. And that applies to all writers. Starving in a garret is all very well, but internet access and coffee supplies must be maintained. Some write specialist material, knowing before they put pen to paper that it will appeal only to a small niche readership. Even so, we would none of us write if we didn’t want readers to find, and hopefully enjoy, our work.
But just consider for a moment… In an ideal world… and all writers live there, right?… let’s just say, for argument’s sake…
5000 words per day for the first draft
100,000 words = 20 days
Same again for editing, proofing, formatting etc…
@ 8 hours a day = 320 hours
Which, even at the abysmally low national minimum UK wage rate is well over £2000 in time and labour, without factoring in specialist skills or thinking time.
…And that is without taking account of the fact you are probably employed and/or running a home and family full time already…
You may write in other ways too, maintaining that author platform a writer needs, through blogging or social media which, were you to fully cost your work as a product, would all be factored in and added to the print costs for the paperback… which don’t come cheap.
So, with that finger poised over the ‘free book’ button, what would you do? Charge an acceptable price? Give it away?
No one answer will work for everyone and I think we are wrong to accept the consensus without thinking things through from our personal perspective and in light of our own unique goals.
There are a number of good reasons to offer a free book; all valid and all based on sound principles. Sadly, they all have downsides too…
1. Visibility: The idea is simple, and definitely applicable to any writer who has a number of books to offer; a free book is a loss leader to promote visibility… a form of advertising that is possibly more cost effective than many other avenues. The promotion allows for a profitless sale, even a sale that costs the seller… An item which should make a profit but which, for the duration of the promotion will not. The books downloaded may never have been sold at the usual price anyway, so you may reach readers you would otherwise have missed… and you are not investing capital you don’t have in advertising.
This is a straight choice… you have ploughed your energy, time and creativity into this book. You should be able to expect a reasonable return for your effort. You know, however, that writing doesn’t actually adhere to that kind of economic logic and it is highly unlikely that you will ever make enough money in real terms to compensate your work at the equivalent of a decent hourly rate. Or indeed, anything worthy of being called an hourly rate.
On the positive side, the idea of a loss leader is that anyone who enjoys that product may continue to use it, buying further supplies. Therefore, in the case of a book, anyone who reads and enjoys may buy more from the same author. On the downside, many free books are downloaded… but according to statistics, these are the books least likely to actually be read … at which point, the value of a loss leader may diminish to zero.
2. Interest: If you are going to offer a free ebook, chances are you will make some effort to publicise the offer, and the simplest, most cost-effective way of doing so without spending money you haven’t yet earned from sales is to use your existing channels on social media. If you have done some groundwork before publication, chances are you now have a network of people who may, with luck, Pin, tweet, reblog or otherwise help to get the word out about any launch or offer.
The positive side is obvious… your book gets ‘out there’… people will, inevitably, at least see it. If you are lucky, it will reach a potential readership who may never have heard of you as a writer but who may now begin to associate a name with a title. This can only be good.
You may do very well with downloads… even hit an Amazon bestseller category… and that feels wonderful. You may then sit hoping for reviews, sales of other books, or even hard copies to inveterate paper-book lovers…anything, in fact, that shows people are actually reading the free book, enjoying it and are willing to invest in another… the downside is that sadly, this doesn’t often happen and you may end up feeling deflated, with your confidence knocked for six.
3. Perception: If, on the other hand, you are offering Book One free as either a limited time or permafree carrot to entice readers to try a series, you may do a little better. You take the perceived risk out of purchase. For the reader, it takes the financial element out of trying the start of a trilogy, for example. Regardless of the series factor, if you have multiple books out there, a freebie can allow a reader to see if they enjoy your writing style.
The positives in this are obvious. On the negative side, every free book is one less potential sale, so unless a reader is sufficiently impressed to buy other books in the series you, the writer, will leave empty handed. Especially as you have now set a precedent and readers may well expect to be periodically offered the next book for free too. But… without the freebie… would they have actually bought the book?
4. Expectation: Most readers merely stumble across a book that takes their eye… be that through the title, the cover, the blurb or the genre. Not all readers can afford to buy all the books they would like to feed their addiction. The first requirement for beginning to engage the attention and loyalty of a reader is pretty basic… you need to get your book into their hands.
The positive here is an opportunity to do so. Perhaps the book will not be read for a while… we all have books we will read one day but which are still at the bottom of the to-be-read pile. Perhaps it will be read straight away…or not at all. But getting a reader to take a look is a huge step forward. Once they have read your work, even if you write across several genres, they know what to expect. The negative is that the precedent and expectation of free or reduced books has been set and with it a potential devaluing of your work… if you don’t value it enough charge for it… why should they pay?
5. Risk: I have offered books at free and reduced prices in the past. The results were mixed. I may…or may not… do so again. On a positive note, it does give readers the opportunity to risk trying something outside their usual genre without investing limited resources. They might even find they enjoy this new adventure into unknown literary waters… something that potentially benefits all writers in that genre. In terms of actual sales, though, they may bring a single sale for every twenty downloads if you are lucky.
One of the most valuable benefits of doing so comes not directly from readers, but from fellow writers and bloggers who generously reblog, tweet and generally share offers from their peers. This seems to be part of the community ethic and vastly increases the number of people who get to hear about your book. Just offering a free book or promoting that of another author can be the key to engaging with other writers and readers.
On the negative side, it is a risk to offer a book for free. If it does well, you may reap the benefits in many ways. If it does badly… then the biggest risk is to your own confidence; a fragile thing for many writers and easily fractured… and to the perceived value of your work. With a certain irony, it also contributes to the very problem that raised the question and made you offer the free book in the first place, by making yet another book available free of charge.
On a personal level, I seldom download free ebooks, except for out of print, public domain classics. When I do, and I have read it, I will leave a review. On the other hand, a free offer may well bring a book to my notice that I would not have known about, and that I will buy.
In an ideal world there would be no debate… there would be no question that for a book to be read it should be paid for. Even lending libraries buy their books with public funds. These days, with the literary marketplace awash with offers of all kinds, things are different and writers must make difficult decisions. There is no ‘right’ answer in a world where so many books are offered for free, where books can be borrowed at no cost or found on pirate sites that rob the writer of any hope of a sale. You simply want your book to be read. So… free, or not free? What do you think?
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
Interesting Sue. The bottom line is that no matter how much time, money and effort you put into any book, if it doesn’t appeal… Need I say more? 🙂
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I’m lucky Jack, most of my books are written for a niche market rather than straight fiction with mass appeal; traditional bestsellerhood was never the aim. My problem is the way we, as authors, are changing the way our work is perceived and shooting ourselves in the foot by giving away the product of all that midnight oil.
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I agree. But sometimes to get a book read when it is not being bought, you simply have to give it away. My fantasy anthology Goblin Tales is a case in point. While the majority who have read it, excluding the one star trolls, enjoyed it, it never entered their heads to actually buy it.
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I don’t mind the occasional offer, if I have a reason for it…a launch or promotion.. but I feel the only way to reinforce the idea that a book should be chosen and valued for its content rather than its price is to stop giving them away as a matter of course and expectation.
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You’ve laid out the pros and cons so well. It feels like such a competitive jungle out there and that has led to the ‘giving away for free’ marketing idea. It may work, but in my gut I think that a writer should be paid. Even if it is 99 cents for an e-book, after all that work, there should be some compensation.
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I think that there is a still a perception that ebooks are ‘lesser’ somehow than ‘real’ books and therefore less deserving of purchase. The wordcount, creativity and sheer hard work that goes into an ebook is exactly the same…
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Agreed.
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I did the free thing recently as you know, and it went quite well in that my KENP and paperback sales went up, plus I’ve received several reviews and ratings since the promo. However, it’s something I’ll only do every so often and for a limited time – as you say, we put a great deal of effort into writing our books and should be paid, even if it’s a small amount.
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It worries me that what should be an excellent promotional technique is becoming the norm and completely changing the relationship between reader and writer.
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Yes, unfortunately it’s being used so indiscriminately that it lessens the impact for other writers who wish to use it as a promotion – it’s the downside to the ease of self publishing, that sometimes people rush in without a clear plan.
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We all have to learn and most of us the hard way… but I agree. Such a lot of potential being wasted.
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I gave away tons of books in multiple titles last Christmas. I never landed a single review, and have no idea if any of them were ever read. I won’t do it again. I’m also afraid we’re going to get to a point where we pay 10¢ to readers for downloading.
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It’s that kind of experience that got me thinking in the first place. The idea of a free offer is a good one only if it serves the author… but it is becoming an expectation and changing the way writers are perceived, I feel.
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This is a really interesting article. As a consumer, I have been offered several free books and titles. If I have ever downloaded them, I’ve never read them. It is possible that something so amazing would be offered for free that I would devour it and pay for the other titles by that author, but it’s pretty unlikely to be honest… and yet as you say that seems to be becoming the default position. Anything offered for free instinctively has no “value”, and we react accordingly. In my day job, I help arrange day activities for disabled children. There is a small fee charged to the parents for the use of these services (with the local authority picking up most of the cost). This may be politically impalatable, but the fact is that if there is no charge, fewer parents bother to turn up. Free services = no value,
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The idea of ebooks is a bit of a double edged sword. Published at little or no cost and themselves an ‘invisible’ and intangible book, getting them for free doesn’t seem so bad. The local bookstore wouldn’t be happy if I tried to walk out with an armfull of hardbacks though…
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
Let Sue know YOUR opinion / experience…
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Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie and commented:
damned if you do, and…
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timely advice as I consider going ‘free’
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An added dimension for those who donate the profits too, Geoff.
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This is an interesting idea. I think giving the public some free books is a good idea if you are a new writer. Perhaps it will be read, perhaps not but if a
promotion finds one new reader, wouldn’t it have been worth it? An interesting note on this is the Bryce Courtenay – a successful author that penned over 20 bestsellers before he passed away last year gave over 2500 copies of his first novel – all hard copies. The book became a best seller and was turned into a movie. I’m not saying it works all the time but it helped him. I believe in giving free copies in paperback, not sure about how successful giving ebooks is yet.
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I think giving away a hard copy of a book is a completely different approach. There is a ‘real’ book, a tangible creation that people can understand as having value, whilst an ebook is still almost unreal… I don’t think we have quite adjusted to the reality of virtual products yet. I’ve given a good few away and from the writer’s perspective, that is a very personal sharing with the reader.
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One positive point I’ve only just thought of, and is possibly worth chucking in the balance—it used to be only indie books that were offered for free, and, let’s face it, a lot of indie books should never have seen the light of day and have given self-pubbed authors an unjustified bad reputation. But I notice more and more publishers offer titles on limited free promotion, which means the free titles are mixed trad and self-pubbed. For those who dismiss all freebie books as rubbish, this might help to change their minds.
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That is an excellent point, Jane, though I think it is going to be a while before the message gets through .. that in this case, perhaps trad pub is competing with Indie. I do’t think the majority of readers really care, though, who has published what… apart from the obvious quality issues.
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Another excellent article, Sue.
I’ve been watching the free promotions in my sub-genre for a while. It’s interesting to see how many of them reach “bestseller” status on Amazon. As you said, there are some genres/sub-genres in which that doesn’t often happen, but it does seem true for others. This has me wondering if that’s a prime motivator for some (many?). Even when they switch back to regular price it will take the rankings a bit of time to adjust, and the sales (if one counts free as a sale) might be enough to push the book onto the USA Today bestseller list. And that, of course, would allow an author to add that “bestseller” notice on book covers.
For my part, I’ve done no free promotions and just two limited-time reduced price sales: once when I released the audiobook and wanted to draw attention to that; and again when I was participating in a online author event in which everyone had their ebooks at the same price. The result was an overall spike in sales and (interestingly) no significant difference in monthly revenue. I’m now contemplating what strategy is best when I release book #2 in the series.
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Thanks, Susan. It is an interesting dilemma and I think Mary’s comment hits it on the head… if you are going to do the free ebook, it needs a lot of promotion to make it really work.
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You’ve given a very balanced overview of this topic, Sue. I put No More Mulberries free earlier this year for the first time (I’d done the occasional 99p/99c promotions before) and forked out for a BookBub ad. I was delighted with the result – 30,000 downloads and enough loans (it was in pre-KENP days) to cover the cost of the ad. It also generated quite a few reviews, mainly in the US (and including my first 1*) and sales continued pretty well for the first couple of weeks whent he price returned to normal. Sales of Drunk Chickens had a nice little spike as well. A writer friend had similar results when she put her book free and she didn’t send a penny on promotional ads but used free promo sites, Facebook and other social media – a huge amount of work but it paid off for her.
I think the amount of work required to make a free promotion work should not be underestimated. There is little point in simply going free if the writer isn’t prepared to really let the downloading public know the book is free.
I would definitely consider doing it again but not until I get another title out there.
I do download free books but only if they are in a genre I enjoy or, if I’ve seen a book reviewed by a reviewer whose views I trust I might download something out of my usual comfort zone.
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I know a lot of writers have had some good spikes in sales after a successful free promotion… and a few who have done all the hard slog of promotion and seen very little, for good books too. It obviously helps if it is a popular genre of something that catches the imagination (a title like ‘Drunk Chickens’ is good 😉 )
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Mr Fox The Legend is pretty good. He’s in my Amazon basket at the moment until I put something else in to get my free postage.
Lots of other factors must make a difference, too, some of which we aren’t even aware – day of the week, time of day a promotion goes out, other books goign free at the same time.
We each have to take note of otehr writers’ experienes and decide what is best for us and our books.
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We had such fun selling and signing The Legend when we were with Mister Fox and his cohorts… so much more satisfying to get to talk to the readers in person, especially on such a night 🙂
I agree, we do have to step away from the herd and make a decision for ourselves on what feels right for us at that time. And that may change depending on the book, the moment and the reasons..
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A well thought out post, Sue. I’ve only given out free books once – right after an author even at Boucheron, a huge mystery convention here in the state. As I made the rounds, talking about both my books, I added the hook of the first one free on Amazon for the following week.
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That’s a perfect moment for freebies… right place, right reasons. It bothers me though when writers slave so hard to produce good work them feel obliged to give it away just because everyone else is doing so.
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Excellent article, Sue. I think free promotions are only worth doing these days if you can get into BookBub, as described by Mary Smith, above. A free book just tweeted or put on Facebook posts will not get that many downloads; everyone’s got jam-packed Kindles, loads of books are free, it’s no biggie these days. When I first started doing all this, just tweeting a book could get you to the top of the free chart, with fantastic results in the paid chart afterwards, but those days are gone. It’s only worth doing if you’ve got other titles out there, too.
To be honest, one of the reasons I wouldn’t do one these days (apart from BookBub) is that I think it makes you look as if you can’t sell your books. Which, if you have more than about 4 published, says that no-one much wants to read them. I don’t care about the costs, and nor should anyone; creative endeavours are undertaken because of the need to do so, not because you think you’re going to get paid for it. Some people say, ‘it took me 6 months to write, I’ve worked out that I’m working for 2p and hour’, etc etc etc – if you feel like that about it you’d be better off getting a job that someone’s actually asking you to do!!!
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I agree with you, Terry. It used to be a very valuable avenue to get a book noticed… now free books are everywhere. I am concerned too about the perception of authors pleading for their work to be read. As you say, it is a creative endeavour… artistry… an no artist worth his salt looks at ‘will I earn enough’ when the demon is urging them to fill the blank canvas… or page.
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I appreciate this post. I struggle with this in my head from time to time, and I really enjoy all the points you’ve made.
I still don’t have an answer, mind you, but then, I still don’t have a finished novel, either 😉
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I have a good few books out there… and I don’t think there is a right answer… it all depends 😉
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Fascinating topic this. Really pertinent too. As someone approaching the beginnings of thinking about publishing its something that does cross my mind. But i mean, the work…. all that time…. should it be for free? Not sure. I tend to read on my kindle first and if I like a book I buy the hard copy as well because I know its more expensive and I want the author to earn more. ERGH. I am so torn and too inexperienced to know what I really think – I will ponder this as I get closer and closer to publishing.
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Oddly enough, for Indies using Amazon, author earnings are best for hard copy if people buy through Createspace’s own shop. Which no-one ever does. Otherwise, the Kindle copy properly bought is often the best for royalties. I hate that we have to charge what we do for the colour printed books in hard copy.. and there is no room for royalties in the price.. we just happen to like a book to hold, with pages and colour pictures, so we put them out there anyway. On the other hand, it is nice to know there are people holding our books and keeping them on bookshelves… 😉
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