A few years ago, before we moved to the Kansas City area, my husband and I had a moving sale to get rid of all those things we didn’t want to drag 300+ miles to our new home. One of those items, an old console TV, had been given to my husband for free, and he was perfectly willing to “share the love.” As the morning progressed, the #1 question we received was: “What’s wrong with it?” Finally, I took down the free sign and put up a sign asking for $15. The next thing we know, we find an interested buyer. My husband says, off-hand, that we wouldn’t mind giving it away for free, but the man is satisfied with his $15 prize.
Why, might you ask? Well, I can only offer theories, but this is what I think happened: Often, free equates to worthless in our minds. Cheap, on the other hand, can be seen as a good deal to the right person.
Which brings me to my tip: Don’t just give your book away from the start. It may seem tempting, with eBooks being so cheap to distribute, to simply hand out a thousand copies and then hope word gets around. The trouble is, those copies might not even get read, and they certainly won’t be a priority to the reader.
Let’s say I downloaded your free book onto my kindle, and then bought another book for $1.99. Well, I’ve got almost $2 invested in that other book, so I’m going to be tempted to read it first, to get my money’s worth.
That isn’t to say you shouldn’t give some books away. In fact, you definitely should! But you need to give them away carefully, and in exchange for reviews. It is the reviews that will get people talking about your book. Get a “buzz” going, so to speak. That buzz is going to convince people to pick up your book *and read it*, at a reasonable price.
It is also a very good idea to “give away” the first chapter or so. You can just post it on your web site, as I have done, or allow readers to download it. This gives them a preview, and hopefully, gets them hooked.
Hypocrisy disclaimer: I am planning to give away the eBook version of Touch of Fate next week for “Read an eBook Week.” This is not a new book. In fact, I signed the publishing contract for this book 6 years ago this month. It was published in 2007. My goal isn’t honestly to sell Touch of Fate, but rather to boost name recognition, especially in preparation for the new urban fantasy series I have coming out next year. I’m not sure if the promotion will accomplish that goal or not. I’ll be sure to blog about it afterward and let you know. 🙂