Today’s post is by author and editor Kim Catanzarite (@kimcanrite). Her third book, Bright Blue Planet, publishes this month.
Before I get started, it’s only fair to reveal that I am a self-published author who gives her first-in-series away from time to time. They Will Be Coming for Us is not permanently free, but once in a while, I discount it 100 percent and let the free-for-all ensue. After advertising a free day, I see an uptick of sales and Kindle Unlimited reads.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t weigh the pros and cons of both sides of this coin.
Authors against giving it away
I understand why plenty of authors vehemently disagree with the idea of giving their book away. A list of some of their reasons follows:
- Doing so cheapens the book. Readers should have to pay for the book because it has value. It’s not good for the author’s brand if they give it away.
- They worked very hard on their book and spent much time and energy on it.
- They spent money in the creation of it—quite a bit of money on editing and a cover design and more—and they intend to earn that money back via book sales.
- They’ve written a stand-alone book. They’re not selling a series, and they don’t have a large backlist.
I think we can all agree that writing and publishing a book requires time, effort, and funds—and many of us are in this business to make money. That is true of any author who hopes to have a lasting author career. I also agree that giving it away is not a viable strategy for those who have published only one book. It may not work for those who publish stand-alones, either.
So, let’s explore what I consider the main issue here: the idea that giving the book away devalues the book.
Is a free book a bad book?
There was a time I assumed the answer was yes. My thinking was, How can a writer be taken seriously if they have to give the book away in order to interest readers?
Several years before the debut of my self-published novel, I wondered whether an ebook was worthy of purchase if it didn’t cost $9.99 or more. Part of this mindset stemmed from the stigma surrounding self-published books. I was merely a shopper, an ordinary reader, and I remember thinking self-published ebooks were inexpensive because they were subpar.
This sort of thinking persists to this day for those who buy only traditionally published books, those who read only bestsellers, and those whose preference is literary fiction. Perhaps some self-published authors who are against giving away their book are of a similar mindset.
To them, I say: Times have changed.
There is now a voracious population of avid readers in the world who want and value free and very low-priced books. And here’s the important thing: a lot of these books satisfy their reading needs just as well as the higher-priced ebooks. These book buyers have learned from experience that many self-published books are, in a word, worthy.
A saturated market
At this point several million books are published every year, and the large majority are self-published. That’s a lot of books readers can choose from. It also adds up to a lot of competition in most genres.
From what I’ve observed, only the well-known, well-publicized and sought-after releases, and some specialty books, are priced at $9.99 and higher. For the most part, these are traditionally published books.
The majority of self-published books have settled into less-prohibitive price points such as $7.99, $4.99, and $3.99—and lower. Which is perfectly respectable considering we earn better royalties than the traditionally published authors do.
Those who have lowered their price to the bare minimum (99 cents or permanently free) have done so for a reason, a strategic reason: to draw interest to their books and build a fan base. They are removing the monetary barrier that keeps buyers from buying.
The free strategy
If you want to be a professional author, people need to read your book. They can’t do that unless they have access to it.
One way to give them access is to give them the book for free. In this way, they only risk the time it takes to read a few pages because they can opt out with no monetary loss if they realize the book isn’t for them.
The point is, if they have your book on their reading device, they are free to read it or discard it. It’s in their hands, both literally and figuratively.
You’re a new author. You’ve written one book and are launching another. You plan to write a series of six. In a sea of books, how are you going to draw attention to yours?
You could put both books up for whatever the going, respectable rate is for established writers in your genre, say $4.99, and then work your marketing skills, posting and blogging away, while readers slowly start to take notice and a few of them decide to buy.
But it’s very hard to get someone to take that risk on an unknown author. There are so many other options for reading out there. The reading public doesn’t know you, doesn’t know what your writing is like, doesn’t know whether your story will resonate with them.
On the other hand, you could have a free day where upwards of 1,000 readers download your book in one fell swoop (see my blog post). Of that 1,000 or more, some will read it right away. Some will like it and leave you a review. It’s those readers who will trust you and want to purchase the second book in the series to find out what happens to these characters they are now invested in.
If the second book is already out, they will be willing to pay the $4.99 to own and read it. In this way, you both win.
Hopefully, the same reader will become a fan for life and buy the third…fourth…fifth installments. And maybe even a new series, if you decide to write a different one.
Or you can wait
The alternative is to wait for people to discover and buy your first book in dribs and drabs. It will help if your book wins a contest or if you find some influencers to read and review it. You’ll most likely have to use paid ads on a regular basis to draw attention. Building a career this way can be done. Many authors have done it. Traditionally published authors do it this way. While they have at least some of the perks of the publishing house on their side, many end up selling a very small number of books.
Without building a substantial following, you can’t make money as an author through book sales, and it becomes tough to make money through other avenues as well (speaking, patrons, crowdfunding, and so on). You have to spend time and money to make money, just as you would any small business venture. Would you rather publish the book and have very few people read it, or give that first book away and possibly ramp up more quickly, earning more money later?
The choice is yours.
Kim Catanzarite is an award-winning author, editor, instructor, and blogger. Her third book, Bright Blue Planet, publishes in March 2023. Find more articles at AuthorKimCatanzarite.com/blog.
Good post! I have learned a lot about indie publishing through Mark Dawson and James Blatch and their Self-Publishing Formula program. And, as a Kindle reader, I rely on samples and super-affordable pricing on e-books to discover new-to-me authors.
Thank you, Amanda! I do the same. I love to discover new writers!
Wonderful points, Kim. I too have had mixed feelings over the years about free books. I like to do a free promotion during a holiday or literary event. This week is Read An Ebook Week (March 6 – 11), so I have all my books and short stories free on Smashwords. Doing a free promotion for one week with other authors, as a group offering sale or free books, encourages reading and participation in the book sale. Riding the coattails of literary events gives the free book an added attraction and credibility.
Thanks so much for your input, Paula. This is a wonderful tip!
I think this issue is, essentially, a marketing question. How best to get our work in front of eyeballs? I don’t think selling a book for nada devalues it; Bookbub has giveaways all the time. To me it makes more sense if your book is one of a series. Thanks for this interesting column!
Thanks for your comment. Yes, this is a strategy that works best for those who are writing a series. Many authors opt to make their first-in-series perma-free. It really does depend on your marketing goals.
I was a nonbeliever in the perma-free strategy for years. For many of the reasons given in this article. Last year, I decided to bite the bullet and make the first book in my thriller trilogy free and raise the other two books in my trilogy to $4.99. The perma-free book received nearly 10K downloads right off the bat. I got hundreds of reviews. Over the next year, the sales of the other books in the series rose sharply. Google Play suddenly discovered my trilogy, which it had virtually ignored for years, and it’s been selling strongly there for the past year. Needless to say, I’m a believer in the power of perma-free now.
Great to hear about your experience, Dina – thank you!
That is fantastic! Thanks for sharing.
I have given books away to select people. I have also sold books at community functions where $2 from every purchase goes to a Church scholarship fund. As a self published Author I would like to break even. Reviews are fickle; I have received both good and bad. It goes to illustrate who you have for a reading audience. A book reviewer who doesn’t care for your style or content shouldn’t be expected to give a favorable review. I offer wonder if they are reading the same book. There are many options of the same book.
Thank you for your comments, Albert. I think that breaking even is a good goal to have. Everyone has to decide what their goals are and then reach for them. And every book known to man receives a mix of reviews that run the gamut. Connecting with your readers takes time, but they’re out there. We just have to keep putting our books in places they can find them. Best of luck to you!
I understand both sides of the free book debate and happen to be on the side (for now) that hasn’t offered free e-books. But one factor I’ve never seen mentioned in this debate is the time factor. If the trend becomes most authors giving away, say, the first book in their series, and a reader can obtain dozens, if not hundreds, of free books from so many authors, why would they BUY a book when all their limited reading time is spent reading the backlog of free books they own?
I cringe when I see those marketing campaigns that advertise 30 or 40 free books from 30 or 40 different authors in a genre as a way to gain exposure for each author. I don’t know if it’s just me or coincidence, but I’m seeing more of those in recent years.
I’m an avid reader but can usually only squeeze in 60 or so books per year in my “not nearly as busy as the average person” life. If the average book BUYER reads one book per week and can easily get those 52 books for free, aren’t we authors shooting ourselves in the foot doing something intended to generate more sales that may, in fact, result in fewer book sales?
I exclude book borrowers–library patrons–because we’ll rarely sell books to someone whose budget doesn’t allow purchasing many books. And my guess is, what money they do spend on books will go to either their favorite authors or currently popular authors based on best-seller lists and mass marketing.
Yes, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that permafree books sometimes jump-start an author’s sales. Still, I’m willing to bet that for every successful permafree or periodically free promotion that works, there are ten that don’t work (for whatever reason).
I certainly don’t have the answer, but I’d be interested to hear other opinions about the time factor portion of this debate.
Hi, Chris! You make some very good points about a reader’s time. I guess one part of this that you’re not considering is that the readers who take the free books aren’t going to read all of them. Even if they sample all of the free books they download, they probably will not spend the time reading them all. They take the free book, and if it connects with them, they’ll read it. If it doesn’t, it hasn’t cost them anything and they can put it down. Since every reader has their own taste in books, they’ll discover the authors that write the kind of book they like, and hopefully seek out more titles by that writer. I believe that these same readers will also pay for books that they hear about that intrigue them. In other words, I don’t think that the free book offers are stopping these book buyers from purchasing books that interest them. Thanks so much for your comment!
Good counterpoints, Kim. It would be interesting to survey a huge number of readers who get lots of free books in whatever way and find out how many freebies they read and how many books they ultimately purchase based on that giveaway.
I agree. That would be good information to have!
This is a terrific post! Thank you so much.
Thank you for your comment! I’m so glad it’s helpful.
Hi Kim
How exactly do you create a free book day/ event?
If you are part of Kindle Select (if your books appear in the Kindle Unlimited library, you are), you are allowed five Free Book Promotion days per 90-day period, and you set it up through your KDP account. If you publish wide, you can set the book to free manually on all of the sites you use to distribute your book, including Amazon. It’s more complicated, but it can be done. My books are part of Kindle Select, so I don’t have instructions for how to do it, but an internet search can most likely help with that. Good luck!
I disagree completely with the idea of giving books away for free, though I understand the temptation to do so. I also understand your reasoning Kim and I am not trying to suggest that you are wrong. Does anyone remember Edgar…. that would leave copies of his books on buses with the view to others reading them. It was not a problem for him because he was wealthy. Giving books away for free always begs the question, what happens next? I have already seen a free giveaway where if you write a review for the first book you get the second book in the trilogy free. Now the girl involved is not silly, the third is £11.99 so if anyone reads the full trilogy it is the equivalent of £4.00 per e-book, which is not that bad.
But the next step is paying your customers to read it. There will be some millionaire somewhere that wants a bestseller and will do that. I have already been offered £500 by the mountain warehouse to shoehorn their name into some of my books. (As they often take places in the wilds of the world) I was tempted to take it but am then just an advertising mechanism….. The free book is setting a dangerous precedent.
Hi, Raymond. Thank you for your comments. As self-publishers, we don’t have the same advantages traditionally published authors have. We don’t have media connections that get us magazine or online reviews, a marketing department that toots the book’s horn, or even much money to spend on advertising. We have to do other things to get attention and draw interest. Giving away the first in series can be enough to prove yourself to readers who would not otherwise take a chance on your books. If you’re not comfortable giving the book away (whether for a day or for a longer amount of time), consider giving a shorter piece away, maybe just a few chapters you post on your website. The idea is simply to get your work out there, get known as an author, develop trust between you and potential readers. What will people do next, as in what’s the next step? I don’t know. But I honestly don’t think the free book is going away any time soon. I guess the best advice is to do whatever works best for you.
I feel the sheer number of free promotions that now run may have impacted the way in which free books work. I’ve tried free promos over the past 5 years but recently I withdrew from one as it no longer felt effective reaching my target readers vs those collecting books on their devices that they may not read – because I get that as I have at least 100 on my device I’ve gotten for free – I’ve read maybe 10. I feel for first in series it might be a better strategy especially in certain genres, but I think moving forward I’m going to look at raising my prices and focusing on writing and finding my ideal audience.
There’s certainly more competition for attention and I also hear about the readers who stockpile dozens or hundreds of freebies and never read any. As with all marketing and promotion tactics that become popular (and then sometimes overused), I believe giveaways remains a valuable tool in everyone’s arsenal. To remain effective, it has to be used more strategically and thoughtfully – and it has to be paired/combined with other efforts (e.g., email newsletters).