Freebies…or not?
I wonder about readers’ lack of sanity sometimes. In a recent trend (via Substack, etc.), they spend good money subscribing to authors’ email newsletters. Those used to be free (ones I subscribe too still are!), and much of the same info is often available on their websites.
Like many things in the book biz, advertising has been turned on its head. I suppose authors who write those newsletters think they’re very clever in duping readers to pay for the authors’ advertising. “Oh, they include interesting material in those emails,” those readers say. “For a price,” I counter.
I guess I’m old-fashioned. When I used to advertise (now I just rely on this blog and word-of-mouth from fans), I paid for it, not my readers: Some person more skilled than I am would be doing a lot of work that I didn’t want to do, after all. I’d rather be writing my stories, spending my time trying to ensure they’re not sloppy ones that have no literary value. I suppose some gurus would argue that if people are willing to pay for my advertising, they’d also be willing to buy my books? Um, I don’t buy that. I don’t think readers can possibly determine if they’ll like a full novel by reading a short story or a snippet of one…or an author’s email!
I’ve always believed that giving away some freebies (see my list on the “Free Stuff & Contests” web page) is the best kind of advertising of all. Except for time spent, a reader has to pay and work very little to download and read them (my free PDF downloads just need one mouse click!), and they can peruse a variety of fiction—mysteries, thrillers, and sci-fi; short stories, novellas, and two complete novels (so far)—that’s enough to decide whether they want to read more by paying real money (a decision maybe aided by much lower prices for my books compared to what the Big Five offers, by the way).
Of course, I run the risk that readers will hate those free samples of my fiction and assume my books for sale will also annoy them, but at least they won’t have paid good money to develop that opinion. That’s the kind of advertising that should keep readers happy!
What I do to sell my books is more like a car dealer offering a potential buyer a demo ride. They might not buy exactly that model or choose the same features (color, upholstery, etc.), but they can see if they might like a similar product and are willing to make the investment. And they might just pass on info lauding that model to his family and friends, saying that the car dealer has something valuable to offer them. There’s no better advertising than that!
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
