"Loved your Book, but I'll Pass on the Free Copies!"

by A.M. Khalifa, thriller writer, Google+

Imagine you walk out of the cinema raving about how much you enjoyed the movie, only to find the director or even producer of the film walking up to you, thanking you for your vocal praise, and proposing something along the following:

“Given how much you've enjoyed my film, I'd like to offer you ten free tickets to give to your friends and family. People who you think may enjoy this film as much as you did.”

How would you react? I know what I would do, I would grab the opportunity. Free tickets, right?

For the oddest reason, the same principle doesn't seem to apply to books. Every time a reader has given me a particularly glowing review of my debut novel, Terminal Rage, and I've connected with them offering free copies to spread the love, they’ve balked at the suggestion. Even friends and acquaintances. It’s almost as if there’s something inherently dirty about evangelizing on behalf of a book, but it’s okay to do for a film or other content types.

My friend the talented writer and blogger Scott Whitmore says "there is a subtle difference between reviewing and promoting. I don’t mind reviewing a  book, but when you give me copies to hand out, now I’m part of your PR organization. Many may think: I really loved your book, and I said it in my review, but it isn't my job to physically move copies of it for you.”

Scott is on to something here, but I think it's also about the writer giving out the freebies. Or the perceived experience of the writer. If Lee Childs or Cormac McCarthy were to offer his readers free books for their contacts, I know I wouldn't dream of saying anything but a resounding yes, and then brag about it for the rest of my life.

With new writers, the psychology at work may be different. Perhaps the reader is unsure whether their taste is really on the money. Loving an indie book doesn't mean others will too, and if you promote it aggressively, only to discover that other people aren't as keen about it, you could risk your reputations as a taste maker. Whereas any odd book by an established writer seems like a safer bet, a great book by an unknown author is still laden with potential risk. The risk of being labeled as a lousy literary connoisseur among your peers.

But here is where it gets more interesting. I've found that without my intervention or offers of free books, readers who loved my novel eventually end up promoting it and recommending it to others, and coming back to tell me what they've done. What the hell?

As a new writer, selling books is buried way down on your list of priorities compared to your number one goal: to be read by as many people as possible. So giving away books left, right and center at a loss seems like a viable proposition to gain traction. That is until you realize it doesn't always work like that.

What if by giving away free books I am depriving readers of the challenge of getting their friends and family to get vested in their taste and vote with their money? It’s one thing to give someone a free book you've read and enjoyed, but a totally different challenge to recommend a book and ensure that it’s purchased, based on your good word. And maybe readers also feel cheated to have paid for the book, when the author is willing to give it away.

As much as being read is important, it seems that trying to trip-wire the basic principles of demand and supply may not be such a fancy proposal. What do you think?

Writers, do you find giving free copies to satisfied readers demystifies you as an author and somehow cheapens your brand? How about you, readers, is my analysis of the psychology of recommending books somehow accurate?

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My sizzling-hot #bestseller short story, The Jewish Neighbor is on sale for 99 cents on Amazon.

A.M. Khalifa's critically acclaimed debut novel, Terminal Rage, was recently described by Publishers Weekly as "dizzying, intricate, and entertaining."  He lives in Rome, Los Angeles, and Sydney, sometimes at the same time.

The ebook version of Terminal Rage is now on sale for $0.99 on Amazon.

Conned?

By Jenny Hilborne
Author of mysteries and psychological thrillers

Advertising is necessary, but most people detest adverts. They slow a movie (unless you record and fast forward). Magazines are filled with them. They even find, or used to find, their way into some paperback books. At least with a print copy, we can see the ads upfront.

With eBooks, the ads are unseen - until we get to the end of the book and find sample chapters of the author's next work. Not everyone has an issue with this, but for some readers, it's a problem. I recently read an online discussion about how readers feel cheated by the inclusion of sample chapters.

The problem is not so much the insertion of the additional chapters, but with perception.

On an eReader (I'm using Kindle as an example as I've never read on a Nook) the percentage of the book read is shown. This gives the reader an idea of how much story is left. Imagine getting to the 70% mark, believing there is 30% of the story left, only to find it wraps up within the next few pages. We weren't prepared for that. What happened to the rest? This is not a good kind of surprise.

It doesn't matter that the novel itself was full length and that with the added excerpts we actually got more for our $2.99 or $3.99 than if we'd only received the novel. What counts is that we feel misled, conned, cheated. Even with free downloads, readers do not like the story to end with 30% left on their Kindle. Not even 10%. Some of those who paid for the download commented that they feel as though they've been tricked into paying for the author's advertising.

I've seen it with books I've downloaded to my Kindle. I understand the frustration. We can't "see" that the author gave us more than we paid for because we only see that book ended before we were at the 99% or 100% point on our progress bar. It feels like the story ended too soon and the author filled out the remaining percentage with the excerpts to reach 100%.

Readers getting pissed off is the last thing an author wants. Once they've been turned off, we've lost them, along with everyone to whom they might have recommended our books. An author can argue all they want that the reader got more than they paid for, that the excerpts did not reduce the length of the book, but it does no good once the reader is annoyed.

Yes, readers can ignore the excerpts (and from the comments on the forum, the majority do), but they are still unhappy about what they perceive as a shortened story. 1% or 2% left for advertising seems to be okay, or just one page of links to the authors next work. Readers commented that if they enjoyed the book, they still don't read the excerpts. If the quality of the blurb or the sample pulls them in, they trust the rest of the writing is as good, and they will find the author's next works on their own.

Readers: how do you feel about excerpts? Even if the book was great, does it leave you feeling misled when an eBook ends at less than 100%. Would it turn you off recommending or reading other books by this author?


https://twitter.com/JFHilborne
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Madness-and-Murder/100276173345429

Re-Branding: Without The Sex Club

By L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers
I rarely use this forum to talk about my books, but recently I made a decision about my series that involves the broader topics of branding and reader perception.

In this evolving industry, writers must adapt quickly as well as continuously search for new ways to reach new readers. In that mode, I’ve decided to re-brand my Detective Jackson series by listing Secrets to Die For as the primary book and creating a new cover for it.
 
The first book on my Jackson list used to be The Sex Club, a title I've come to believe turns away as many readers as it draws in. The story has served me well, and thousands of readers have loved it. It will always be a favorite, and I'll continue to sell it. When I only had a few books on the market, it was an important part of my work.

But now that I'm about to launch my 10th book, and I'm poised to reach a huge new audience, I've decided I don't want The Sex Club to be the first thing new readers see about me. I don't want to be defined—and possibly rejected—by this title.

I considered simply changing the name, but thousands of people have read it—and loved it—and I'm not willing to annoy my faithful readers who might buy the story again with a new title, not realizing they've already read it. And a new title wouldn’t alter the content, which is equally disturbing to some conservative readers.

So I’m moving The Sex Club into my standalone thriller column. The truth is when I wrote the novel, it was intended to be a standalone with dual protagonists. Then at some point, it occurred to me the detective would make a great series character. When I wrote Secrets to Die For three years later, I based it on the Jackson character, thinking I’d try to make a series of it. So Secrets is really the first book I intended as the start of a series. Of course, readers can begin with either one.

In simple terms, this is a very competitive market with ebooks selling for $.99 and $2.99, and I can’t afford to alienate thousands of potential readers with one little word.

This has been a huge undertaking. I'm not only creating a whole new website, I also had to make a change in my "titles list" and republish each of my ebooks. I've also had to redo my bio everywhere it's posted online! And I'm sure I haven't found them all yet.

But with millions of new people joining the e-reading revolution, I think this move makes sense. What do think of this re-branding decision? Brilliant or cowardly? Worthwhile or waste of time?