A Kindle Question?

[Spears II]

Greetings.

I am starting to rev up the marketing of my wife's book and I am debating a Kindle strategy. Right now we have submitted the book with a price of .99$. I noticed most books on the best sellers list are free books. I thought of offering the book free just to get it out to the readers and hope it would drive up sales of the hard copy. What do you all think? Do any other authors have experience with selling on Kindle? I think it could be a good way to get a quantity of books out to the public at the expense of making money (pun intended). I would love to hear from anyone who owns a Kindle or an author who sells on kindle. Thanks for the help.

David Spears
http://www.iservenovel.com/

[Anna Elliott]

I do know several authors (I'm blanking on names--will have to ask my husband) have driven up the sales of their books by releasing all or a large part of the book for free.

But I do also have a Kindle, and for me paying 99 cents for a book is really not too different from downloading a book for free. I might think about it a bit more, but for under a dollar I'd be pretty willing to say, Sure, I'll give it a try if the book sounded like something I'd enjoy.

[LoveHistory]

Don't have a Kindle, but if I did I wouldn't even blink about paying less than a dollar for a book. I only wish I could get that price on printed books.

Is there any chance you could have it free "for a limited time only" and then make it 99 cents afterwards?

Hope others can give you more info.

[Chatterbox]

Most of the free books that I have seen and downloaded are classics that are out of copyright (which is why they are free....)

I'm not sure how a free book would drive up sales, unless/until Kindle sales start being factored into bestseller lists (which I don't think will happen any time soon.) If I buy a free book, I've got less committed to it. It's just a "try it and see" book for me. I'm certainly not then going to buy a hardcover at full price. And I'm not sure that it would make me any more likely to tell others about it. Or if it did, I'd probably tell them, here's a free Kindle book that's not bad.

The one tactic that has worked on Kindle is when Amazon itself makes a backlist title available free to anyone purchasing the new release. Or when it comes to tempting me to read new authors (say, David Liss) by offering an older title free. Of course, I still haven't read the Liss book, much less bought the new one at full price.

Frankly, I'd stick to the 99 cents. You might as well get some revenue from it, and with the abundance of free titles that are well known (Pride and Prejudice, Sherlock Holmes, etc.), the odds of a new book by an unknown author making it into the top seller list are relatively slim. Not to say it can't happen, but I'm not sure the tradeoff makes sense to me. (Sorry if that sounds harsh; it's just my honest opinion.) Ideally, you want the book in the hands of people who want to read it, vs those who want to download it and maybe one day read it. The former are those who, if they like it, will talk about it and review it and maybe propel sales.

[MLE]

The real cost of a book isn't the price. It's the 8-15 hours (average) spent reading it. It is hard to get readers to part with $10-$20 to buy a book, but it is even harder to get them to spend the time reading it.

The only way to get them to pay that precious time is to give them a really good ride. But the problem is, until they have tasted the dish, they may be quite reluctant to order it from the menu. Which is to point of offering free samples.

Unfortunately, there are a glut of free samples clamoring for people's attention. You may offer it free on Kindle, or for $0.99, or $9,99, but don't expect anybody to find it unless you send them there personally. And even then, you'll need word-of-mouth -- a reader, not the writer. Writers commenting on the worthiness of their own work has all the credibility of a grandparent explaining why their grandchild is the most charming on earth.

[Spears II]

Thanks,

MLE you have hit the nail on the head. Most of the books I read I first learned about from a friend. Word of mouth is what will really sells any book and I completely get that. I am reader first and always will be. I think I have read enough to know good writing from bad and I truly believe in my wife's writing skills and story crafting. Like you say though, it does not matter much because I am assumed biased.

My marketing strategy is simple. I am trying to start a tiny snow ball on a hopefully big hill. I am working on ways to get the book out to the readers and let them decide. Because we are small time, it costs me money each free book I give away. I need to choose wisely when I give away hard copies. I think blogs and the internet are a cost effective way to reach the readers. I also hope book signings will be a way for us to greet and meet people.

Kindle also costs us nothing and might start the snow ball rolling a bit more. I hope it makes it easier for readers to take a chance on a book they have never hear of. If I did not take risks on reading an unknown, I would have never read a Stephen Lawhead book. Anyway, thats basically my plan--the adventure is what will happen. It is a fun experience even if we don't sell a dime.

Thanks again for the discussion, I find it very helpful.

David Spears
http://www.iservenovel.com/