Sue Knott's Blog: Knott The Screaming Type - Posts Tagged "giveaways"
A self-serving post on being self serving
Many readers are unaware of the topsy-turvy state of publishing right now. After decades of business-as-usual, the book world has been turned on its head. Nobody knows where it will end up.
That's an opportunity for you, dear reader, to help shape the future to your liking. I mentioned in a previous post that bookstores won't exist if you don't buy books there. Well, there are other developments that will stay or go away based on your behavior.
Right now, authors and publishers are experimenting with book giveaways as a marketing tool. (In fact, right now, Feb. 4-7, the Kindle version of my novel, "Catching On Fire" is available free. And my sometimes-co-author, Lardyard Hampoon, is offering his "Fifty Shades Nastier An Intensely Funny Parody" free through Kindle on the same days. Warning: I had nothing to do with Lardyard's book. The humor in it is vile, for adults only, and not for the faint of heart.)
Hopefully, you've come back from getting your free downloads for the rest of my message. And that is: if these freebies don't work for the authors/publishers, they won't continue to offer them. It's very experimental right now. If people don't leave honest reviews on sites like goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, the freebies won't make much of an impact. (And an honest review can be good, bad or indifferent, as long as it's honest and posted where others can read it.) If the freebies don't lead to sales, people won't be offering them. Word gets around in the publishing community.
Same goes for talking up a book that you like, whether you got it for free or paid for it. If it's not yet a best seller, it needs your enthusiasm. Most books go nowhere. If you don't help a favored book succeed, you may not see anything else from that author ever again. His/her publisher will drop him/her. It won't be worth the author's time to write another book.
So, if you like freebies, be sure to leave a review that will be helpful to potential readers, even if it's a negative review. And if you happen to love an author who isn't on the NYTimes Bestseller List, make sure all your friends know how great that author is.
While you're at it, you might want to learn to rely on reader reviews...they might be the way of the future. Don't just go by star ratings. Read several reviews to see why the reviewer did or did not like the book. You'll recognize the reviewers who share your taste.
Last, but not least (trite, I know), tell publishers/authors what you want. Tweet about it. Send them emails. They'll pay attention. (My current pet peeve: ebooks that are more expensive than print books! How stupid do publishers think we are? Sure, ebooks are convenient, but I know the pixels cost a lot less than the paper.)
That's an opportunity for you, dear reader, to help shape the future to your liking. I mentioned in a previous post that bookstores won't exist if you don't buy books there. Well, there are other developments that will stay or go away based on your behavior.
Right now, authors and publishers are experimenting with book giveaways as a marketing tool. (In fact, right now, Feb. 4-7, the Kindle version of my novel, "Catching On Fire" is available free. And my sometimes-co-author, Lardyard Hampoon, is offering his "Fifty Shades Nastier An Intensely Funny Parody" free through Kindle on the same days. Warning: I had nothing to do with Lardyard's book. The humor in it is vile, for adults only, and not for the faint of heart.)
Hopefully, you've come back from getting your free downloads for the rest of my message. And that is: if these freebies don't work for the authors/publishers, they won't continue to offer them. It's very experimental right now. If people don't leave honest reviews on sites like goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, the freebies won't make much of an impact. (And an honest review can be good, bad or indifferent, as long as it's honest and posted where others can read it.) If the freebies don't lead to sales, people won't be offering them. Word gets around in the publishing community.
Same goes for talking up a book that you like, whether you got it for free or paid for it. If it's not yet a best seller, it needs your enthusiasm. Most books go nowhere. If you don't help a favored book succeed, you may not see anything else from that author ever again. His/her publisher will drop him/her. It won't be worth the author's time to write another book.
So, if you like freebies, be sure to leave a review that will be helpful to potential readers, even if it's a negative review. And if you happen to love an author who isn't on the NYTimes Bestseller List, make sure all your friends know how great that author is.
While you're at it, you might want to learn to rely on reader reviews...they might be the way of the future. Don't just go by star ratings. Read several reviews to see why the reviewer did or did not like the book. You'll recognize the reviewers who share your taste.
Last, but not least (trite, I know), tell publishers/authors what you want. Tweet about it. Send them emails. They'll pay attention. (My current pet peeve: ebooks that are more expensive than print books! How stupid do publishers think we are? Sure, ebooks are convenient, but I know the pixels cost a lot less than the paper.)
Knott The Screaming Type
I suppose this will be musings about writing, books and writing books...maybe even about booking writers. I suppose, since it is my blog, I'll also throw in whatever else I think you, dear reader, mig
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