Author Paul Winters, through World Castle Publications, has found a new way to carve a niche in the ever-competitive book sales arena by offering those with eReaders the chance to sample 75% of his thriller novel absolutely free.

 

Charlotte, NC – February 18, 2014 – When it comes to competing for book sales, one needs to really think outside of the box. For those traditionally published via one of the smaller houses, they are fighting the battle on two fronts:

 

First of all, there are the big publishers. And, the big houses have the marketing power. They command the shelf space in the book stores. They get the recommendations on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. They pair their authors with more famous names to get recognition. How in the world can one compete with that?

 

On the other end of the spectrum, the eBook trend has created a plethora of self-published authors. Their works (some wonderful and some pure drivel) are available through many of the same outlets and they too are vying for attention. They offer free books and excessively discounted pricing. How in the world does one compete with that?

 

Paul Winters seems have found an answer by trying a very unique approach. His psychological thriller novel, Deepest Doors, was released September 2013 through World Castle Publications, LLC. Despite some very positive reviews, sales have been modest. So, Paul took a somewhat different approach. Instead of discounting or offering the book for free, he twisted the rules for eBook “sampling”. Amazon and iTunes allow readers to download a small sample of a book to try it before purchasing. In most cases, that is limited to 20%. However, Paul has convinced his publisher to allow a 75% sample download. “The logic there is simple,” Paul explains, “any good thriller hits that point where the reader simply can’t put it down. Give them a chance to try most of it free and they will hit that point. If they want to see how the story ends, they complete the purchase to get the last pages.” That sounds simple enough.

 

How is the new approach working? Only time will tell. The initial results look positive. The site where the book is available has gone from a handful of page views per day to almost 1000 per day during this period; all from a change in sampling percentage and a wave of announcements in social media. Those who download will decide if it works. If it is truly, as one New York Times bestselling author called it, ‘unputdownable’, then sales will certainly follow the sampling period.

 

Because Amazon and iTunes limit the percentage downloaded, one must utilize a third party, called Smashwords, to try the full sample. The download is available at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/353105 or http://www.DeepestDoors.com.

Try 75% Free