Indie Book Collective discussion

That is the question. Most of us who write books want others to read them. For that to happen, people have to know the books are out there. One way we try and get the word out is through mass freebies.
But I wonder if readers have gotten so used to watching for freebies they've stopped looking for books to buy. Freebies for reviews and contests aside, are indie authors doing themselves more harm than good by giving away the store?

I wrote a post discussing this last year:
Fix your price and stand by it

These days, what bothers me is the sense that people buy and immediately return, presumably having read, skimmed or saved for later.

I don't know about authors, but as a reader - I pick up a freebie book and if it's a series (and I like the book) I usually tend to buy additional books in the series. I've found several new authors this way and gotten several of their other books as well. I confess I'm more of a go-to buyer for certain authors and the freebies help to expand my list of authors. It's a great thing especially now with so many doing self-publishing, but it also helps me as a reader/buyer not waste my money so to speak on those books that are getting high reviews yet have not been properly edited (horrendous amounts spelling errors make me twitchy).

And Francis, I've never returned a book. Even those horrible ones I wish I hadn't bought. Guess I'm just a honest person. If I read it, then I feel the author should get paid for their time to write it - even if my opinion of it is less than favorable.

As an author of two series, I feel give aways are a good PR tool. Especially if you have a series. Before I started writing, I a avid reader and I loved getting free books to experience new genres and authors. So I feel give aways are the perfect way to connect with new readers. As far as those who buy and return, you can't guard against it. So why punish those who are honest and looking for new authors?

I think most people are honest, and I never thought of punishing anyone...

But it does bother me. I don't sell many books, and I often see returns, so it's confusing and it hurts a little.

I think a good way to go, and what I have chosen to do, is to put your work out there for free just to build a readership. If your writing is good enough, these readers will begin look out for you. Then, start to add books that are priced to sell easily - $0.99, for example. And as Janet says above, making the first (or prequel) of a series free is a great way for readers to try before buying. And I don't worry about the minority of people who help themselves; they still get the word out when they tell their friends, and most people are honest, especially when they feel they're getting their money's worth from a particular author. The other thing is that writing just one book is not a path to writing success: more stories and more books create more ways for readers to discover you.