Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

So I just finished my 5 day free ebook promotion on KDP (Huahuqui). Had 687 downloads and reached a high of number 9 in the kindle books sc-fi adventure - which isnt bad. Put my book back on at 99c (although the paperback is $7.99)... and had 1 download... oh and 0 new reviews

Do people just download things because they are free? Do they even read? Did the free status put people off buying it at all?

Not sure I understand what drives people to buy and or review or not... even at a low price

Give it time. Lots of people will download stuff before the free offer runs out, then read it later (possibly weeks later) when they have time and have finished whatever they are reading currently.

It's a bit late now, but I'd recommend splitting your 5 days into several 1 and 2 day promos. I announced the free days on my first book in as many places as I could find, did some hype build-up beforehand on my social network pages, here and on Twitter, all with the aim that a proportion of those who downloaded book 1 would come back to buy book 2.

I find that usually about 55-60% of people who buy book 1 go on to buy book 2, but of those who download book 1 for free it looks like less than 5% then bought book 2. It's difficult to be accurate, but I've done it a few times now.

Over the past few months I've heard a lot of people say that they often don't get around to reading free books even though they often download them.

As to getting reviews, I haven't cracked that one. Part of the art there seems to be causing a strong reaction in the reader, but that's not always a good thing. Reviews are much harder to get than sales, in my experience.

Thank Paul...

I am indeed writing book 2 so perhaps I am just driving interest in that one when i release next year.

I think you are correct, though, about people downloading and never getting around to reading... i should take heart in that they at least thought the blurb interesting enough to download it at all :)

G

I find with a lot of these things that you never really know how well it works for you until you try it out. You've got to experiment to get the most out of them. I found that having two books out (and I'm working hard on the 3rd) made a big difference. Sales of my 1st book increased greatly. I suspect that having several books out on Amazon acts like a vote of confidence, but it also gives twice as many chances you show up in search results etc.
I'm hoping that having another book out will improve things again.

Hi Paul,

I have heard that too, that having a few books is better than one. I am in the process of writing a 2nd book, and want to complete a trilogy of my original book, "The Pond." Do you think it would help to market it that way?

Patti

Great advice and info.

There are certainly a number of people who grab free books and never get around to reading them, but with figures like 687, you should start to see evidence of new readers over the next few days and stretching over the following weeks.

I don't agree that you should split your promotions. It depends whether your book is climbing the ranks or not. Sales per hour tend to rise exponentially, the longer a promo lasts (provided it's a climber.) If a book isn't climbing, then more frequent, shorter promos are better, because you get a small boost every time a book becomes free.

I need to ask this question? I am with a self publishing company called Authorhouse. Can I still give away my book for free on KDP? They tell me I cannot promote my book with any other publisher and I have to buy all my books through them.

It depends where Authorhouse supplies books to.

You can't join KDP Select unless your eBook is only available through Amazon. This means Authorhouse couldn't sell copies on their own website, or for Nook, Kobo etc.

The rules only apply to eBooks. If you have paperback versions, they are excluded.

I thought so. I don't think I can qualify for this since my book is in 25,000 locations. It sounds good though!

As both an aspiring writer, and a reader, I have a few thoughts.

One of the first things I do each morning, is scan the top 100 free books in amazon's fantasy and childrens section.

Many days I don't snag any. some days I snag a few. Generally I am happy if I find one.

I am a relatively fast reader, and I can read most novels in a day or two. However here is what I am finding.

I have a backlog of books I've downloaded to read of about 5-7 books at any given time. These are books I fully intend to read, not things I've simply snagged because they are free (this does not take into account the childrens books that I have downloaded for my kids. They are more sporadic readers.)

However, I also do not read them in the order that I download them, for the simple fact that new things catch my eye. For example one caught my eye yesterday I just HAD to start right away.

So it may be a few weeks or more before I get around to reading what I downloaded, and here is the catch. When I finish the book I am currently reading, and go to look for the next all I have in my kindle list is covers with titles. We can't see the back blurb or the about the book blurb from the amazon page from inside our device, so for any that don't begin reading it right away it is quite a task to try and remember which book is about what.

That is where the importance of a cover that is a knockout comes in. If you really want that book read, the cover has to be attention grabbing. Truly, when I am selecting a book out of my kindle, the cover is ALL I have, other than a vague memory of my impressions when I read the blurb, unless I go track down the amazon page again to read it. And if I've already got it downloaded onto my device, that means it's competing with other books that I also was interested in, not a kindle list with a bunch that I immediately pass over.

As far as reviews, I have to be brutally honest. I never used to review books I had read. I didn't really realize the importance of it, and I think that is because for the most part I already knew which books I wanted to get, the releases from my favorite authors and recommendations from friends.

Now however, I realize how important that review is to not only the other readers that might be trying to decide if they want to take a chance on a new author, but to the author themselves. I've only recently realized this though as I've explored the indie publishing world.

I don't think it would be a bad thing on the last page of the book to put a little note thanking the reader for reading, inviting them to visit your blog and telling them that if they enjoyed it, could they take the time to review it to help other readers find it.

25,000 locations! Wow - I didn't know there were 25,000 places to buy books.

There's nothing to stop you writing a short story specifically for KDP Select. You could use that to gain readers, who might then go on to buy the work published through Authorhouse.

Great idea Rosen! I think I will do that! Yes, through a big publishing house like Authorhouse or any other major publishing company they will make your book available to many book sellers. I also have a book return program for anyone who buys and stocks my book in their store, if they do not sell it, they can return it and have their money totally refunded. If you Google "The Pond by Michelle Dubois" You will see how many times my name comes up. And it is growing each day! :)

@message 11 - Kelly

I have a whole page in the back of my book thanking my readers. I agree it is so important to let them know how much you appreciate their imput and taking the time. After all, they chose "my" book out of millions to read. It is only right to thank them. And in many cases, when someone writes a review about my book, I personally thank them too.

Rosen wrote: "There are certainly a number of people who grab free books and never get around to reading them, but with figures like 687, you should start to see evidence of new readers over the next few days an..."

I wouldn't say that's true, necessarily. My average review score is 3.9/5, and my books have been downloaded for free about 2,500 times, and so far the giveaways have had no appreciable volume impact on sales.

Maybe my books just suck.... or maybe people who download freebies wait months before reading them, if ever, and then if we're lucky 10% of them buy one. If you think about the volume of "free" out there now, it could be 18 months, easily, before the majority of downloaders even get to it.

It really is a slow build, I think. I'm giving it 2-3 years to see if anything moves before I reassess how I approach the craft.

This is purely anecdotal, but it seems to me that the vast majority of people who respond to the KDP free offers are, in my observation, collectors, not readers.

I don't think the free book offer from KDP is going to net a lot of reviews unless the the number of books you distribute is astronomical or you already have a following. There are a lot of people out there who accumulate free books for the sole purpose of accumulating books. When you look at an account on Goodreads or Shelfari (Amazon's attempt at creating a goodreads-like community), and a reader has, literally, tens of thousands of books on their shelves, you know they're a collector and you can pretty much forget about getting a review.

You're probably better served by a more targeted promotion, such as going to one of the many goodreads forums that try to connect authors and reviewers, and offering a free copy to build up some reviews and a following. You won't get 500 responses in three days and it's a lot more work (I'm a terribly lazy promoter, so maybe the work is relevant), but it absolutely yields better results.

Michelle wrote: "I need to ask this question? I am with a self publishing company called Authorhouse. Can I still give away my book for free on KDP? They tell me I cannot promote my book with any other publisher an..."

Did you Google AuthorHouse? I was under the impression that everyone knew that this is a vanity publisher (not self...) with an exceptionally bad reputation.

http://www.pissedconsumer.com/consume...

Rowena wrote: "Did you Google AuthorHouse? I was under the impression that everyone knew that this is a vanity publisher (not self...) with an exceptionally bad reputation..."

That seems like a rather inflammatory thing to say at this juncture.

All good advice, friends. Thank you.

Ultimately, I write because I like it. And my original intent was to pubish under a pseudonym - I never wanted fame. However, once you publish it and put it out there, it can become almost obsessive - watching your sales.

I have decided to breathe and take stock. I produced a book. I like the story. So do the few that have been kind enough to leave a review. But, I shall stop obsessing!

Book 2 is on the way. Not because I want to generate sales for book 1; but because I feel my story isn't finished yet.

Remember folks, why we all started to write in the first place: passion.

:)

Hi,

I'm sort of in the same boat. I did a KDP free promo on my book this weekend and had some really good results. 475 downloads in total, and Drawn in Blood reached Top 10 Police Procedural on Amazon UK and Top 20 on Amazon.com.

I'm still waiting for the reviews - I refuse to self-review or ask relatives for good reviews - but I feel that I have personally achieved a goal nonetheless. For one weekend at least I was a top seller on Amazon and that's more than I could have hoped for a year ago :)

I know a few authors who self-published in the past and never got as far as having 500 readers. Less than two weeks from publication I've already reached a potential readership of around 500. For that reason alone I'd recommend running a free KDP promotion.

Gotta love communities like Goodreads and Amazon that make it so easy for our writing dreams to come true! :)

Happy reading!
/NP

My first free KDP promo is this Sunday and Monday.
Defying Fate, A humorous epic adventure novel featuring a naive prince, a pessimistic ranger, a kindhearted bodyguard, a beautiful messenger, and a couple of ancient androids will be available free from Amazon on Sunday and Monday, 1 and 2 July 2012 only. The story follows the adventures of young Prince Donald of Westgrove as he tries to untangle the truth behind the Warden of Mystic Defiance in an effort to stop his country from going to war.
Get your free copy here for these two days only (normal retail price $4.99): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005E1JBBO
(Defying Fate is a Kindle exclusive, which includes both Warden novels, The Warden Threat and The Warden War.)

Now is a difficult time to do KDP free promos...the summer is a slow time for downloads, at least for me. In the winter my KDP promos triple in downloads...Gonna try again thou soon, trying a different approach. We will see.

Agreed Zach, a lot of it really is timing. Fall and winter seem to produce the best numbers according to people I've talked to. When you look outside and the days are longer and sunnier, you're less inclined to want to read a book.

In reply to several people above who didn't see many sales from doing a freebie promo on KDP Select, I have to say I've done it three times so far, and each time has caused a surge in sales. When my first book is free I seem to see sales of my second book more than double for a few days after the offer. So far that takes a few weeks to drop back to normal.

My hope is that once my 3rd book is out (hopefully by the end of this month!) then an offer on one will increase sales on two books instead of one and I will see even more benefit.

Martin wrote: "Agreed Zach, a lot of it really is timing. Fall and winter seem to produce the best numbers according to people I've talked to. When you look outside and the days are longer and sunnier, you're les..."
I'm not sure about that. I see a LOT of people reading while they are sunbathing. Lots of people take books to read on holiday, on flights etc.

Rosen wrote: "That seems like a rather inflammatory thing to say at this juncture.
"

Not really, no. They have one of the worst reputations out there. Have a look at the Predators & Editors listing (you need to scroll down a bit). By the way, Pred & Ed is the closest thing we have to a Consumer Reports in this business. If you don't check out potential publishers on it, you should. Obviously not everyone is listed, but believe me ... if there is bad stuff of which to be aware, it's here.


http://pred-ed.com/peba.htm

I'm not disputing whether or not it was true.

Though it's not through KDP my book The Macabre Masterpiece: Poems of Horror and Gore is now available for Amazon Kindle.

Gareth wrote: "So I just finished my 5 day free ebook promotion on KDP (Huahuqui). Had 687 downloads and reached a high of number 9 in the kindle books sc-fi adventure - which isnt bad. Put my book back on at 99c..."

What is your book called Gareth? I would like to check it out.

I want you to guys know that my book Star Traveler series - The Burning Star is going on 2 day free promotion on amazon tomorrow (07/13/12). So if you like sci-fi adventure with kick ass heroine, please give it a shot. Thank you up front for all the support.

The Wheel of Justice - hilariously funny dark humor and biting satire combine in this short story set on an American TV game-show of the near future.

Available to download for FREE today only (13th July).

US - http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Justice-s...
UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wheel-Justice...

If you enjoy reading this story any reviews will be greatly appreciated.

The Man Who Reads Obituaries, a short story, is free Friday, Satuday and Sunday at Kindle.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008EM5E98

Morris, Laurence Aiden—48, Dartmouth, has waited more than six months for this day. Still, he’s unsure if he’s ready to make the journey to Heaven…or Hell. It feels as if something is missing, but he can’t fathom what it is. While he bides his time, he reads the obituaries, hoping that by connecting with travelling souls, he’ll find what he seeks.

Hi All, Free today through Sunday, The Seventh Pillar, Book Three in the PROJECT series. On Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/The-Seventh-Pil...
If you like thrillers, you will like this one. Nine 5 star reviews, NOT friends and family...

Alex wrote: "Hi All, Free today through Sunday, The Seventh Pillar, Book Three in the PROJECT series. On Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/The-Seventh-Pil...
If you like thrillers, y..."

Great post Alex. This actually sounds pretty amazing. Thank you for a tip :)

FREE July 13-14 THE LURE OF LOVE The compelling story of three women struggling to keep a fishing lodge financially afloat, and three distinctly different men who check in on the same day. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FEVKZ2

BTW here is the link to my book if anyone likes sci-fi adventure and would like to check the free promo Star Traveler series

Mona wrote: "FREE July 13-14 THE LURE OF LOVE The compelling story of three women struggling to keep a fishing lodge financially afloat, and three distinctly different men who check in on the same day. http:/..."

The book title is fun and the story sounds fresh

Mona wrote: "FREE July 13-14 THE LURE OF LOVE The compelling story of three women struggling to keep a fishing lodge financially afloat, and three distinctly different men who check in on the same day. http:/..."

I love fishing, so hopped over and picked up a copy. Thanks.

Here is my KDP free promotion for this weekend -

My short story book - A difficult decision.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00722ZOGY

Free on Kindle this weekend July 14-15 "The Black Horseman". It is Book One of The Temple Island Series, an alternate universe adventure. Here's the link.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Horseman-...

Book four, "The Best of all Possible Worlds", and the final installment of the series, is due to be published in the beginning of August. Hope you enjoy it!

Michelle wrote: "I thought so. I don't think I can qualify for this since my book is in 25,000 locations. It sounds good though!"

So most of the people who have done the Kindle free promos are having decent amounts of freebies given away. Most of these are bargain hunters but let's say someone gives away 800 freebies and it translates into 100 sales (and I would think 12-15% is generous). I would also submit that if you have only one title, giving it away and having 800-1000 takers in hopes of getting a significant amount of reviews is not as valuable as having multiple titles and giving one away.

How does that compare with having your book in 25,000 outlets and no freebie promotions? And, as I'm curious, is the title priced the same in all 25K?

I recently gave away 1100 e-books on KDP and only had 3 sales and no reviews! I'm done with that.

Robert wrote: "I recently gave away 1100 e-books on KDP and only had 3 sales and no reviews! I'm done with that."

Put the royalties you didn't get from the promotion on your tax return as an advertising expense.

How recently? On my first go, I expected instant response and booming sales. Didn't happen but my sales have increased steadily and stayed constant. Hardly world beater but its enough I now notice the difference in my bank balance.

Ken wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I thought so. I don't think I can qualify for this since my book is in 25,000 locations. It sounds good though!"

So most of the people who have done the Kindle free promos are hav..."

My feeling is that estimate of 12-15% is WAAAAY high. I've talked to folks selling reasonably well, and it would take a very long time at free to get anything close to that.
Going by short-term experience, it may be that it takes a critical mass of people actually having read the thing before spinoff sales occur, and with so many free books out there, that will take months and months.

My experience in the last six weeks, with the first book free and the second 3.99, has been about 5% buy the second fairly quickly.

Of course, lots of people have lengthy to-read lists, so maybe that's just a starting number and after more time it will creep up.

I'd also note that people who are getting dozens and dozens of reviews but are indies without a budget are generally cheating. There are numerous ways in which people attempt to "Game" Amazon's algorithm.

Rosen wrote: "Rowena wrote: "Did you Google AuthorHouse? I was under the impression that everyone knew that this is a vanity publisher (not self...) with an exceptionally bad reputation..."

That seems like a ra..."
Why? I googled it. It's true. They're targeted by thousands of complaints and rate quite poorly.

There's a certain degree of bravery required in the basic civility of the truth, sometimes.

Tower wrote: "Hi NP:

I am one book away from reading and reviewing yours.

That will take me a few weeks, but am looking forward to the read.

Tower


Great, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the book!

I received a really nice review by Sarah Ward this week. I love hearing what other people have to say about the book, always gives me new ideas and that 'aha, I hadn't thought of that!'

At the end of summer, I'll be discontinuing the free kindle Tuesdays. There are only six left. This Tuesday 7/24 you can download Double Shock and Portrait on Wicker, free. All reviews are welcome.

Robert wrote: "I recently gave away 1100 e-books on KDP and only had 3 sales and no reviews! I'm done with that."

Robert, don't be too quick to discount the KDP Select giveaway. There are several factors that play into it's success. One is timing. I agree with doing 2-3 days at a time. The downloads tend to fall off after the first couple of days. And I was told to do it over a weekend.

The best use of this program, I think, is if you have several titles out there, and you use one of them as your 'lost leader' to give away and get readers hooked.

Also you need to promote your free days like crazy everywhere you can. There's a list on the Galley Cat site of places to promote your giveaway.

I put out book 3 in my mystery series in June and did a giveaway of Book 1 as part of the launch promotion. A huge number were downloaded and sales took off on all three books in the series, and are still chugging along nicely 6 weeks later.

But I spent an entire week at my computer doing nothing but promoting the new book and the giveaway. (As in still in my bathrobe at dinner time!)

Also, you might consider asking more for your book. People value things according to what they pay for them, to a certain extent. There's a "What he only wants $.99 for his book? He must not think it's very good," mindset in some people.

BTW my highest seller now is Book 1, the one I gave away to thousands of people. The giveaway gets your book associated with others that are free the same day in the "people who bought this, also bought this" box. Which leads to more sales over time.

Reviews are tougher to get. I only got a few from the giveaway, so far.

Best of luck to you,
Kassandra Lamb
author of the Kate Huntington mystery series

Kassandra wrote: "There's a list on the Galley Cat site of places to promote your giveaway."

I looked but could not see. Linky to list?
thanks in advance.

Here are two links. I've used the first list successfully. Haven't checked out the second one yet.

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/...

http://www.epublishabook.com/2012/06/...