Let's talk about something nobody likes to touch on: money. Specifically, earning money from publishing your writing. As my first novel gets closer to release, I've had many opportunities to consider to myself what price point I will set when it's time to click the magic button and publish to the world. There have been many studies by various individuals and groups, and many people will advise that books priced at $4.99 sell far better than those priced higher or lower. There are many legitimate factors for this reason, and I'm not here to argue against any of them. Instead, I'm going to put forward a sales strategy that I have grappled with myself: do I give my book away for free?
Yes, everyone wants to be rewarded for their hard work, and they should be. Writing a manuscript, editing, designing a cover, editing some more--all these things take time and effort. Ultimately, however, you need people to be exposed to your book, or you're not going to move any copy. This is particularly true when facing the reality of ebook publishing. Accessibility means you can post your masterpiece. It also means that there are fifty people before you posting what they feel is their masterpiece. It's easy to get lost in the noise. And if they're all $4.99, and all have similar characteristics, who's to say which one will rise to the top? The fact of the matter is that when you are starting out, you have no base, no audience. It's your job to construct one, and it gets done one reader at a time, which means that, ultimately, what you are after is exposure, not profit. You want sales numbers to drive your visibility, and you want reviews to come in quickly, especially since online purchases are rely so heavily on them in this day and age.
But wait, you say, when can I make my millions from my masterpiece? Let me put this forward to you instead: how much money is your book making you right now, and would you still be writing regardless of profit? Some people will only write if they know they will make money, and that's fine, but I think that for many people, their self expression will lead to their continued involvement in writing. And these same people (being you and I and so many others) have made exactly zero dollars off of our work. So what do you have to lose in giving your work away? You're going to write again, you're going to have another book out, and by that point you will (hopefully) have a readership awaiting your new work, shaking their money at their monitor or smartphone, hoping to speed up the release. Sacrifice upfront will reap gains further on. Even better, many ebook publishers and distributors now offer the ability to make coupon codes, and this gives you even more flexibility in building your readership. Why, who's to say your first book shouldn't be priced at $4.99, but for everyone who reads your website or follows you on Twitter, you provide for them a coupon code that gets them the book for free? And it is this last strategy that I find most compelling in both flexibility and buzz. For that reason, I'm going to go ahead and say at this point, keep reading my blog, follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, and you will be offered a coupon code to get my debut novel, "Jupiter Symphony," for $0.00.
A.C. Harrison
Support indie authors! Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Pssst... are you here because you've been following this blog and want to know about the promise I kept to give away my book for free? Head to Smashwords and use coupon code NC74E, good through the 28th of September. Do me a favor, though? Leave a review when you're done; that would be great!
Yes, everyone wants to be rewarded for their hard work, and they should be. Writing a manuscript, editing, designing a cover, editing some more--all these things take time and effort. Ultimately, however, you need people to be exposed to your book, or you're not going to move any copy. This is particularly true when facing the reality of ebook publishing. Accessibility means you can post your masterpiece. It also means that there are fifty people before you posting what they feel is their masterpiece. It's easy to get lost in the noise. And if they're all $4.99, and all have similar characteristics, who's to say which one will rise to the top? The fact of the matter is that when you are starting out, you have no base, no audience. It's your job to construct one, and it gets done one reader at a time, which means that, ultimately, what you are after is exposure, not profit. You want sales numbers to drive your visibility, and you want reviews to come in quickly, especially since online purchases are rely so heavily on them in this day and age.
But wait, you say, when can I make my millions from my masterpiece? Let me put this forward to you instead: how much money is your book making you right now, and would you still be writing regardless of profit? Some people will only write if they know they will make money, and that's fine, but I think that for many people, their self expression will lead to their continued involvement in writing. And these same people (being you and I and so many others) have made exactly zero dollars off of our work. So what do you have to lose in giving your work away? You're going to write again, you're going to have another book out, and by that point you will (hopefully) have a readership awaiting your new work, shaking their money at their monitor or smartphone, hoping to speed up the release. Sacrifice upfront will reap gains further on. Even better, many ebook publishers and distributors now offer the ability to make coupon codes, and this gives you even more flexibility in building your readership. Why, who's to say your first book shouldn't be priced at $4.99, but for everyone who reads your website or follows you on Twitter, you provide for them a coupon code that gets them the book for free? And it is this last strategy that I find most compelling in both flexibility and buzz. For that reason, I'm going to go ahead and say at this point, keep reading my blog, follow me on Twitter, like me on Facebook, and you will be offered a coupon code to get my debut novel, "Jupiter Symphony," for $0.00.
A.C. Harrison
Support indie authors! Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Pssst... are you here because you've been following this blog and want to know about the promise I kept to give away my book for free? Head to Smashwords and use coupon code NC74E, good through the 28th of September. Do me a favor, though? Leave a review when you're done; that would be great!
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