Freakin' Free Frenzy

Photo by Tomboy

Why in the world would a writer want to give away multiple copies of his or her book? There are probably as many reasons as there are authors, but here are a few based on my experiences and discussions. All of them make sense:

• A new release is coming up, so an older title is offered for free to create buzz;
• A new author (a la moi) who wants to give readers a reason to take a chance;
• Lagging sales. Sometimes a little goose will redirect attention to a good author;
• A strong desire to see their book(s) in as many hands as possible;
• A landmark celebration (ie: 1 million books or ten years or The Sinking of The Titanic);
• A poorly written and unedited book that wouldn't make it out in the world any other way.

Red Tide was officially published on March 28th. Between then and now, with a total four Free Days, I've been excited to see about 10,000 copies land in the hands of people who don't know me. My after-the-fact sales have encouraged me and I'm grateful for all of the people who took a chance then found they could support a fledgling author.

There is a lot of conflict among authors surrounding free ebooks. While everyone wants to find readers and give them a good read, there's the question of devaluing a creative work. One figure that's bandied around is that we actually work for about thirty-five cents an hour. I'm in the fortunate position of not really needing to care. I'm not independently wealthy, I simply have other resources. I have the luxury of focusing on doing what I love rather than fearing starvation.

A friend of mine who is a best-selling author recently had to seriously consider finding another job in order to pay the bills. Fortunately sales picked up and we're all better off because she can write another great book.

A huge concern that's bandied about in "Author Land" is that with all of the gazillions of free books, where do ours end up in the queue? When might we find some affirmation? It's tricky, if not downright impossible, to stand out in the crowd. And at about thirty-five cents an hour, it's not the money that drives us—at least not most of us. It's the verbal currency that counts.

In addition to the gazillions of books and the queue, the last reason I listed above, the one about poorly written books, becomes a concern. At least it was until I struck on an idea that sort of solves both worries with one concept.

Here's my working theory: free downloads are like sample downloads. Readers will be able to tell in a few minutes (if not seconds) whether or not they want to invest more time. Because they don't have a greater commitment, it's much easier to acknowledge a DNF (Did Not Finish) and move on. Almost all of those people who have my book would not have it had it not been for free. They would probably have not even bothered with the free sample. I'm trusting that many of the people who downloaded Red Tide and multiple other books will work their way through the poorly written and unedited ones and find their way to a pleasant surprise.

Will there be more free days for Red Tide? I don't have any planned at the moment. I'm hoping that with almost 10,000 copies working their way through the e-readers right now that I'll find a few people who will help spread the word.

Note: I'm hard at work in the initial stages of the editing process for my next book, and that first reason is looking pretty good to me right now.

What do you think about free ebooks? Good or bad or indifferent?



It's all better with friends.

E-Book Reading

This quote was posted on the Sisters-in-Crime loop recently and I loved it:


"Technology is not a barrier to depth, to engagement, to the cultural discussion, and that perhaps we want the same thing from our reading as we always have, regardless of the form it takes.... The issue is not what we read on, just as the issue is not what we read. The issue is that we read, that we continue to interact with long-form writing; by altering the conditions of the conversation, e-books and e-readers have already served an essential purpose.... This, I think, is what e-books have to offer: the promise of immersion, enhanced or otherwise, just as their analog counterparts have always done."
--David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times book critic, in an essay that will appear in Sunday's print edition of the paper


If you're debating whether or not to get an e-reader, maybe you should wait. It doesn't matter . . . as long as you read.

Some amazing new books, as well as a large number of out of print books, are only available electronically. A Kindle is my best entry into their pages. The application is available free for dozens of venues, but I vastly prefer reading on my Kindle to reading on my computer.

For me? I love my Kindle 3. I gifted my Kindle 2 to my husband, who has yet to finish off his pile of DTBs (Dead Tree Books) to familiarize himself with the wonders and benefits of electronic immersion into words. I'm not worried. He will. And I will continue to read DTBs. Because I love them as well.

It's the words that are important. Yesterday, today and tomorrow. It's the stories. The worlds. The magic.




CR: Skin Deep by Timothy Hallinan on my Kindle

It's all better with friends.

King of Kindle by Parnell Hall

Many of you have probably seen this already. If you have, here's another chance to smile.

As tongue-in-cheek as it is, it underscores a Brave New World that we are experiencing in publishing. There is uncertainty and upheaval everywhere we look.

The good news? The great news? It's not a demise, it's a dawning. And I think there will be room for a lot of wonderful things.











CR: Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner.

It's all better with friends.

Beyond Kindle

I love my Kindle. I use it as a supplement to traditionally printed books. As much as I love it, I also recognize it isn't perfect.

Here are things I would like the next generation of e-readers to have:

1. I can make notes and clip and save phrases on the Kindle, but it's not easy enough. Make it simple. I'm thinking maybe a stylus (do they still call those little pen/wands a stylus?) and touch-screen.

2. Let me loan my books to other e-readers, including Kindle. I'm thinking for up to 30 days, then they're magically transported back to me. It's next to impossible for me to follow up on loaned books and get them returned. And when people look at me with blank expressions? I'm totally not into twisting arms and threatening broken legs. My first Harry Potter is gone forever, as well as the first Left Behind. I admit it. I'm a wuss.

3. Color. Okay, not so necessary when everything I read is a novel, but I still like to look at covers, don't you?

4. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to correspond directly with the author of the book you're reading? "You are a fabulous author and I particularly loved . . . " Or even, "What were you thinking? Was that you or your editor?"

5. While you're at it . . . Wouldn't it be cool to see that episode of Lie to Me you missed on your Kindle?

6. This is something that could happen right now. Currently on Amazon, the cost for Kindle editions does not apply toward free shipping for traditionally published books. Some books I want on Kindle, some I want with spines. Picky, I know. But still.

Here's a link to a cool tablet coming out next year via Wonderfactory and Time Inc.

What are some of your dream elements of the next generation of e-reader? Are you as excited as I am about the rumors of the upcoming Apple iTablet?

CR: Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger.

It's all better with friends.