Who out there downloads free books? *raises hand* Yep, I do, too. How many of those free books do I read? Honestly, hardly any. A few times I've read free books that I really enjoyed but most of my downloads just sit untouched on my Kindle. Most books I read are usually bought or given to me for review.
I'll admit, I've offered my book, Souls Discovered, for free. I've done a couple of giveaways, offering my book for free for a few days each time. What did it get me? Hundreds of downloads, a brief rise in rankings, and ONE review.
Why is this important? First off, I hardly read any of the free books I download and I can guess that a great deal of those people who downloaded Souls Discovered probably haven't read it, either. That's the problem. Anyone can download ten, twenty, thirty free books a day but a person who actually buys a book is more likely to actually read it, and I need READERS. I would much rather have good readers than thousands of downloads for a free book that likely won't amount to anything
Now, my second point. I worked hard on my book! Writing Souls Discovered took late nights and early mornings. At times it was mentally and emotionally exhausting. Hours, days, and months of writing and re-writing, editing, and fine-tuning. Plus, the cost! My Book cover and editing services weren't exactly cheap. Why should all of my hard work, effort, and money count for nothing? My book and my time are worth more than free.
If you would like to hear more about Souls Discovered be sure to stop by the Our Books Are Not Free event. I'll be on at 2pm eastern US time this Sunday. Stop by and say hi and check out the amazing line-up of authors and find some great new books.
Keep reading and writing!
Thanks for sharing! I don't think I've seen a review from any of the books I have given away for free in contests, but I am surprised that you had one review after all of of your free downloads! I always like to hear from other authors. Thank you for sharing. :)
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