# What the h***??



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Guys, in the span of like, half an hour I just sold 12 copies of Weight of Blood...this not...

*found it*

My book is free? Amazon has put the list price of Weight of Blood at $0.00!!! What the heck is going on?


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Whoa.  Never seen them do that before!  Do you still get paid based on the original 99 cents?  If so, this is great news, no?


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Daniel Arenson said:


> Whoa. Never seen them do that before! Do you still get paid based on the original 99 cents? If so, this is great news, no?


I don't have a freaking clue.


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## MosesSiregarIII (Jul 15, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Guys, in the span of like, half an hour I just sold 12 copies of Weight of Blood...this not...
> 
> *found it*
> 
> My book is free? Amazon has put the list price of Weight of Blood at $0.00!!! What the heck is going on?


Ruh roh. They matched the free price on Smashwords? Key question is ... are you still getting paid? Since you were at 35% royalty, I would think so


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

MosesSiregarIII said:


> Ruh roh. They matched the free price on Smashwords? Key question is ... are you still getting paid? Since you were at 35% royalty, I would think so


I've never heard of this happening before. I really don't have a clue. Not only that...my ranking is gone. I think they're switching me over to the free book list instead of the regular. Seriously, guys, I'm totally baffled here.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

MosesSiregarIII said:


> Ruh roh. They matched the free price on Smashwords? Key question is ... are you still getting paid? Since you were at 35% royalty, I would think so


I can't imagine Amazon would pay for sales that they themselves are not getting paid for.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> I've never heard of this happening before. I really don't have a clue. Not only that...my ranking is gone. I think they're switching me over to the free book list instead of the regular. Seriously, guys, I'm totally baffled here.


Didn't you say that Weight is free on Apple's store?


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

David McAfee said:


> Didn't you say that Weight is free on Apple's store?


It is. Thing is, to get your book listed free on Amazon, you generally have to get some agreements made and have an actual publisher. A DTP indie getting their book listed free? I've never heard of it happening before. Never. However, last I knew Weight was #2 in the free list for Sci-Fi and Fantasy, so perhaps someone noticed and is using me as a guinea pig?


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## daringnovelist (Apr 3, 2010)

IS it offered for free on Smashwords?  If so, I think you're lucky they didn't suspend it. (You're not allowed to offer a list price lower than what you offer at Amazon.)  I assume this is not the issue because they still have your LIST price at .99.

But if they put it on sale for 0.00 themselves - whether in competition or not - you may get paid since it's not in the 70 percent option - which goes by discount not by list.  However, as I understand it, when you are in the 35 percent club, they pay you.  I don't know if Free is treated differently.

BTW, I hear that when you come back to the "paid" rankings, the sales that you got while under free still help your ranking.

Camille


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Up to 27 'sales' in the past half hour...I'm shaking here.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

Weight is free on SW. Doesn't show a discount or a list price, it just says "free."


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

Well, I hope all those "buyers" will then pay real money for the other two.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Up to 33...still shaking...and I have no clue what repercussions this will have. I may be thrust to the bottom of a 200 book TBR pile for most. I might get a deluge of 1 and 2 star reviews. I might have my other books skyrocket in sales. Seriously, I don't know. I'm still shaking.


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2010)

What the heck is going on? It may not be such a bad thing. I hope you still get your royalties! Did you send them an email yet?


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## MosesSiregarIII (Jul 15, 2010)

David McAfee said:


> I can't imagine Amazon would pay for sales that they themselves are not getting paid for.


I wouldn't put it past them. Amazon used to lose money hand over fist on ebooks by paying publishers based on their list prices when they were selling ebooks for $9.99. Matching low prices and using loss leaders is the Amazon way. They might have also looked at him and decided they'd sell more of his other ebooks if they make this one free. Paying out $0.35 a pop isn't a lot anyway, especially if they plan to make more off of his other books.

Btw, I would actually LOVE to have my novella be free on Amazon, even if I didn't get paid for the downloads. At this point, I'm mainly hoping to interest people in the novel.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

MosesSiregarIII said:


> I wouldn't put it past them. Amazon used to lose money hand over fist on ebooks by paying publishers based on their list prices when they were selling ebooks for $9.99. Matching low prices and using loss leaders is the Amazon way. They might have also looked at him and decided they'd sell more of his other ebooks if they make this one free. Paying out $0.35 a pop isn't a lot anyway, especially if they plan to make more off of his other books.
> 
> Btw, I would actually LOVE to have my novella be free on Amazon. At this point, I'm mainly hoping to interest people in the novel.


if that's the case - Amazon, PLEASE make my novels free.


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## mvdarend (Aug 15, 2010)

Just ran into this post on MobileRead:
Over 50 Smashwords Free Books Hit Kindle Store?


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2010)

Seems like not a day goes by without something astounding happening around here!


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## daringnovelist (Apr 3, 2010)

Okay, now I am confused: Amazon is letting people get away with offering books for free on Smashwords?  They aren't suspending the books for having a lower list price than Amazon?

If I could do that, I would have put free on my short story collection a long time ago.

Camille


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

mvdarend said:


> Just ran into this post on MobileRead:
> Over 50 Smashwords Free Books Hit Kindle Store?


I'm seeing several Smashwords authors up there on that list. Dead(ish), The Gateway, First Light Chronicles...I feel the iBookstore is involved in this, because I recognize all of them as being high up on the free sections.

So far, no affect on my other sales, which isn't entirely surprising. 1 - 1- 2 - 2- 49. I'll let you guess which one is the 49...


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

daringnovelist said:


> Okay, now I am confused: Amazon is letting people get away with offering books for free on Smashwords? They aren't suspending the books for having a lower list price than Amazon?


My first book has been free on Smashwords for months and months now. It's also been free on the iBookstore and B&N. Long as you aren't going for the 70% mark, Amazon hasn't been very draconian about reinforcing that policy. Now they're making them free...who knows what shift might be going on in Amazon's mindset.


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## tbrookside (Nov 4, 2009)

Camille, 

I think the free book thing flies because you aren't "offering it for sale" at that point.

If they made a rule that to sell on Amazon you couldn't offer free books, that would have bad implications for sending out review copies, promotional copies, etc.  So I think they leave "free" out there as a loophole.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Well, the prior week royalties thing updates in two days, so that's when I'll be able to see if I am actually making money off these downloads. Up to 54. This is bad. I could watch this all freaking day. I need to get out of the house, get my mind onto something else...


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

All I know is this: if they pay you, I'm switching all my books to free on Smashwords.


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## tbrookside (Nov 4, 2009)

It would be awesome if you moved 1000 or so and then 10-20% of those people bought the rest of your books!


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

tbrookside said:


> It would be awesome if you moved 1000 or so and then 10-20% of those people bought the rest of your books!


*sticks fingers in his ears*

Llalala, not listening, not getting hopes up, lalalalalal.


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## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

Man . . . I am _SOOooo_ staying away from Smashwords. What a debacle.


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## tbrookside (Nov 4, 2009)

Half-Orc said:


> *sticks fingers in his ears*
> 
> Llalala, not listening, not getting hopes up, lalalalalal.


HA! I was doing that to wreck your plan of trying to go outside.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

R. Doug said:


> Man . . . I am _SOOooo_ staying away from Smashwords. What a debacle.


Debacle? Are you kidding? I'd have given away my first book months ago if Amazon would let me. This is a freaking dream. I'm already seeing a trickle of increase in sales of my other books, and this just friggin' started.


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Well, the prior week royalties thing updates in two days, so that's when I'll be able to see if I am actually making money off these downloads. Up to 54. This is bad. I could watch this all freaking day. I need to get out of the house, get my mind onto something else...


You know, I always wondered in the Smashwords distribution list why it said they would import to Amazon as well. I thought maybe the book would appear twice and Smashwords would be taking a cut on half the sales. I guess they just impose themselves on the dtp book instead.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

They still haven't gotten Amazon shipping set up yet (and it's specifically for people who don't want to use the DTP for whatever reason). My gut still says iBookstore is the cause for this.

Sitting at 66 now, and that's without any of the various websites posting the new listings, and still early in the morning. Unbelievable.


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Hmm, interesting situation.


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## daringnovelist (Apr 3, 2010)

tbrookside said:


> Camille,
> 
> I think the free book thing flies because you aren't "offering it for sale" at that point.
> 
> If they made a rule that to sell on Amazon you couldn't offer free books, that would have bad implications for sending out review copies, promotional copies, etc. So I think they leave "free" out there as a loophole.


They have never cared about giving away copies or coupons or discounts - it's the advertised "list" price that has got people in trouble.

But if they're allowing it for others, I'm headed over to Smashwords right now....

Camille


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

Okay, I just read the legal crap:

If you set your book for sale at $.99 at both Amazon & Smashwords, Amazon can charge whatever they want & you will recieve 35% of the 99% list price.

If you were under the 70% program, it's different in that you would receive 70% of the SALE price.

However, the rules state that your list price cannot be higher than "the lowest price at which you list or offer  any digital or physical edition of the Digital Book on any website or other sales channel."

The problem with this is that, from the wording, it _appears_ that Amazon has the right to put your book up for free, offering you no royalties, if someone else, such as Smashwords, is offering it for free.

I say that because here is another quote from Amazon:

"If your List Price for a Digital Book is higher than permitted under the Pricing Page, we will be entitled to deem it modified so that it is equal to the maximum List Price permitted when calculating Royalties due to you under this Agreement. "

They also state that you are responsible for maintaining your List Price to meet all requirements.

**************************
I am not affiliated with Amazon. I don't have any inside track. The above is just apossible scenario based on Amazon's rules.

My suggestion is that you contact amazon immediately to find out what is going on.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

I think it's *awesome* for indies to be able to offer free books on Amazon.  What great exposure!  I notice it doesn't give your rank in the "free" store, though.  Hopefully they'll add that.  If you can get in the top 10 or even 20 free downloads you'll skyrocket.

Vicki


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## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

I wish they'd drop my Broken Wings down to "free" 

Sandy


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Victorine said:


> I think it's *awesome* for indies to be able to offer free books on Amazon. What great exposure! I notice it doesn't give your rank in the "free" store, though. Hopefully they'll add that. If you can get in the top 10 or even 20 free downloads you'll skyrocket.
> 
> Vicki


The thing is, while this is great in the short term, in the long, general term it's bad because the author doesn't quite have control over it (only indirectly, by setting prices on other sites and whatnot).

And it also opens loopholes so that, if Amazon finds out that I (theoretically speaking) offer a coupon code for a free download, or have a (theoretical) free download on my site, then bingo, they can invoke the clause and my book drops to $0.


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## farrellclaire (Mar 5, 2010)

I hope you get into the top freebies list.  Lucky you have a series going on, lots of potential buyers.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

rcanepa said:


> The thing is, while this is great in the short term, in the long, general term it's bad because the author doesn't quite have control over it (only indirectly, by setting prices on other sites and whatnot).
> 
> And it also opens loopholes so that, if Amazon finds out that I (theoretically speaking) offer a coupon code for a free download, or have a (theoretical) free download on my site, then bingo, they can invoke the clause and my book drops to $0.


I do totally agree with you on this. I think it should be a controlled thing. Maybe they're thinking of making it an option for us indies. DB Henson *did* ask us what we wanted, and I said "To offer books for free." And she took that back to Amazon. Maybe they listened to me! Squeeeeee!

Vicki


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## kcmay (Jul 14, 2010)

They do it to get readers hooked on an author, especially the first book in a series. I got Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice free, as well as several other good books.

It might generate more sales for you. I know I took advantage!


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

rcanepa said:


> The thing is, while this is great in the short term, in the long, general term it's bad because the author doesn't quite have control over it (only indirectly, by setting prices on other sites and whatnot).
> 
> And it also opens loopholes so that, if Amazon finds out that I (theoretically speaking) offer a coupon code for a free download, or have a (theoretical) free download on my site, then bingo, they can invoke the clause and my book drops to $0.


While offering your book free on your website could fall within the parameters of the clause, I don't think that giving away a coupon or free copies to individuals would fall under that. That's "promotional activity"...completely different.

The clause is in place because Amazon wants customers to come to THEIR website, not another online bookseller's site, to purchase not just your book, but also other books or anything else the customer may want to buy on that visit. Because of that, they probably wouldn't even care if you gave your book away on your website as you are not selling other things/books on your site ( I assume).


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

RedAdept said:


> While offering your book free on your website could fall within the parameters of the clause, I don't think that giving away a coupon or free copies to individuals would fall under that. That's "promotional activity"...completely different.
> 
> The clause is in place because Amazon wants customers to come to THEIR website, not another online bookseller's site, to purchase not just your book, but also other books or anything else the customer may want to buy on that visit. Because of that, they probably wouldn't even care if you gave your book away on your website as you are not selling other things/books on your site ( I assume).


I agree 

Yet that "assume" and the existence of the "offer" clause still bugs me. An "it could happen" thing, I suppose.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Woot!  You're #293 Free in Kindle Store!!

And your book is showing up as a suggestion on other free books.  

Great!

Vicki


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

I don't think this was random or accidental. From that list, I recognize many from the iBookstore. Methinks this is just Amazon countering the popular free books elsewhere by making them free. And seriously, I don't expect to paid for these free downloads (that'd be absurd). At 99 cents, I wasn't exactly making super-money from Weight, maybe $100 or so a month. I'd honestly hope the exposure would off-set that amount.

But if they're using the iBookstore for their basis, that means there won't be some massive deluge of free books. I have a strong feeling this is either an experiment, or a direct counter of the iBookstore. Either way, I'm freaking psyched.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

rcanepa said:


> I agree
> 
> Yet that "assume" and the existence of the "offer" clause still bugs me. An "it could happen" thing, I suppose.


Quite honestly, I think he's going to get the 35% royalty on these sales.

Sure, Amazon has the clause in there. However, since authors have no control over what "sale price" another site wants to use, I don't think Amazon will enforce this clause. It would open them up to way too many lawsuits, or even a class action suit.

Besides, the clause was not put in there to 'cheat' authors. It was put in there to protect Amazon. I would think that as long as an author acts in good faith, such as having the same list price everywhere, Amazon would pay the royalties.


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## MosesSiregarIII (Jul 15, 2010)

RedAdept said:


> However, the rules state that your list price cannot be higher than "the lowest price at which you list or offer  any digital or physical edition of the Digital Book on any website or other sales channel."
> 
> The problem with this is that, from the wording, it _appears_ that Amazon has the right to put your book up for free, offering you no royalties, if someone else, such as Smashwords, is offering it for free.


That's probably what's happening then. And seeing so many other indie ebooks suddenly free on Amazon probably means that they aren't going to be paying royalties on these ebooks.

I'm all for it with mine, though. I wonder if I should try to figure out how to upload a copy to the iBookstore to sell for free there. Don't I need a Mac for that? Anyone know a good way to fast-track myself to get a copy ready for Apple and uploaded asap? Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Just saw Red Adept's last response. I'm going to guess they won't get paid for these sales, but I won't be surprised either way.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

RedAdept said:


> Besides, the clause was not put in there to 'cheat' authors. It was put in there to protect Amazon. I would think that as long as an author acts in good faith, such as having the same list price everywhere, Amazon would pay the royalties.


Except that's not what is going on, Red. I've had my book listed free on Smashwords for months. It was shipped at a list price of 'free' to B&N and Apple. I've been #2-4 on free downloads in the iBookstore for a long while now. Hypothetically Amazon could have said "BAD!" and yanked my book. Instead, they matched the promotion elsewhere. I just can't possibly imagine getting paid for every free download. Again, that'd be absurd. I'd have already made $35.

David Dalglish


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

RedAdept said:


> Okay, I just read the legal crap:
> 
> If you set your book for sale at $.99 at both Amazon & Smashwords, Amazon can charge whatever they want & you will recieve 35% of the 99% list price.
> 
> ...


There is a non-compete clause--if you list it for free elsewhere under ANY of the agreements, I believe they can list for free and not have to pay the author. BUT read the contract. It's in there; interpretation is up to you--and them.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

Half-Orc said:


> I don't think this was random or accidental. From that list, I recognize many from the iBookstore. Methinks this is just Amazon countering the popular free books elsewhere by making them free. And seriously, I don't expect to paid for these free downloads (that'd be absurd). At 99 cents, I wasn't exactly making super-money from Weight, maybe $100 or so a month. I'd honestly hope the exposure would off-set that amount.


For you, this is a plus either way. You have more books to sell. People get the first one free, read it, like it (like I did  ), then buy your next one.

For those Indies who only have one book for sale, it would be a cheat to not pay them royalties. Every free download could have been a paid one. Certainly, no one is going to get a free copy, read it, like it, then go out and purchase another copy just to be nice.

That's why I agree that this is probably some kind of experiment or promotional tactic. Yours is not the first Indie I have seen offered free in the last month. I can't remember the other ones as they are not KB members, but I knew that I had already reviewed them.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

RedAdept said:


> For those Indies who only have one book for sale, it would be a cheat to not pay them royalties. Every free download could have been a paid one. Certainly, no one is going to get a free copy, read it, like it, then go out and purchase another copy just to be nice.


Except for this to happen, you'd have to manually list your book for free. So if you have only one book for sale, and you're giving it away free in every place BUT Amazon, where it is listed at 99 cents...odds are high money is not your priority anyway.


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## Linda S. Prather Author (Jun 25, 2010)

David, this could go either way for you.  Wonderful or well, not so wonderful.  I hope it goes wonderful and you have thousands of downloads and Amazon pays you for all of them, which in turn gets you thousands of new readers who buy all your books.  My son is probably one of your biggest fans--as you know.  He's always raving and ranting about your books.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

RedAdept said:


> Quite honestly, I think he's going to get the 35% royalty on these sales.
> 
> Sure, Amazon has the clause in there. However, since authors have no control over what "sale price" another site wants to use, I don't think Amazon will enforce this clause. It would open them up to way too many lawsuits, or even a class action suit.
> 
> Besides, the clause was not put in there to 'cheat' authors. It was put in there to protect Amazon. I would think that as long as an author acts in good faith, such as having the same list price everywhere, Amazon would pay the royalties.


We get the 35 percent if it is a SALE by another vendor. NOT if the list price is zero. In other words if we set or allow/agree to set the price at zero with another vendor, Amazon gets that same deal. They reset the price and pay zero.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

Half-Orc said:


> Except for this to happen, you'd have to manually list your book for free. So if you have only one book for sale, and you're giving it away free in every place BUT Amazon, where it is listed at 99 cents...odds are high money is not your priority anyway.


Nope. According to the clause, any bookseller, smashwords, B&N, etc, could offer that person's book free and Amazon could call them out on the clause.

That's my whole point.

But, as another poster stated, it's all in the interpretation. Well, and I think the intent counts, also, on both parts.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

I wonder if they are allowing publishers to list books for free, without having to pay for it.

Konrath said in a thread a while back that the publishers have to *pay* big money to offer a book for free through Kindle.  I'll bet they don't now.  Not with indies getting their books for free without having to pay.

If I were a publisher having to pay for it, I would be very upset now.

Vicki


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Victorine said:


> I wonder if they are allowing publishers to list books for free, without having to pay for it.
> 
> Konrath said in a thread a while back that the publishers have to *pay* big money to offer a book for free through Kindle. I'll bet they don't now. Not with indies getting their books for free without having to pay.
> 
> ...


If that pay to play is true, that may be why amazon at first just disallowed downloads of books that were listed free elsewhere. It will likely take a while to sort this all out. And the rules may change as well as the results...


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## Maria Hooley (Jul 21, 2009)

Your book is also listed in the discussion thread promoting the free books.  There are a bunch of them listed there.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

I told you that you're gonna be rich some day, Orc.


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## M.S. Verish (Feb 26, 2010)

We picked up your novel, David. Hope 'Zon make ours free one day.


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2010)

rcanepa said:


> The thing is, while this is great in the short term, in the long, general term it's bad because the author doesn't quite have control over it (only indirectly, by setting prices on other sites and whatnot).
> 
> And it also opens loopholes so that, if Amazon finds out that I (theoretically speaking) offer a coupon code for a free download, or have a (theoretical) free download on my site, then bingo, they can invoke the clause and my book drops to $0.


No.

A coupon has nothing to do with your RETAIL PRICE or LIST PRICE. I will say this again. The whole point of a coupon in marketing is to preserve the integrity of a retail price! Why do you think companies send out coupons? So they don't have to lower their price points.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Yes, Amazon has a TON of previously not-free books now listed as Free. I just spent quite a while going through and listing them on the Freebies list here on KB.. Yours is not the only one David, Here's hoping it leads to more purchases of your later books. I picked up 38 that I had not already paid for.


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## David Derrico (Nov 18, 2009)

I would be shocked if they pay royalties on free downloads.

It's obvious they just noticed all the books being listed free on Smashwords, Apple, etc. and matched the prices. Since they're not matching the SALE price of another retailer where you had listed for $0.99 (but instead you had listed for free), I don't think they're obligated to pay you anything, and it would be pretty absurd if they did. That would be some kind of "punishment," and every one of us would rush to list our books free on Smashwords and get paid 35 cents each for all those free downloads!

Even without getting paid for them, I'm surprised they did this instead of just pulling the titles. Once they made the decision not to let indies list for free, why allow this back-door loophole? For those of you with series (like our resident Half-Orc), this might be what you wanted all along. And I'd imagine most people giving a book away for free must have other books they're trying to sell.

Funny how when they saw a lower price for me (when B&N still said $0.99 because the switch to $2.99 hadn't yet percolated through Smashwords) they PULLED my book and made it unavailable for a week. This is certainly a much nicer way of going about it…


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Half-Orc said:


> Up to 27 'sales' in the past half hour...I'm shaking here.


I already had the Smashwords version...got the Amazon one, too, 'cause Im too lazy to hook the Kindle up uo a computer. Now I can just download it...plus it's backed up to my Amazon archive...

Betsy


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## cegrundler (Aug 16, 2010)

This is cool to watch!

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #186 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#1 in  Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fantasy > Epic 

Nice!


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

My opinions on this thread were based on the assumption that David did not "list" his book free on Smashwords, but that Smashwords chose to sell it for $.00.

If he listed it that way on SW, that would be deliberate "breaking" of the contract, and I can't imagine Amazon paying royalties.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

David keeps climbing..
#139 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#1 in  Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fantasy > Epic


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Jeff said:


> I told you that you're gonna be rich some day, Orc.


If there's any post so far that I'm hoping is right... 



RedAdept said:


> My opinions on this thread were based on the assumption that David did not "list" his book free on Smashwords, but that Smashwords chose to sell it for $.00.
> 
> If he listed it that way on SW, that would be deliberate "breaking" of the contract, and I can't imagine Amazon paying royalties.


Yeah, I was trying to make that clear earlier. I've done this on purpose. I couldn't be happier, and under no circumstances do I expect to be paid in any way. I do expect my other books to (hopefully) make up all the difference.



BTackitt said:


> Yes, Amazon has a TON of previously not-free books now listed as Free. I just spent quite a while going through and listing them on the Freebies list here on KB.. Yours is not the only one David, Here's hoping it leads to more purchases of your later books. I picked up 38 that I had not already paid for.


I'm curious just how many. I can't imagine that every single Smashwords free book is suddenly free on Amazon. If that was the case, there'd be a massive deluge of free books. I still think it is because of B&N or iBookstore. Of course, we won't really know for sure.

Oh, and check it:










Bwahahahah. This has been one of the best days I've had in ages.

David Dalglish


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

(psst David) I picked it up just so I can review it with a verified purchase thing instead of waiting until I finished book3 in the omnibus.   which I am chipping away at between classes atm.


----------



## Maria Romana (Jun 7, 2010)

RedAdept said:


> My opinions on this thread were based on the assumption that David did not "list" his book free on Smashwords, but that Smashwords chose to sell it for $.00.


Smashwords is the one bookseller that never monkeys with the author's set price.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> (psst David) I picked it up just so I can review it with a verified purchase thing instead of waiting until I finished book3 in the omnibus.  which I am chipping away at between classes atm.


*gasp* You sneaky person you.


----------



## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I already had the Smashwords version...got the Amazon one, too, 'cause Im too lazy to hook the Kindle up uo a computer. Now I can just download it...plus it's backed up to my Amazon archive...
> 
> Betsy


Oh, there's a thought....I had it from SW too, but I have already bought the others from Amazon (even though I haven't read any of them yet; mea culpa, David) so might as well get this one now too. Good thought, Betsy. I've done that with others, but the ol' brain cells hadn't yet made the connection on this one for some unknown reason...


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

*blink* David, darling, you think you had a heart attack? Try waking up, thinking, "I'll see if I have any sales yet this month," and being confronted with 150! I almost woke my hubby!!! (it was 6am, he'd've been unimpressed)

I'm watching this one with interest.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

nomesque said:


> *blink* David, darling, you think you had a heart attack? Try waking up, thinking, "I'll see if I have any sales yet this month," and being confronted with 150! I almost woke my hubby!!! (it was 6am, he'd've been unimpressed)
> 
> I'm watching this one with interest.


Hehheheh. I was waiting for some of the other authors to show up and find their numbers. Hope you're having as much fun as I!


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Hehheheh. I was waiting for some of the other authors to show up and find their numbers. Hope you're having as much fun as I!


*assumes a snooty expression* I'm used to living at the top of the freebies pile, darrrrling!

*lol*

Seriously, seeing 'sales' numbers whir by like that is FREAKY.

Hey, I wonder if maybe this is actually an Amazon price-match whoopsie? *ponder* It'd be funny if this were completely accidental.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Up to 313. This is psychotically addictive.


----------



## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow, that is so exciting! I'm definitely off to grab a copy.


----------



## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

I'm at #128 on the free best seller's list. I'm doing a happy dance right now!!!

I'm going to upload my other free e-book right now! It's gotten even better reviews than this one.

One question, where can I promote that my book is free? I've updated the Book Bazaar thread. Any place else I should be announcing this?


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Amazon forums would be the most obvious one I can think of.


----------



## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Amazon forums would be the most obvious one I can think of.


Ya, but I don't wanta get banned. =-)


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Just mention in this thread perhaps - if it's not already in Karen's list - Free Indie Books thread on Amazon forums


----------



## Valmore Daniels (Jul 12, 2010)

It's a win/win for you, David.  Even if you don't get any $$ directly from the book, it will increase your readership by leaps and bounds.

It couldn't happen to a nicer half-orc


----------



## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

And I was all excited about my sales for today.  Then the half-orc had to go and upstage me.  

J/K

Vicki


----------



## Peter Salisbury (Mar 3, 2010)

David, this is fascinating! The following applies only to my SF limerick book - my reported sales through DTP have gone berserk (now at exactly 101 in less than 10 hours) but from the UK my list price in the US shows up as $1.14 – the price for your newly free book 'Weight of Blood' shows up as $1.08 viewed from the UK. Prices have always shown up differently over here. Your UK store price is £0.69.

At the moment, no sales rank is being shown for SF Limericks in the US – same as you said at the beginning of this thread.

Please can you check out what price my books are showing up for from the US on the .com store? If it's not free, wassappenin?


----------



## Valmore Daniels (Jul 12, 2010)

Peter Salisbury said:


> Please can you check out what price my books are showing up for from the US on the .com store? If it's not free, wassappenin?


$0.00 for me


----------



## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Peter Salisbury said:


> David, this is fascinating! The following applies only to my SF limerick book - my reported sales through DTP have gone berserk (now at exactly 101 in less than 10 hours) but from the UK my list price in the US shows up as $1.14 - the price for your newly free book 'Weight of Blood' shows up as $1.08 viewed from the UK. Prices have always shown up differently over here. Your UK store price is £0.69.
> 
> At the moment, no sales rank is being shown for SF Limericks in the US - same as you said at the beginning of this thread.
> 
> Please can you check out what price my books are showing up for from the US on the .com store? If it's not free, wassappenin?


Yep, it's showing as free! Yay, you!

Vicki


----------



## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

The Weight of Blood is now #100 om the free best seller's list!!!!

How many copies have you sold? I'm at 365. I think I might make the top 100 too!

I did take a risk and post in on the Amazon forums =-)

I'm so excited, but my wife is kind'a upset, What you mean you might not even get paid for these!!!


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

You won't get paid, man, otherwise Amazon would be losing thousands of dollars a day. However, this should be wonderful exposure for you.

I crossed 500 downloads so far. Averaging almost 100 an hour. Sick.


----------



## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> You won't get paid, man, otherwise Amazon would be losing thousands of dollars a day. However, this should be wonderful exposure for you.
> 
> I crossed 500 downloads so far. Averaging almost 100 an hour. Sick.


I think you are right (about getting paid).
I've got a backlog of 5-6 shorts. I've just uploaded another one, It's free on Smashwords and B&N, it will be interesting to see if it goes for free as well!

Glad you helped me work out that formatting!


----------



## Peter Salisbury (Mar 3, 2010)

Thank you Vicky and Valmore – that’s great news and explains why I’m now ‘selling’ a copy every couple of minutes (now up to 127).

I really don’t want to get paid for these. This book I put together specifically to be free in the first place to promote my other books (not that it ever seemed to work – a couple of friends did tell me that maybe people who like limericks don’t necessarily read SF novels!).

It’s just turned midnight over here in the UK but you can imagine how sleepy I feel right now with this going on...


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

#83 in the Kindle Store. Almost crossed 700 'sales.' Just....

Permit me if I may giggle in a very unmanly way.

Hehehhehehheheheheheheheeh.


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Half-Orc said:


> #83 in the Kindle Store. Almost crossed 700 'sales.' Just....
> 
> Permit me if I may giggle in a very unmanly way.
> 
> Hehehhehehheheheheheheheeh.


Permission granted. *Manly Chuckle*


----------



## Peter Salisbury (Mar 3, 2010)

Great news, David! 

Just checked my amazon.com author page - Limericks is showing as $0.99 $0.00 and Passengers to Sentience has been discounted by ten cents, showing $0.99 $0.89! 'Sales' of Limericks now 164. The paperback version of Passengers to Sentience has been discounted for a couple of weeks now, to less than half price, maybe it's all part of the plan?

It will be interesting to see if the Kindle price changes port through to the UK site. In the UK, the paperback is at full price, undiscounted.


----------



## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> #83 in the Kindle Store. Almost crossed 700 'sales.' Just....
> 
> Permit me if I may giggle in a very unmanly way.
> 
> Hehehhehehheheheheheheheeh.


I'm at 513, but I'm 106. You're giggling I'm praying. Just move me up 6 more spots!!! I wanta be able to say, "Kindle top 100 author"--We'll I'll have to work in the 'free" somewhere, but that still sounds good!


----------



## Kristen Painter (Apr 21, 2010)

Just watching these numbers makes my head spin! Congrats, you guys. Can't wait to hear what the outcome of all this is (long run stuff.)


----------



## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I have to say, I've been watching this thread most of the day. At first, I wasn't sure if I should be upset for you or happy for you. Looking at these numbers, I'm thrilled for you! 

It seems to be a very good day for some of our authors!


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Last one over a thousand's a rotten egg!!


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

I'll cross that in about an hour and a half.


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> I'll cross that in about an hour and a half.


Oh, you're lagging!!!

I'll be there in... I'm probably already there.

DONE!!! *cheer*


----------



## R. Doug (Aug 14, 2010)

nomesque said:


> Last one over a thousand's a rotten egg!!


_Phew_. I'm already starting to stink.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Awww...just saw you're #60. Very nice. I"m at 890 now. I'll cross 1k soon.


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

R. Doug said:


> _Phew_. I'm already starting to stink.


Sorry if I'm getting a little hard to bear. I'm used to selling 1-2 ebooks a day. 1000-odd 'sales' in a day has thoroughly gone to my head. WHEEEE!!


----------



## WilliamEsmont (May 3, 2010)

I just followed the link to Weight of Blood and it says "Pricing information not available" and there's no link for purchase..


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

You sure? I just went to it and it's there...and it's still increasing in downloads.

http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Blood-Half-Orcs-ebook/dp/B0036R4JU6/


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Still shows up OK for me too.


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Top 50 cracked!


----------



## WilliamEsmont (May 3, 2010)

Must have been a temporary glitch. I opened another browser tab and the pricing showed up. I went back and refreshed the first tab and it showed up there as well..


----------



## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

nomesque said:


> Top 50 cracked!


That's great! I'm at 79, With some luck I might make it to the top 50.


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

I know you guys might not appreciate the implication, but I keep hearing 'Ride of the Valkyries' when looking at this thread...


----------



## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

*#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fantasy > Epic*

Very nice!


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Yay!


----------



## Peter Salisbury (Mar 3, 2010)

I have to say that my pricing information availability and the sales rank keep dropping in and out but DTP is still recording 'sales'. Three a.m. here - definitely time to quit - and hope not to wake up 'and find it was all a dream'.

Congrats all round to the big hitters out there - no worries about any of you folks being the rotten egg - I'm still only at 222 downloads, so it'll be me


----------



## Lori Brighton (Jul 10, 2010)

Just got my copy! I'll write a review when I've read it, although doesn't really look like you need reviews. lol


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

David? with Weight being free, have you seen any upswing in sales for the other books in the series? I know I will often buy all 2 or 3 books in a series at one time, so wondering if you've made any congruent sales today.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

So far the most notable increase is the sales of book 2, which being only 99 cents, is probably enticing readers to grab while they're swinging by getting the first. But with this just being the first day, I don't think I'll feel the full affects for awhile. For complete and total clarity, here's my current numbers:

Weight 1246
Cost 17
Death 8
Omni 4
Dance 4
Guard 1

The sales for Death, Omni, Dance, and Guard are all pretty standard (even a little low for Dance of Cloaks). It's Cost that has had a noticeable upswing.


----------



## Vyrl (Jun 7, 2010)

I'd say this is an amazingly good thing 

Huge congrats!


----------



## William L.K. (Aug 5, 2010)

David,

For someone who hasn't read any of your work yet, which book would you personally recommend?


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

scififan said:


> David,
> 
> For someone who hasn't read any of your work yet, which book would you personally recommend?


Well...the free one would be the most obvious recommendation .

A Dance of Cloaks, however, is probably my best written book so far, and would probably appeal to a wider audience. You can also swing by my website and read Guardian of the Mountain free; another easy way to see if I'd entertain you or not.


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Well, since David's first 3 are in order, start with Weight. Dance of Cloaks is related, but read it after them. Anyone lucky enough to get Weight for free right now is in for a very good story.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> Well, since David's first 3 are in order, start with Weight. Dance of Cloaks is related, but read it after them. Anyone lucky enough to get Weight for free right now is in for a very good story.


Awww


----------



## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> Well, since David's first 3 are in order, start with Weight. Dance of Cloaks is related, but read it after them. Anyone lucky enough to get Weight for free right now is in for a very good story.


This. I think I had a better appreciation for DoC after having read the first three, as well. But anyone who has grabbed Weight of Blood today - it's a bargain at $2.99 - you'll love it unless you just hate Fantasy. Truly great series!


----------



## William L.K. (Aug 5, 2010)

David,

WOW, I just started reading _The Weight Of Blood_

MOST impressive indeed, you grabbed me in right away. I'm a little tired now so I don't know how far I'll get tonight, but so far, I am VERY interested in reading more. WELL DONE!


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

scififan said:


> David,
> 
> WOW, I just started reading _The Weight Of Blood_
> 
> MOST impressive indeed, you grabbed me in right away. I'm a little tired now so I don't know how far I'll get tonight, but so far, I am VERY interested in reading more. WELL DONE!


*blush*


----------



## PiedTyper (Aug 27, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Debacle? Are you kidding? I'd have given away my first book months ago if Amazon would let me. This is a freaking dream. I'm already seeing a trickle of increase in sales of my other books, and this just friggin' started.


What a deal, David! I've taken advantage of it. Happy to feed the addiction (Response #73) and help your dreams come true. 

I look forward to reading this - just not sure where on the pile of TBRs it will end up.

Wishing you all great success - Typer.


----------



## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

Congratz David  

I also have an Amazon freebie being offered 'A Very Hairy Adventure' which is the first of the short stories of the Kaynos History Tales

Almost cracked 500 'purchases' today plus sold 3 copies of Erich's Plea and Ursula's Quest which for me, first of the month is unbelievable - usually takes at least a week to get those kind of sales  

All in all I think the exposure from all this can only be a good thing and I too am doing a little happy dance


----------



## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Anyone got a cure for insane-jealousy   

That's a whole bunch of very impressive stuff happening around here, so the W.T.H. title really fits - now I'm just going to sit back and watch it roll.

Paul.


----------



## Gordon Ryan (Aug 20, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> *blush*


David, I joined this thread quite late today, but I saw that you had 1) an unmanly giggle; 2) a blush; and 3) perhaps undergone a personality change! I'm worried about you man. Can you ride the wave and still be the lovable Half-Orc I've come to know?

Gordon Ryan


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Eh, I'll come back down to earth in a day or two. But I'll try to keep the unseemly giggling/blushing out of sight.

*joins Jeff in a manly chuckle*


----------



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

7am PST and Dalglish's ranks:
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 
#42 Free in Kindle Store 
#1 in  Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fantasy > Epic


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

My wife was browsing through the free book list this morning (she devours free books like I do m&ms) so I kinda stood there, lurking over her shoulder. She grabbed several KBers (deadish, spinward chronicles) and then kept going, going, further down the list...

"THERE! THERE I AM! LOOK LOOK!!!!"

She smacked me.


----------



## Dawn Judd (Jun 8, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> 7am PST and Dalglish's ranks:
> Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
> #42 Free in Kindle Store
> #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fantasy > Epic


Oh wow! That is awesome!


----------



## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

So, the Amazing, Fantabulous, Never Better, Lower than Ninety Nine Center Absolutely Free Sale goes into a second day? Where will it end?


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

R. Reed said:


> So, the Amazing, Fantabulous, Never Better, Lower than Ninety Nine Center Absolutely Free Sale goes into a second day? Where will it end?


If Amazon loves me? Never.


----------



## CandyTX (Apr 13, 2009)

Half-Orc said:


> My wife was browsing through the free book list this morning (she devours free books like I do m&ms) so I kinda stood there, lurking over her shoulder. She grabbed several KBers (deadish, spinward chronicles) and then kept going, going, further down the list...
> 
> "THERE! THERE I AM! LOOK LOOK!!!!"
> 
> She smacked me.


*laughing* I like your wife's style. I'm sure she's over the moon for you too, but yeah, wants to smack you.

Very exciting. I saw your book and had to come over here and find out what's going on. I grabbed it for my husband (had been on my list to buy) and he said he'd read it. Not my style of book, but definitely is his!


----------



## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

I'm sitting steady at #50 48, with 2000+ downloads.
Since I'm not selling any books on AMZN I'll have to figure out how to put this to my advantage.

Congratulations to everyone else whose book is free as well!


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Up to #41. Just as important, three of my other books have jumped up in ratings. Book 2 is very close to cracking triple digit ranking for the first time ever. I currently have three books ranked on Epic Fantasy: #21, #56, and #74.

Oh yeah. Half-Orc invasion has so begun.


----------



## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Up to #41. Just as important, three of my other books have jumped up in ratings. Book 2 is very close to cracking triple digit ranking for the first time ever. I currently have three books ranked on Epic Fantasy: #21, #56, and #74.
> 
> Oh yeah. Half-Orc invasion has so begun.


Congrats, David! I'm thrilled for you...and a bit envious (lol. I want them to put my .99 book up for free too).

I hope your other books continue to jump in ratings, as well 

Sandy


----------



## 13893 (Apr 29, 2010)

This is fantastic -- and great information for everyone who has a series/multiple books.


----------



## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

LKRigel said:


> This is fantastic -- and great information for everyone who has a series/multiple books.


I'm got a bunch of short stories that I've been sitting on. Some are out on submission (even one to Bards and Sages). I'm thinking of pulling them to do a $2.99 collection of shorts. I'm also looking at what else I have in a compete stage so I might be able to take advantage of this.


----------



## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Sandra Edwards said:


> Congrats, David! I'm thrilled for you...and a bit envious (lol. I want them to put my .99 book up for free too).


I *think* all you need to do is put that book up on Smashwords and mark it free. (Just guessing here...)

Vicki


----------



## tbrookside (Nov 4, 2009)

Victorine said:


> I *think* all you need to do is put that book up on Smashwords and mark it free. (Just guessing here...)
> 
> Vicki


Can it really be that simple?

If so, I don't see how it can last.

Because a whole lot of people are about to change their pricing at Smashwords and pile on to the free list, if that's the case.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

tbrookside said:


> Can it really be that simple?
> 
> If so, I don't see how it can last.
> 
> Because a whole lot of people are about to change their pricing at Smashwords and pile on to the free list, if that's the case.


I was thinking the same thing. It looks like Amazon picked about 35 or so to make free, and that's it. Surely they won't let this be such a simple way to make your book free. Ah well. I'm in on the ground floor, and I'm going to enjoy it long as I can.


----------



## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> I was thinking the same thing. It looks like Amazon picked about 35 or so to make free, and that's it. Surely they won't let this be such a simple way to make your book free. Ah well. I'm in on the ground floor, and I'm going to enjoy it long as I can.


On one of the Amazon threads someone said they found 58 indie books that were made free. Anyway, I'm trying it with my other short, just too see what happens. I'm just waiting for it to be approved.


----------



## JoeMitchell (Jun 6, 2010)

David, how many have you given away now, since this started?  It's been nearly two days now, I think.


----------



## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Guys, in the span of like, half an hour I just sold 12 copies of Weight of Blood...this not...
> 
> *found it*
> 
> My book is free? Amazon has put the list price of Weight of Blood at $0.00!!! What the heck is going on?


Just one clicked it.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

JoeMitchell said:


> David, how many have you given away now, since this started? It's been nearly two days now, I think.


As of right this second, I have 2856 free downloads. Cost of Betrayal has hit triple digit rankings for the first time -ever-. Just unbelievable. I can't imagine what'll happen a few weeks from now, when I start getting people to actually read the first book .

This will be my best month in sales ever. Every previous record is about to get crushed.


----------



## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

I was going to 'brag' about over 700+ downloads and the extra sales but after David's last post I think I'll just be quiet  

This is fun though and seriously fabulous figures for you David


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

traceya said:


> I was going to 'brag' about over 700+ downloads and the extra sales but after David's last post I think I'll just be quiet


Oh hey hey now, you are more than welcome to brag about that! Seven hundred downloads? You should be doing rather well for yourself too, Tracey 

David Dalglish


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

traceya said:


> I was going to 'brag' about over 700+ downloads and the extra sales but after David's last post I think I'll just be quiet
> 
> This is fun though and seriously fabulous figures for you David


Wooohooo!!! Brag away, that's great.


----------



## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> As of right this second, I have 2856 free downloads. Cost of Betrayal has hit triple digit rankings for the first time -ever-. Just unbelievable. I can't imagine what'll happen a few weeks from now, when I start getting people to actually read the first book .
> 
> This will be my best month in sales ever. Every previous record is about to get crushed.


Wow! That's amazing! Congrats 

Sandy


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> As of right this second, I have 2856 free downloads. Cost of Betrayal has hit triple digit rankings for the first time -ever-. Just unbelievable. I can't imagine what'll happen a few weeks from now, when I start getting people to actually read the first book .
> 
> This will be my best month in sales ever. Every previous record is about to get crushed.


Woohoo! Certainly gives some interesting statistics for the 'free books DO help sales' side of the freebies debate, doesn't it?

May I brag too?


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

nomesque said:


> Woohoo! Certainly gives some interesting statistics for the 'free books DO help sales' side of the freebies debate, doesn't it?
> 
> May I brag too?


Course you can. I see you lurking up there even higher rated than I am


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Course you can. I see you lurking up there even higher rated than I am


Thanks! 

I'm over 4000 sales and #13 on the free 'bestsellers' list... *dances* About 5 times the usual sales on Maisy May, too.


----------



## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

nomesque said:


> Thanks!
> 
> I'm over 4000 sales and #13 on the free 'bestsellers' list... *dances* About 5 times the usual sales on Maisy May, too.


Congrats!! That's awesome!

Vicki


----------



## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

I got Maisy May! sounds right up my alley.


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Victorine said:


> Congrats!! That's awesome!


Thanks Vicki! 



StaceyHH said:


> I got Maisy May! sounds right up my alley.


Woohoo! Thanks Stacey!  I hope you enjoy it!


----------



## Jasmine Giacomo Author (Apr 21, 2010)

Weight is now #39th. I grabbed a copy too.


----------



## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Jasmine Giacomo said:


> Weight is now #39th. I grabbed a copy too.


Slowly but surely crawling up there


----------



## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

It's #1 in Epic Fantasy.  Gratchilations.


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## Peter Salisbury (Mar 3, 2010)

Oh, boy, are you guys going to be happy when you click on your 'prior six weeks royalties' buttons!

It looks like we're going to get paid and some of you are going to be heading for the champagne!

My limerick book has reached 460 downloads since it was discounted! No sales have bled over into the novels as yet, however.

Here's me
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #261 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Humor > Jokes & Riddles

Needless to say, I'm a VERY happy, though bemused boy, as I still don't know what's going on. Thank You Amazon! Someone commented on the Amazon forums that this might be a Halloween sale but my books are about as far removed from Halloween as you can get.

Congrats you guys! 'Over the moon' isn't going to cover it when you wake up and check those funds!

And a big thank you to all the readers - when you've had a chuckle at a limerick or two, please check out my SF novels.

Peter


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## rcordiner (Jul 4, 2010)

So has anyone worked out yet the secret of how Amazon put them as free??  Was it Smashwords?


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## Gordon Ryan (Aug 20, 2010)

Two questions for this thread:  Did everyone who had their book selected to be sold for Free have it listed for .99?  And second, did you receive the 70 or 35 percent?  I presume that if the first question is answered yes, then the second answer would be 35 percent.

Gordon Ryan


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## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

I posted my DTP report here: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,38335.0.html

Mine was .99 and we got 35 cents each.


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## rcordiner (Jul 4, 2010)

Was it free on Smashwords?


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Peter Salisbury said:


> Oh, boy, are you guys going to be happy when you click on your prior six weeks royalties buttons!
> 
> It looks like were going to get paid and some of you are going to be heading for the champagne!


*blink*

It does kinda look that way, doesn't it?

Whew... I need a cold shower.


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

rcordiner said:


> So has anyone worked out yet the secret of how Amazon put them as free?? Was it Smashwords?


Not Smashwords per se, as in Smashwords did NOT distribute those copies to Amazon. They're the Amazon versions, and Mark Coker specifically said they haven't started shipping yet when I sent him a heads-up.

I think David's theory's a good one, and so is Imogen's - put them together and you get a Halloween special based possibly on popular freebies at another store. David's freebie has been doing well in the ibookstore, mine's been popular at B&N (in the high-downloads sense rather than the high-ratings - *snicker*) for months.

Yes, mine was free at Smashwords and free everywhere Smashwords distributed it. Still is, for that matter. It was 99c at Amazon - the closest to free I could (previously) get.


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## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

Could be. Mine's been around 1,500 -2,000 on B&N.



nomesque said:


> Not Smashwords per se, as in Smashwords did NOT distribute those copies to Amazon. They're the Amazon versions, and Mark Coker specifically said they haven't started shipping yet when I sent him a heads-up.
> 
> I think David's theory's a good one, and so is Imogen's - put them together and you get a Halloween special based possibly on popular freebies at another store. David's freebie has been doing well in the ibookstore, mine's been popular at B&N (in the high-downloads sense rather than the high-ratings - *snicker*) for months.
> 
> Yes, mine was free at Smashwords and free everywhere Smashwords distributed it. Still is, for that matter. It was 99c at Amazon - the closest to free I could (previously) get.


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## Peter Salisbury (Mar 3, 2010)

Hi there, RG.

The First Completely Electronic Robot and Science Fiction Limerick Book – was the first thing I ever published as an ebook, after discovering Smashwords last December. The book was always intended as an experiment in whether I could actually jump through the formatting and upload hoops – and as a freebie to promote my first SF novel, which I then published through Smashwords a week or two later (the paperback had been available through Amazon since July 2009). At that time a UK author was disallowed from publishing via DTP because of the banking requirements. I contacted Amazon about that and they subsequently invited me to publish through DTP as an ‘international author’. To my dismay, I found I couldn’t set a zero price for the promotional limerick book, so I simply set the lowest available.

Since then I have experimented with 99 cents on Smashwords for the limerick book – guess what downloads completely flatlined! I have only sold 2 or 3 a month on Amazon until now. Right now Diesel, Apple, B&N, Kobo and Smashwords all have Limericks at zero, Sony (an artefact from one of my price experiments??) have it for $1.99 - all of these other outlets are via Smashwords.


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

I'm not getting too excited about getting paid, btw, until Monday afternoon US time, when the powers that be have had a chance to get into work and see what's happening. I doubt they'd renege, too much negative publicity in kicking the equivalent of the kindy kids in the playground - but I'm NOT gonna celebrate just yet. Even if it kills me, and it might...


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## Peter Salisbury (Mar 3, 2010)

I'm not going to celebrate just yet, mainly because I'd like to know what's happening exactly - if it's Halloween, I don't know why I'm in because my books don't go there...

However, if I don't spend some time with my wife and son, I'm going to be in the dog house - which is _really _bad because we don't have one!!


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

I'm about to pass out. I made 1200 from Weight of Blood alone in the past two days.


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## tbrookside (Nov 4, 2009)

Well, I don't know if it will do any good, but I have decided to make The Last Days of Jericho free at Smashwords.

I don't know if Amazon is checking Smashwords prices, or if this will have no effect until the price is changed in the premium catalog affiliates.

But what the heck, you gotta take a shot, right?

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/18168


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Just be careful, anyone who's on the 70% agreement - you might end up with 70% of nothing. The two agreements are quite different - read the fine print!


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

Nomesque,

  So, if you're on the 30% comission you stand a chance of getting something... what about non-US authors?


----------



## tbrookside (Nov 4, 2009)

Thanks for the reminder.  I guess I'll have to reprice at DTP, too.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Pasting this here as well as the "zomg amazon is paying me" thread.

Before we all freak out, I have to say I really, really, _really_ doubt we're going to get paid for these free downloads. First off: it's way too much money. Among the 50 or so indies, all suddenly paying out for each download...Amazon isn't going to just throw money away like that. It makes no sense. Publishers have to PAY to get their books listed free. They sure as heck aren't going to pay us.

Also, other than Konrath (which was set up with his knowledge in advance) this sort of thing just hasn't happened before. I'd say it is a safe assumption that the per-week crunching of money and whatnot we see isn't set up to catch something like this.

Now if on the 15th of November the monthly report comes back still claiming I'm getting paid, then you'll see the biggest freaking all-caps post the Kindleboards has ever seen.

David Dalglish


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

MrPLD said:


> Nomesque,
> 
> So, if you're on the 30% comission you stand a chance of getting something... what about non-US authors?


I'm non-US.  I don't know, folks. I think David's got a good point about this possibly being a big whoopsie on Amazon's part. Wait till tomorrow afternoon, when the decision-makers are in the office. If there's been a screwup, they might let us know then.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

If they do pay, David, I assume you'll buy us all a round in the pub thread.

Amazon has had one of my books at 99 cents for a while now even though I priced it at $2.99. The other two are 99 cents. If they want to go all the way and make any of them free, I won't complain. Pleeeeaaaaaase, Amazon?


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## cherylktardif (Apr 21, 2010)

You do not get a royalty if your book is listed for FREE, whether you've listed it that way or Amazon has. As per their terms, which you should read often as they update them, if your book retails elsewhere for a lower price or for FREE, Amazon can adjust the price of your book on their site.

Free books = no royalty payment.

As per Amazon's terms, you must price your ebook at a minimum of $0.99 to get the 35% royalty. To receive the 70% royalty, your ebook must be priced between $2.99 and $9.99.

Check out the following pages on Amazon:
http://forums.digitaltextplatform.com/dtpforums/entry.jspa?externalID=2
http://forums.digitaltextplatform.com/dtpforums/entry.jspa?externalID=453
http://forums.digitaltextplatform.com/dtpforums/entry.jspa?externalID=393

35% of 0 = 0


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

cherylktardif said:


> You do not get a royalty if your book is listed for FREE, whether you've listed it that way or Amazon has. As per their terms, which you should read often as they update them, if your book retails elsewhere for a lower price or for FREE, Amazon can adjust the price of your book on their site.


You're looking at the 70% agreement - 


> ii. The Royalty will be equal to 70% of the amount equal to the applicable List Price for the Digital Book less the Delivery Costs (as defined below) for the Digital Book. But if we sell the Digital Book at a price below the List Price to match the price at which a third party sells any digital or physical edition of the Digital Book or to match the price at which we sell any physical edition of the Digital Book, the Royalty will be equal to 70% of the amount equal to the price at which we sell the Digital Book less the Delivery Costs for the Digital Book. Our determinations regarding price-matching are final and non-reviewable. _If you object to our price-matching determination with regard to one of your books, your sole and exclusive remedy is to switch your Royalty option for future sales of the Digital Book to the 35% Royalty Option as described below._


(italics mine)

There is NO price-matching clause in the 35% agreement.


----------



## traceya (Apr 26, 2010)

I too am not getting overly excited regarding payment although it *is* showing up in the royalties report as a payment but I am pretty excited about over 900 downloads in a couple of days 

Mine's only a short story but I was always hoping they could be used as a 'hook' to get readers interested in my style so there's a potential almost thousand people who might like what they see - *I like that*


----------



## cherylktardif (Apr 21, 2010)

nomesque said:


> You're looking at the 70% agreement - (italics mine)
> 
> There is NO price-matching clause in the 35% agreement.


Um, yes there is.

"i. For any Digital Book for which you select the 35% Royalty Option, at all times that the Digital Book is available for sale through the Program, you must adjust the List Price as required to ensure that the List Price, plus any applicable VAT, does not exceed the lowest of: (a) the lowest suggested retail price or equivalent price for any digital or physical edition of the Digital Book; (b) the lowest price at which you list or offer any digital or physical edition of the Digital Book on any website or other sales channel; and (c) any maximum List Price we provide from time to time in the Program Policies."

Many authors who offer their ebooks for less elsewhere have noticed a change to their Kindle listings to reflect that lower price.


----------



## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

cherylktardif said:


> Um, yes there is.
> 
> "i. For any Digital Book for which you select the 35% Royalty Option, at all times that the Digital Book is available for sale through the Program, you must adjust the List Price as required to ensure that the List Price, plus any applicable VAT, does not exceed the lowest of: (a) the lowest suggested retail price or equivalent price for any digital or physical edition of the Digital Book; (b) the lowest price at which you list or offer any digital or physical edition of the Digital Book on any website or other sales channel; and (c) any maximum List Price we provide from time to time in the Program Policies."
> 
> Many authors who offer their ebooks for less elsewhere have noticed a change to their Kindle listings to reflect that lower price.


That's not a price-matching clause, that's a *lowest-price* clause. Under the 35% agreement, Amazon has made no provision for modifying the 'royalty' payment based on the sale price. Basically, under the 35% agreement, the author gets 35% of the *list price*. Under the 70% agreement, the author gets 70% of the *sale price*. The difference between list price and sale price? List price is set by the author. Sale price is set by Amazon.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I really hope Amazon susrprises you all and you have a great payout!

As of 5:11am PDT, Weight of Blood is still FREE, so for those wondering if this was a weekend only thing that might automatically end... it didn't.

And its ranking is:
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #52 Free in Kindle Store 
#1 in  Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fantasy > Epic


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> I really hope Amazon susrprises you all and you have a great payout!
> 
> As of 5:11am PDT, Weight of Blood is still FREE, so for those wondering if this was a weekend only thing that might automatically end... it didn't.
> 
> ...


As nice as it is that it's free, I'm still happy with my decision to buy it before. I had a good time reading it!


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> As nice as it is that it's free, I'm still happy with my decision to buy it before. I had a good time reading it!


Aye, but if you'd gotten it free, you could have bought the second one with the money you saved *cough nod wink other obvious hint gesture*


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## N. Gemini Sasson (Jul 5, 2010)

Wow, just catching up on all this and trying to wrap my brain around it.  If nothing else, the rest of us are learning the ins and outs of pricing and Amazon's ways.

Keep us up to speed, David, as this progresses.


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Aye, but if you'd gotten it free, you could have bought the second one with the money you saved *cough nod wink other obvious hint gesture*


I haven't forgotten there are other books in the series.

(Makes me think though that having a series with only one book in it could be a good gimmick for someone)


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

foreverjuly said:


> (Makes me think though that having a series with only one book in it could be a good gimmick for someone)


Or a quick way to get some hatemail. It's only been about four months since I released Death of Promises, but already I'm getting some pushy e-mails for book four. Start a series and then be like, "eh, I'm done." Jeez. Cruel....*cough George R. R. Martin cough*

David Dalglish


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Start a series and then be like, "eh, I'm done." Jeez. Cruel....*cough George R. R. Martin cough*


  Just choked trying to keep from spraying coffee on the monitor.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Or a quick way to get some hatemail. It's only been about four months since I released Death of Promises, but already I'm getting some pushy e-mails for book four. Start a series and then be like, "eh, I'm done." Jeez. Cruel....*cough George R. R. Martin cough*
> 
> David Dalglish


Hey! I don't send you hate mail. And I resemb resent the "pushy" remark!


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Arkali said:


> Hey! I don't send you hate mail. And I resemb resent the "pushy" remark!


Haha. Seriously, when I released that little Guardian of the Mountain novella, within a day I had two different emails with the overall subject of "wtf is this where is book 4?"


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

LMAO  Guess you didn't know that you signed a contract to never work on anything else BUT The Half-Orc series.  It's not like it's been 2 years or something.

Oh - errm.  Where the heck IS Book 4?


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Arkali said:


> LMAO Guess you didn't know that you signed a contract to never work on anything else BUT The Half-Orc series. It's not like it's been 2 years or something.
> 
> Oh - errm. Where the heck IS Book 4?


Edits are done. Finished. Complete. All I'm waiting for now is the final version of my book cover...


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## Chris Hallbeck (Sep 25, 2010)

I downloaded The Weight of Blood but now I'm not gonna start reading it until book 4 is out.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Chris Hallbeck said:


> I downloaded The Weight of Blood but now I'm not gonna start reading it until book 4 is out.


......

...

Dick.


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## Chris Hallbeck (Sep 25, 2010)

It is amazing though how sometimes readers will get the impression that their $2.99 entitles them input into how you run your life. I'm sure this type of thinking has always existed (Dear Mr. Dickens, I saw you drinking tea at the local cafe on Wednesday and couldn't help but notice that you weren't writing at the time.) but the ease of access to authors through the internet has probably magnified it beyond ridiculousness.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Aye, but in the end I find it a very, very high compliment. I'm sure other authors here are rolling their eyes and wanting to smack me for complaining of such a 'terrible' problem to have.


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## William Meikle (Apr 19, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> Aye, but in the end I find it a very, very high compliment. I'm sure other authors here are rolling their eyes and wanting to smack me for complaining of such a 'terrible' problem to have.


Nah... we just want to smack you


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

williemeikle said:


> Nah... we just want to smack you


*snicker*


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

williemeikle said:


> Nah... we just want to smack you


I can go mouth off to my wife real quick. She'll happily oblige your request then, Willie


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

On the whole "ZOMG where's the sequel already? write faster!" thing, for anyone who hasn't seen it, I loved this bit by Neil Gaiman (scroll down to where a reader asks a question in bold font). For the super TLDR version, read Mr. Gaiman's response after that:

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Hhahahah. That is a great read up, especially his italicized initial response.


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## rcanepa (Jul 1, 2010)

Isn't it great?  

Needless to say, that made the rounds 'round the net when he first published it


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

5:10am pdt rank
#73 Free in Kindle Store 
#2 in  Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fantasy > Epic


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Yup. Slowly dropping. Averaging about 1000 downloads a day still, so it's not like I can complain. And more and more I'm thinking it will stay free, so even if I drop out of the top 100 I'll still be getting plenty.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

As long as some of those 1000 a day also lead to purchases of books from the rest of the series I'd be happy too.
I called the few people I know with Kindles that aren't on my account, and told them all about all of the Freebies from this weekend - actually did it over the weekend incase it ended Sunday night.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Sweet. By the way, your animation scares me.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

well, it'll be gone Thursday and the new one will be up.

actually this one is my favorite so far, but I'm warped like that.


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## Kemp (Jan 16, 2010)

There appears to have been a slight change (or maybe it's just me) to the way the price was displayed.

I noted that, at first, Haven was listed as $0.99 $0.00

Now it and the few other of the Smashwordsian few that I checked are listed as "Pricing information not available." What these means, I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps they're now trying to make it appear as though it isn't just a random price cut, and, in reality, royalties won't be granted.

I suppose it could be "punishment" for listing the novel as free in other areas (I'd say the iBookstore would be the most prominent). Then again, if 'Zon had let me in the first place, I'd have made it free.


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## Kemp (Jan 16, 2010)

Hmm... apologies for the double post.  In the last few minutes, Haven and a few of the others have been downgraded to "not currently available."

Oh well, the opportunity for greater exposure was too good to remain for too long, I suppose.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

weight of blood is now showing as no longer available.


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## Valmore Daniels (Jul 12, 2010)

"Pricing information not available" for me as well.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

most of the books that can be counted as indie are not just showing no price avaiable, but completely UNAVAILABLE at all. I just went through and tried almost all of them, only a handful are still able to be purchased.


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## Kemp (Jan 16, 2010)

I've been keeping an eye on the list; it seems they've been going down one by one.


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## Gordon Ryan (Aug 20, 2010)

Methinks someone at Amazon just woke up.  I'd keep checking your Reports page and see how the royalty statements change.  What an emotional high . . . and low.  If this turns out to be a mistake, I'm sorry for you guys.  Still, those thousands of people now have your book and that is great publicity.

Gordon Ryan


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Awe, looks like making them free wasn't intentional.

Darn.  I was hoping they would let indies go free for at least a while.



Vicki

(At least some of you got some great exposure for a while.)


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Gordon Ryan said:


> Methinks someone at Amazon just woke up. I'd keep checking your Reports page and see how the royalty statements change.
> Gordon Ryan


I agree.. now that they seem to realize there was a goof... I'd watch those $ reports.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

I hope they don't delete the books from everyone's kindles.

Vicki


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## Kippoe (Jan 17, 2010)

I don't think they will ever delete books again after the 1984 scandal


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

can't delete from mine, I won't turn on whispernet. ;P


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## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> can't delete from mine, I won't turn on whispernet. ;P


*snort*. I like the way you think


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Kippoe said:


> I don't think they will ever delete books again after the 1984 scandal


Yeah, that was bad. I'm thinking they'll just leave them.

I have no idea if they'll take away the royalties or not. You'd think it would be bad publicity for them to take them away... after it shows up and everything. But if this was all a mistake, who knows. 

Vicki


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Are all the freebie book pages gone?


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

F***. Weight of Blood's just gone. No wonder the free downloads stopped.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Victorine said:


> Yeah, that was bad. I'm thinking they'll just leave them.
> 
> I have no idea if they'll take away the royalties or not. You'd think it would be bad publicity for them to take them away... after it shows up and everything. But if this was all a mistake, who knows.
> 
> Vicki


I don't think they'll delete them from libraries, but I'd be surprised if they paid the royalties. But, this is Amazon - who knows?


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

The Weight of Blood page is back, but the pricing info isn't available.


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## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> F***. Weight of Blood's just gone. No wonder the free downloads stopped.


I do see it's back now. but unavailable. maybe it will come back online for it's original .99 price?! (hoping 

Sandy


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## Guest (Oct 5, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> F***. Weight of Blood's just gone. No wonder the free downloads stopped.


It was a good run while it lasted. Hope the book comes back quickly. It might still have some momentum from the free downloads.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Whew, I'm glad I grabbed it when I did (I got my boyfriend to grab a copy too!). Keep us updated on the royalty issue...I hope it gets straightened out quickly and becomes available again.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Royalty's aren't a worry for me (getting paid for free downloads seems just greedy on my part, I'm already ecstatic from the exposure and gain in readers). I'm just worried that because of this fiasco, they'll feel they need to punish someone. They might also say "look, your book is cheaper elsewhere, fix it or we pull it."

I'll feel very, very relieved once I see my book back on sale at its regular price.

On a side note, I finally emailed DTP support asking what the heck is going on, and if they'd clarify everything. Hopefully I'll get a response sometime tonight.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

It's back up at 99 cents.


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## Sandra Edwards (May 10, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> It's back up at 99 cents.


Yay! *and I mean that in a good way *

Sandy


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## Kemp (Jan 16, 2010)

It looks like they all are.

Friggin' weird.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

And it looks like the strange ride is finally over. What a fun 5 days, eh? Well, hopefully I snagged 5600 new readers, and I can use that exposure (and book 4's release) to keep on trucking.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

YIPEE!


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## Valmore Daniels (Jul 12, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> And it looks like the strange ride is finally over. What a fun 5 days, eh? Well, hopefully I snagged 5600 new readers, and I can use that exposure (and book 4's release) to keep on trucking.


Always looking on the bright side. You're an inspiration.


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Well, that was fun! *lol* I wonder if/when we'll find out wth happened on Amazon's side.

I'm a bit peeved that they stopped it JUST before my 'sales' hit 10000... *pout*


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## Barbiedull (Jul 13, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> They might also say "look, your book is cheaper elsewhere, fix it or we pull it."


That is what I thought that should have done _before_ changing the prices to $0.00!

I just found a book at Amazon that was listed at $0.01 list price (On sale for $0.00)...I thought $0.99 was as low as Amazon would accept?


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

I'm glad they're back up at 99 cents.

I wonder what they'll say in their email.  Keep us posted.

Vicki


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## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> And it looks like the strange ride is finally over. What a fun 5 days, eh? Well, hopefully I snagged 5600 new readers, and I can use that exposure (and book 4's release) to keep on trucking.


I was just over 5400. The only thing that I'm bummed about is that I've been saying up till 3am or later since Friday finishing my short story collection.
It's publishing right now: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0045Y1OJ8

No overlap =-( Oh well. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!


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## Kemp (Jan 16, 2010)

nomesque said:


> Well, that was fun! *lol* I wonder if/when we'll find out wth happened on Amazon's side.
> 
> I'm a bit peeved that they stopped it JUST before my 'sales' hit 10000... *pout*


I know what you mean. They pulled it at 8980. Granted, it's remaining viewability on the tops list (for whatever amount of time it may have left), might give it a little push.

I was getting all set to make an, "It's over 9000!" joke.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

You guys are just lucky my free book wasn't a YA vampire romance...*sulks and cuddles his 5600*


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## Kippoe (Jan 17, 2010)

Congrats on your exposer boost what an amazing way to get your name out there, i'm sure it will bring you more traffic on your other books.


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Kemp said:


> I know what you mean. They pulled it at 8980. Granted, it's remaining viewability on the tops list (for whatever amount of time it may have left), might give it a little push.
> 
> I was getting all set to make an, "It's over 9000!" joke.


LOL! Well, it should give the paid rankings an almighty boost, that's for sure.


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> You guys are just lucky my free book wasn't a YA vampire romance...*sulks and cuddles his 5600*


 The road of a serious author is a rocky one...  C'mon, join the black-cover side! We haz trendy!


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

I hope everyone's books continue to sell at the 99 cent price.  I mean, if I found a book listed on a "Kindle Free" list and it looked good, and I went to grab it and it no longer was free, but only 99 cents, I'd probably snag it anyway.  I mean, 99 cents.  Come on.

So hopefully the wonderful exposure will keep the sales coming in.  Let us know how it goes, and if your books still are selling.  (Obviously not at the same high rate, but even 30 or 40 sales a day would be nice, right?)

Vicki


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Victorine said:


> I hope everyone's books continue to sell at the 99 cent price. I mean, if I found a book listed on a "Kindle Free" list and it looked good, and I went to grab it and it no longer was free, but only 99 cents, I'd probably snag it anyway. I mean, 99 cents. Come on.
> 
> So hopefully the wonderful exposure will keep the sales coming in.  Let us know how it goes, and if your books still are selling. (Obviously not at the same high rate, but even 30 or 40 sales a day would be nice, right?)
> 
> Vicki


Thanks for the well-wishes, Vicki!  So far, I'm still getting sales - probably 10-15 in the last hour? Not sure if those are delayed free downloads, people not realising it isn't free anymore (evil one-click!), or as you say, deciding to buy it anyway.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

So? What's the news? are they gonna let you keep the $$? Cuz that would be awesome.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Kippoe said:


> I don't think they will ever delete books again after the 1984 scandal


They said after the 1984 incident that they wouldn't pull the book from your Kindle. They will send you an email saying that they're deleting it from your account (and refunding your money) and it will no longer be available to download and they'll ask you to delete it off your Kindle, but they won't delete it themselves.

I do hope this was one of their pricing accidents and the authors will all benefit from it. I "purchased" each and every one of them in the hopes that they do.


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

And I'm a BESTSELLING AUTHOR!!!! Check it - http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_dp_ts_kinc_1

Bahahahahaha!!

(Justin, nice work on #7!!!!!)


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

omg look at the top 20 in the movers & shakers list.. it's like 90% indie populated atm!


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## Kemp (Jan 16, 2010)

Lawlz...

I should temporarily pull it from Smashwords and jack the price up for a while on Amazon while going for the 70% royalty.  Or, that's what I'd do if I was a greedy jerk-bag (or if I really thought it would really work).

Overall, I've had worse weeks.  Regardless of the royalties, this has been just plain spectacular.  Congrats to all indies who have gotten this iota of limelight!


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## MJWare (Jun 25, 2010)

nomesque said:


> And I'm a BESTSELLING AUTHOR!!!! Check it - http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/ref=pd_dp_ts_kinc_1
> 
> Bahahahahaha!!
> 
> (Justin, nice work on #7!!!!!)


Waooh, I'm 26. I bet that lasts all of a day =-)


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Holy cow, the best sellers list is rockin' with indies!!!  Woot!!!

You go, guys!  I hope this sticks.  You all deserve to be there.  Congratulations!!!

Vicki

PS, This answers the question as to if it works to put your book for free for a while.  I guess it does!!


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Victorine said:


> PS, This answers the question as to if it works to put your book for free for a while. I guess it does!!


Around a 40:1 immediate conversion rate for an unrelated book. IE, out of each 40 people who downloaded DEAD(ish) free, 1 bought Maisy May as well. That's not counting the sales of MM that I'd expect to have by now.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

nomesque said:


> Around a 40:1 immediate conversion rate for an unrelated book. IE, out of each 40 people who downloaded DEAD(ish) free, 1 bought Maisy May as well. That's not counting the sales of MM that I'd expect to have by now.


That's really not bad. And you're getting great exposure being on the bestsellers list too. Just awesome!

Vicki


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## nomesque (Apr 12, 2010)

Victorine said:


> That's really not bad. And you're getting great exposure being on the bestsellers list too. Just awesome!


Yup! I'm still slightly delirious, I think. #9?!?? *faints*

I didn't have to go far to find David Dangles, either. Cheers for the indies!!!


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## Gthater (Mar 27, 2009)

I was hoping that my fantasy novel, The Gateway, would stay free forever, but a 5 day run and 5,000 potential new readers isn't too bad.
I was able to pick up copies of the free books of several authors on kindleboards. I'll try to review them as soon as my schedule allows.
regards to all,
glenn g. thater
author of the harbinger of doom saga


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

40:1 is a very nice conversion rate.  Well done.


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