# The philosophy of attracting readers vs. making a sale



## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

I had an interesting discussion today about what a reader is worth to me. It centered around my decision to make so many of my books free - JET, the first in that series, Night of the Assassin, the first in the Assassin series, and The Delphi Chronicle - The Manuscript, the first in that serial trilogy.

My belief is that finding a reader who is excited about your work is far more important than getting a sale. And then I ran the numbers for my friend.

I have a backlist of 23 novels. 20 are for sale, 3 free. By the end of the year I'll have 26 novels, 23 of them for sale. Those twenty-three novels are worth, on average, $3.25 apiece to me.

Each reader is worth about $75 to me, in round numbers, assuming they're excited enough by my writing to work their way through my backlist. From my also boughts, it would appear that most of my readers do exactly that. So there's significant brand loyalty to my readership.

Put simply, 10,000 readers per year discovering my work and deciding to work through my oeuvre is worth about three quarters of a million bucks to me. So, obviously, a good business plan would be to do whatever it takes to get 10K new readers per year. 20K per year would be better, but hey, no point in being overly-optimistic.

Additionally, it's fair to assume that those 10K readers would also be potential candidates for new releases, and in fact, might buy each of say, four new releases per year. Since I typically price my new releases a bit higher than my backlist, we can call that $3.75 per novel on NRs. Or $15 per year from new releases.

One can quickly see where one could make a million bucks a year from one's novels by adding 10K new readers per year, assuming that the prior year's 10K buy the four new releases too.

At year three, it gets kind of silly, because you could expect your revenue to almost double, assuming you can find a mechanism to draw another 10K new readers and sufficiently entice them to read your work.

The point being that it's way more important, strategically, to think in terms of finding new readers, than making a sale. A reader, if your work resonates, is forever. A sale is transactional. A reader is a relationship. A sale is a one-time event.

Readers allow an author with a decent backlist to compound. A sale doesn't necessarily translate into anything but that single event.

A reader is worth an incredible amount, over time. A sale, not so much.

When I think about what I'm going to do next year, and the year after, my number one goal is always to find new readers. To expose my work to more eyeballs. 

10K new readers is not a huge number by trad pub standards. In fact, that would be considered kind of a so-so midlist number that probably wouldn't get many excited. With those kinds of numbers you might even get dropped as being unworthy of the time and attention a publisher lavishes upon its talent.

But for an indie author with a good backlist, 10K new readers each year can be a substantial business.

Next year I'll be collaborating on several novels with other authors, in different genres from my usual thriller fare. I'll be doing this in order to build a readership in their genres, and get new eyes, some of which might just decide they like the collaborative effort enough to want to check out some of my other work. Bingo. I've just attracted potential new readers.

I'll be announcing some fun news at the end of November, which is also geared toward expanding my reach to audiences with whom I don't currently have any visibility. Everything I do is strategic, and the strategy is always to expand my visibility in an effort to find that 10K new readers each year.

If you think about your readers in that way, you quickly see why I say each reader is precious, and you also see why I take such pains to put the reader's interests above anything else. The reader is God in my universe. I exist solely to please the reader, by entertaining them in a manner they like. I don't exist to bolster my self-confidence, or be self-actualized, or satisfy myself creatively. If those things happen, that's super, but the paramount concern I have is to the reader - to ensure their reading experience is the best I can make it.

Because the stakes are huge. Run the numbers on finding 100K new readers over a few years. It's insane. 

The reader is everything. Which is why I always recommend doing professional work, and not putting anything out into the world that isn't the absolute best you possibly can, in every way - editing, formatting, proofing, packaging. Again. The stakes are high. Every book you put out can either be your ambassador, and find you new readers, or can turn off new readers and convince them you're meh, or a hack, or amateurish, or any of a thousand other things that mean they have no further interest in reading your work.

Obviously, if you want to have a successful book selling career, you can't blow that.

And ironically, if you want a successful book selling career, you can't think in terms of sales or selling - you have to think in terms of finding new readers.

That's why I give work away for free. And why I place the reader's experience at the absolute pinnacle of my product value pyramid. All efforts should go toward finding and satisfying the reader. If you do that, the rest falls into place, and you'll never starve.

So far so good.


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## chrissponias (Sep 22, 2013)

Thank you for your guidance!

I agree that giving away a part of your work is a good idea.


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## Hudson Owen (May 18, 2012)

You write such long posts!  I have to pause and catch my breath.  Excellent info and explanations.  Many books + many given away = many readers and sales.  Thanks.  You get an A in Philosophy.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

This is exactly the epiphany I had a few months ago while trying to decide whether to dump some Project Wonderful money into advertising my book or my site (where my webserial lives).

It came down to realizing that if they went and bought my books, they might read it and forget to buy the rest of the series. But if I got them to the webserial and became a weekly part of their entertainment life, they're likely to not only buy books by me, but my swag, no to mention clicking my ads and becoming part of my community.

For me, it went past just finding readers, but finding _fans_. Because not only will a fan buy your stuff, but they're a vector for bringing other people in and kind of a support network as well.


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## kdarden (Aug 23, 2012)

thank you, Brilliant!


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## MsTee (Jul 30, 2012)

This is just one reader's opinion - don't take it as fact - but one thing that an author's got to do to ensure my fannish squees is being consistent. That is, if you're writing a serial - be timely in your updates. If you're writing in a genre - stick to that genre. If you've already built up an amazing world with awesome characters - NO, I WON'T get tired if you wrote MORE books in that world with those super awesome characters. (That isn't to say I won't enjoy other books with different worlds and characters!) Consistency means that when I pick up something of ours, I know what I'm getting into and I know I'm going to enjoy it. Therefore, 1-click auto-buying.

If you are great at writing an action/adventure fast paced books, please stick to that under that particular name. I know that writers sometimes get great ideas that exist out of their usual genres, but that is confusing. I've also got burnt by it, too. Not fun and will ensure that I distrust you with your future pieces. 

So, yeah. To keep me excited - keep doing what you did before that got me excited in the first place.  

Again, my tiny $0.02 on fan behaviour and expectations.


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## Lisa Grace (Jul 3, 2011)

I agree with your Blakeosophy.


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## dalya (Jul 26, 2011)

LisaGraceBooks said:


> I agree with your Blakeosophy.


MEME! MEME!


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## dianasg (Jan 8, 2010)

Haha, Blakeosophy!

Great post! This seems like a really useful way of thinking about readers, particularly for those looking for long-term success.



MsTee said:


> This is just one reader's opinion - don't take it as fact - but one thing that an author's got to do to ensure my fannish squees is being consistent. That is, if you're writing a serial - be timely in your updates. If you're writing in a genre - stick to that genre. If you've already built up an amazing world with awesome characters - NO, I WON'T get tired if you wrote MORE books in that world with those super awesome characters. (That isn't to say I won't enjoy other books with different worlds and characters!) Consistency means that when I pick up something of ours, I know what I'm getting into and I know I'm going to enjoy it. Therefore, 1-click auto-buying.
> 
> If you are great at writing an action/adventure fast paced books, please stick to that under that particular name. I know that writers sometimes get great ideas that exist out of their usual genres, but that is confusing. I've also got burnt by it, too. Not fun and will ensure that I distrust you with your future pieces.
> 
> ...


This is so true for me too! I'm just one reader, but sometimes I see authors - even here on KB - who have large, varied catalogues and have mentioned a few of their books that I'd love to read, but I honestly don't have the energy to sort through their catalogue to find/decide which ones to pick up and which ones to ignore. Not with so many other great books already on my wish list or Kindle waiting to be read!  Which saddens me because I'm sure that author's work is solid, good quality, etc. -- and I wonder if maybe it's the mixed bag that's holding them back.

FWIW, I'll follow an author from, say, contemporary romance to historical romance, but that's only if I'm really, really taken by that author's writing.

I've also seen some people ask about genre-blending, and I love genre-blending -- but sticking to one blended genre from book to book is the way to hook me. If it works, I'll totes snatch up that backlist.  So it's a book-to-book consistency thing for me, actually.


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## Vaalingrade (Feb 19, 2013)

MsTee said:


> This is just one reader's opinion - don't take it as fact - but one thing that an author's got to do to ensure my fannish squees is being consistent. That is, if you're writing a serial - be timely in your updates. If you're writing in a genre - stick to that genre. If you've already built up an amazing world with awesome characters - NO, I WON'T get tired if you wrote MORE books in that world with those super awesome characters. (That isn't to say I won't enjoy other books with different worlds and characters!) Consistency means that when I pick up something of ours, I know what I'm getting into and I know I'm going to enjoy it. Therefore, 1-click auto-buying.
> 
> If you are great at writing an action/adventure fast paced books, please stick to that under that particular name. I know that writers sometimes get great ideas that exist out of their usual genres, but that is confusing. I've also got burnt by it, too. Not fun and will ensure that I distrust you with your future pieces.
> 
> ...


I also concur with on caveat: It is entirely possible to rock something completely different if you make it very clear via blurbs, promo material, etc, that you're trying a new trick.

Case in point would by Jim Butcher and his _Codex Alera_ series. People who were familiar with his _Dresden Files_ and surprisingly awesome _Spider-man: Darkest Hour_ knew and loved him for his fun first person snark, pop culture references, and amazing use of real-world locations.

Alera had none of these. In fact, aside from the bits and pieces of the Never-Never we'd seen at the point when Alera was released, this was the first time the readers would be seeing him try his hand at building a world from the ground up. Not only that, but the distance between Urban Fantasy and Epic Fantasy is actually greater than between Urban Fantasy and a lot of Sci-fi, so it was a looong leap.

But if you read the blurb, you knew exactly what you were getting. Moreover, when you looked on his forums, he made it clear that everyone should stand back and give him some room because he was going to try something way out of the box for him. This served to make sure that no one took the name 'Jim Butcher' on the cover as promising the specific premise he was known for at the time.

I know we talk a LOT about pen names and such, but I really think that with a lot of care, you can make those genre jumps and tonal shifts without inspiring the backlash we all fear. The key is making sure your readers know what they're getting and that sometimes they might want to take a step out of their preferred genres just because they trust you more than they do the given bundles of tropes that come with a genre.


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## Alan Petersen (May 20, 2011)

Great analysis. The day will probably come when Amazon gives away the basic Kindle. A free Kindle that will lead readers to go shopping for books to fill it up with.


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## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

As to genre jumping: If your voice is so distinctive as to be consistent across genres as your voice, by collaborating with established names in the other genres, you can expose yourself to new readers without throwing your existing readership into a tizzy.  You brand your collaborative offerings as something entirely different from your typical fare.

I write thrillers. When I collaborate on a dystopian or a NA or a romance novel, it will be obvious that it's a wildly different genre for me. If I was writing it as a solo effort, I would choose a pen name to do it with. If it's a collaboration, I can differentiate it suitably so the two names on the cover, combined with the cover art and the blurb, make it well-defined as different than my usual fare.

I want to avoid a nasty surprise for my readers, while broadening my exposure. Because for someone to follow me across to my backlist, they have to love my voice, and want more of it. But I don't want to dupe them. I want my new readers curious about whether there's more where that came from, should they decide to give one of my thrillers a try.

I'll shut up now.


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## Guest (Oct 27, 2013)

DianaGabriel said:


> Which saddens me because I'm sure that author's work is solid, good quality, etc. -- and I wonder if maybe it's the mixed bag that's holding them back.


I sure hope not!


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

I was at a dinner last night with a dozen other authors. The subject of price came up, and everyone made rude noises over free books. One of the writers is good friends with Lawrence Block, and said he just didn't understand Lawrence's attitude toward giving away books. Doesn't he value literature?

My response: Maybe he values readers.


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## Irisdeorre (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks for the this, I agree a reader is more important than than a sale. It's a long term goal, rather than instant gratification.


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## 54706 (Dec 19, 2011)

I agree whole-heartedly with pretty much everything you've said here, Russell. Thanks for taking the time to write and post it!

What some writers don't seem to grasp (and I'll wager this topic will come up on this thread with someone giving you a hard time, Russell) is that it is entirely possible to focus on gaining readers (and the resulting sales) while also putting out a craft-proud, quality book. The two are NOT mutually exclusive. I get so crazy reading comments about how a thread like this one somehow espouses putting out shit material.

A writer cannot have a business plan like Russell's (or mine) and not be focused on quality reading material at the same time. Readers will quickly figure out in book 1 that the quality isn't there and they just won't read through. Period. If the quality doesn't continue through the whole series, they quit reading then too. Period. Russell's read-through rate and reader reviews say without question that he writes quality material. He doesn't just do this by design. He does it because he's a writer's writer. He eats, breathes, and sleeps his characters, his story arcs, his ... bah, you know what I mean; he's not just a businessman, he's an artist.

Every book in a series has to be great to keep people reading, so please don't anyone make the mistake of thinking because Russell speaks about his business in a business-like fashion that he doesn't also write a hell of a good book.

Disclaimer: I'm a card-carrying member of the Russell Blake fan club.


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## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

ellecasey said:


> I agree whole-heartedly with pretty much everything you've said here, Russell. Thanks for taking the time to write and post it!
> 
> What some writers don't seem to grasp (and I'll wager this topic will come up on this thread with someone giving you a hard time, Russell) is that it is entirely possible to focus on gaining readers (and the resulting sales) while also putting out a craft-proud, quality book. The two are NOT mutually exclusive. I get so crazy reading comments about how a thread like this one somehow espouses putting out [crap] material.
> 
> ...


Hear hear!


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

Hugh Howey said:


> My response: Maybe he values readers.


Priceless.

I think a very good measure of Blake's theory is your mailing list. I am growing mine "organically" in that I ask people to sign up to it via my backmatter, Facebook gadget and web site, but not via things like Rafflecopter.
The reason for that is that I can then assume that most of the people that are signing up are readers I've gained through my work and that are interested in reading more. The only way to get those, then, is by putting out material that they like. It's a good way to know that you're on the right track.


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## jvin248 (Jan 31, 2012)

A pair of traditional business strategies are intertwined in the posts, maybe this helps some:

"Lifetime customer valuation" - is the total future value of a new loyal repeat customer less the marketing costs to acquire them. Successful companies strive to retain customers once they have spent the big marketing dollars to get them in the door (this is where story is most effective at keeping a customer, editing helps). Smart automotive dealers know a customer will buy seven cars over their lifetime and strive to tilt that customer back to their showroom.
A "Loss Leader" free book is just a form of marketing like paying for an advertisement to run on a popular website (or a fancy cover & blurb) - it's the up-front acquisition cost. Retention costs are always much lower and include email database/facebook fans/goodreads friends/twitter follower campaigns that really represent the loyal "lifetime" customer base. Supermarkets splash enticing deals on the front page of their weekly flier.
There are pitfalls, a loyal customer sees a book they once paid for now free to new readers "Hey!" they say or "Why can't I get that $10/month introductory cable television package when I've paid $100/month for the last ten years?".

Focus vs Line Extension - Focus like a sniper on one market niche often yields better results over the long term than the shotgun method. However, in the beginning, if a company has not found the profitable niche the first time out it must search until they uncover it or drop out of the business. Later, a successful niche-focused company runs into another danger when they decide to do the "Line Extension" thing .. chasing marginal customers in similar markets that dilute the main brand (one short-lived product was "Lifesavers Gum" because when customers wanted "Lifesavers" they wanted that roll of hard candy). It's hard, someone shouts "SQUIRREL" and I'm off running in a new direction.


(Also a fan of Russell's business and writing, and Elle's, and and and .... just a lot of folks on here)


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## NewbieWan (Jul 21, 2013)

This is good information for us newbies. Many of us are looking for the first sale, then the next, and so forth. Our focus should very much be on the reader, not on ourselves. Thank you for the heads-up!


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## Jude Hardin (Feb 5, 2011)

Excellent advice!


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## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

Thanks for a great post, Russell. I have a question... Once I have at least 3 books in my series complete (book 2 near completion now), I plan to make the first free. I go through D2D. Is there any difference in just making it free by price-match vs. Perma-free? I see that 'perma-free' a lot on the boards and have often wondered if it means something other than just free?


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## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

LL: Perma-free refers to free via price match. Same thing.


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## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

Hugh: I'm fortunate enough to know LB, and I can assure you that he absolutely values readers more than most authors I know. He's also a consummate professional and a true master at his craft, as well as being possessed of a remarkable sense of humor. All around great guy.


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## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

blakebooks said:


> LL: Perma-free refers to free via price match. Same thing.


Thanks for clearing that up... sorry my noobie was showing 

etc: typo


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## K.R. Harris (Jan 25, 2012)

Thank you, Russell! Great post!


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## kwest (Mar 16, 2013)

Agree 110 percent. I had NO momentum and I found no readers when I charged for my first book. Now, I'm finding readers and I've sold a crazy amount of books this month - and people are finding me organically on Facebook and on my mailing list.

I plan on writing a post about it once I reach my next milestone - which should be coming up either today or tomorrow morning. This month has been crazy exciting and it has all been because of permafree and a lucky BookBub promo I got last month.


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## Hugh Howey (Feb 11, 2012)

blakebooks said:


> Hugh: I'm fortunate enough to know LB, and I can assure you that he absolutely values readers more than most authors I know. He's also a consummate professional and a true master at his craft, as well as being possessed of a remarkable sense of humor. All around great guy.


Can you do me a favor and pass along a message? HIT MAN is one of my top 10 favorite novels of all time. I love his work.


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## ToniD (May 3, 2011)

I met Lawrence Block at a writers conference, long time ago. Classy, smart, talented, and shares his insights freely.

I really like this thread. Think of the reader and all else follows.


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## Jan Thompson (May 25, 2013)

I'll probably have to reread the "Blakeosophy" but could someone explain to me why it is readers VERSUS sale instead of both? Isn't it a direct proportion, though? More readers means more sales. More sales means more readers. The thing is to balance both? Theoretically?

As for perma free... I'm a newbie publisher so I'm chewing on this yet before I decide whether I want to do this or not. I see the stats but I want to see the other stats too. Anybody here never did perma free ever and yet have the same amount of sales as what Blake cited?


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## Jay Allan (Aug 20, 2012)

ellecasey said:


> I agree whole-heartedly with pretty much everything you've said here, Russell. Thanks for taking the time to write and post it!
> 
> What some writers don't seem to grasp (and I'll wager this topic will come up on this thread with someone giving you a hard time, Russell) is that it is entirely possible to focus on gaining readers (and the resulting sales) while also putting out a craft-proud, quality book. The two are NOT mutually exclusive. I get so crazy reading comments about how a thread like this one somehow espouses putting out [crap] material.
> 
> ...


I agree completely, with both Elle and Russell. Sales of individual books are irrelevant. Success requires building a growing fanbase.

There does seem to be a certain disdain among some people when business aspects of this career are discussed...and anyone who goes down that road in their thinking is extremely unlikely to make a long term living as a writer. If this is your career it's your career...just because there is a creative element to it, why would anyone expect to not have to look at it as a business if they wish to make significant money doing it.

So here are a couple considerations:

1. Put in the time to truly analyze what a reader is worth in monetary terms. Russell did a quick overview for his post, and everyone should expand on that. What percentage buy book 2 after book one? How does it vary between a free book one and a paid one? Or one that was on sale for 99 cents? All three of these will be different numbers. What percent go from book 2 to book 3? And so on? If you write shorter works too, how do those sales compared to a novel (i.e. do 70% buy the next novel but only 30% buy a related novella?)? What percent jump series, buying into a new one after reading the previous (i.e. maybe 70% buy the next book in the series, but only 40% try a new series, even in the same genre).

2. Now do the math. It sound complicated, but it's all grade school stuff. Next, apply these percentages to expected annual production. Remember to account for slippage...if you add 10,000 fans in year one and 10,000 in year two, you don't have 20,000...you have 20,000 minus however many you lost. If you have a random age distribution, you can figure 1.25% or so will die each year. Some will get bored by something you wrote and slip away (or they might be offended by something, or their tastes may change over time...or they may buy fewer books because they lost a job.) I tend to think that if you can keep the loss factor to 10% you are doing really well.

3. Now, consider that at different levels, fans become more financially valuable. One level of fanbase will get you into the first page of sub genre lists with each new release. A higher level will put you in the overall Top 100, while an even higher level gets you on the other bestseller lists or high up in the Top 100. Each of these things gives you wider exposure and the ability to get even more fans. Right now, my new releases usually get me in the 100-200 overall range on Amazon. You could make a strong argument that if I could get my fanbase large enough to punch me into the middle of the Top 100, it would be worth it...even if it cost me every incremental penny I make on those fans. Say that was 10,000 more readers in my case, and I'd make $100,000 on them in the first year or two (based on some of them buying backlist, etc.). You could make an excellent business argument that it would be worth me spending that entire $100,000, and possibly more, to gain those fans, even though I would take a huge apparent loss upfront (10,000 x $3.25 from the initial purchase of one book). You could argue it is worth $200,000, even though may never recoup that on those 10,000...because they pushed my into a higher level of visibility, which may get me 50,000 new readers.

You need to know all this before you can make good decisions. Let's say you had the hypothetical opportunity to have a large number of bookstores stock your book, but you had to print it and give it to them free. A silly hypothetical, I know, but I want to illustrate the point. I would do this in a second. It would give me a shot at readers to whom I have not been exposed. If I spent 10,000 printing 5,000 books, even if only 10% of those buyers became fans, that would be a post per of only $20...far less than they are likely worth.

You cannot make good decisions without the data and the willingness to spend time and effort analyzing it.

A couple other thoughts on building an fanbase.

1. Make it easy for fans to reach you, and always, always, always answer their emails, and do so in a personal (non-stock answer) way. You get to Grisham numbers, you can re-evaluate, but most of us can easily manage this. And build a mailing list. If you don't have one, stop reading this and go to mailchimp right now and set up an account. Seriously...right now.

2. Listen to what they tell you. Read your reviews. Get a thick skin for the negative and abusive ones, but read them all. Your fans will tell you what they want. That doesn't mean you have to jump through hoops trying to do everything a reader suggests, but a "let them eat cake" attitude is not good. If you think you are the supreme artist on high and anyone's suggestion regarding your work is sacrilege, you'd better be REALLY good...or you're not going to make it (as a career at least). I've read things fans have written in emails and reviews and seen things I hadn't considered...things I agreed with completely. Why pay an editor and listen to him/her and not be willing to listen to the people who read, enjoy, and value your work? In the end, if you want to earn a living, you are delivering a product to a consumer. If they don't like it, you will not be selling very long.

3. Preference your strongest-selling works, and branch out behind that. You may want to write something different next, but maybe stick with the strongest-selling, and write the different thing slowly as you continue to feed your strong series. There is no career where you get to do exactly what you want, when you want and still prosper. I bet there is a dusty old script lying around somewhere that was the movie George Lucas intended to make after Star Wars...but then SW did 400m in sales, and Lucas did the Empire Strikes Back. Maybe that "next movie" got made eventually, but it certainly was sent to the back of the line by the success of SW. Russell has 23 books, essentially in his core genre. Now is the time for him to experiment...not after his second or third book started selling well. Build the base first.

When you don't have good info, you make poor decisions. When I started with audiobooks, I went with the revenue share, largely because I had no idea what to expect. Had I just paid for the narration, I would have recouped with around 7 months extra revenue (I would have had the funds back in 3 1/2 from total revenues). Over 7 years, that will cost me at least $25,000 per title. But I didn't have the data, so I was conservative.

I know this turned into a huge ramble, but the truth is, the more you understand about how and why and where your books sell, the better your decisions will be.


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## Jay Allan (Aug 20, 2012)

JanThompson said:


> I'll probably have to reread the "Blakeosophy" but could someone explain to me why it is readers VERSUS sale instead of both? Isn't it a direct proportion, though? More readers means more sales. More sales means more readers. The thing is to balance both? Theoretically?
> 
> As for perma free... I'm a newbie publisher so I'm chewing on this yet before I decide whether I want to do this or not. I see the stats but I want to see the other stats too. Anybody here never did perma free ever and yet have the same amount of sales as what Blake cited?


The point is, if you focus on individual sales, you'd never spend $10 in advertising to sell a $5 books that nets you $3.25. If you have determined that the buyer has a 50% chance of turning into a reader who will spend $50 a year on your books, you'd do the ad in a second.

Obviously, you want as many sales as possible, but you need to look deeper to make good choices.


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## John Twipnook (Jan 10, 2011)

Thanks Russell. Great wisdom as always.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Lots of companies are concentrating in gaining a customer rather than a single sale. Amazon uses Prime to pull consumers into its sphere. One site and account handles books, movies, and merchandise. They just sent me something fior a new, daiy, deep-discount service. I didnt even think about it, just signed up because they have me as a customer. 

Apple links it's devices together in ways nobody else does. My iPhone, iPad, iMac, and Apple TV continue to surprise me in how they seamlessly exchange stuff. Any new purchases my wife or I make will be apple because they have captured us as customers.

Gogle just installed the new super-speed Google Fiber at the house. One gigabit speeds. It's a TV and Internet package. Then they include a Nexus tablet that interfaces with the TV. The TV sells videos. With the Nexus, they have a perfect avenue to display books titles and covers on the TV, let me click, and they show up on the included Nexus reader. They are looking for that same customer.

In terms of Blake's idea, I agree 100%, and it's about time we agree on something. Attraction always precedes sales, but the effectiveness of that attraction is what captures the customer.

Howey brings up the old idea of the value of literature held by many. I think that actually means the value of me because I am so special and wonderful. I agree i am wonderful, but I have no value in all this. That makes it easy to let the next dollar trump my ego.

I see a hand waving in the back. "But if you don't value yourself, how do you expect anyone else to value you."

I don't. Just send money.


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## AmberDa1 (Jul 23, 2012)

Lots to think about. Thanks for the information


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## 48306 (Jul 6, 2011)

This is such fantastic advice. I couldn't agree more. Setting two books free (both the first in different series) made a huge difference in my sales. If you give people a reason to take a chance on you, the story will bring them back for more. LOVE the breakdown you did on a numbers level. It's much easier to see past the emotion that way. Thanks for such a great post!


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## Jd488 (Oct 8, 2012)

This is a great thread. Russell absolutely nailed it. I write paranormal, but the series I'm about to start, Tales from the Other Side of the Counter, is straight general fiction stories based on my retail experiences. I agree with gaining a reader versus getting a sale. In my retail experience, my focus was to build relationships with customers. It's nice to get a big sale, but you can gain more in sales with regular customers. That's what I try to do here. I want to build relationships with my readers and with other writers.

As far as sticking to a genre goes, I write what comes to me. If my story goes sideways versus what I planned, I embrace it. The stories are better for it.

I have two degrees in business and I read a lot of ways to make a book a bestseller, among other things. What I learned is that selling your book is like the NFL Draft. It's a crapshoot. What works for one author may not work for another.

J.A. Konrath said it right. "This is not a sprint. It's a marathon." 

BTW Russell, I downloaded Jet and it's one of the next books in my reading queue. I read part of the first chapter and am eager to continue.

May we all write until we can write no more.


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

Awesome post, Russell.  Thanks for sharing it.  I understand the sentiment when people say things like "A writer should be paid for his work!" or, when somebody compares free books to free cheese samples at a grocery store, "But we're writing books, not making cheese." However, more than writing books, we're building relationships with readers...or at least, the really successful authors are, in my observation.  Building up trust, expectation of a good time, money well spent, etc.

I think about the way I end up enticed to try out a new product (of any kind, not just a book), and it almost invariably happens in one of two ways.  One, somebody I trust recommends it.  Two, I get to try it risk-free first and see whether I like it before plunking down my money.  With either scenario, the freebie strategy makes good sense.  You're building that relationship with one reader who will recommend you to another reader -- or you're obviously giving them a chance to try the product risk-free.

I think being able to quantify each reader as worth $75 (in 2014 -- undoubtedly in subsequent years your readers will be worth even more to you!) really helps illustrate why it's potentially shoot-yourself-in-foot territory to think in terms of individual sales instead of growing a big base of enthusiastic readers.  Personally, I'm really looking forward to the time when I have enough books out to make permafree-ing one or more titles a useful strategy.  It seems to work so well for those of you who have a good number of titles out.  I'm planning to give the permafree thing a shot this summer, if I can write as many books as I'm projecting I'll need to write between now and then.

And for people who worry that readers will become addicted to free and then never want to pay for your work: a review on one of my books states that the reader found it as a free give-away, but ended up liking the book so well that she then went and bought an additional copy of it, because she thought I deserved some money for it.  So not all readers get addicted to free.


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## Desmond X. Torres (Mar 16, 2013)

I'm not reading this one right now. This is going to require my full attention, and that's lacking for them moment. Just jumping in to set up Notify. Russell started it, and at this time ElHawk's commented (the GR Goddess). More stuff to learn...


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Note that you can also bookmark threads that you want to keep track of here using KBoards bookmarks, so that you can find them even if you're on a different computer.  Just click on "Add Bookmark" above the thread, up there^ next to "Reply."

Then find your bookmarked threads by going to Forum > Bookmarks in the top menu.



Betsy


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## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

JanThompson said:


> I'll probably have to reread the "Blakeosophy" but could someone explain to me why it is readers VERSUS sale instead of both? Isn't it a direct proportion, though? More readers means more sales. More sales means more readers. The thing is to balance both? Theoretically?
> 
> As for perma free... I'm a newbie publisher so I'm chewing on this yet before I decide whether I want to do this or not. I see the stats but I want to see the other stats too. Anybody here never did perma free ever and yet have the same amount of sales as what Blake cited?


So, I am not a multi-million book sensation (yet!), nor do I put the hours in that Elle and the others do, but perhaps my experience will still be valid for you.

Up until a couple months ago I had done ZERO advertisements. In the past couple months I tried a couple adds, spent a grand total of $5 to date on them. As of right now, the first book in my series...

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,864 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
#17 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > War & Military
#29 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Military

Now, up through the day before it went perma free (took like 6 months or so) I sold maybe 1 book every couple WEEKS (if I was lucky). Shortly after going permafree I shot up to #5 in the Kindle Free store, with no adverts (that was back in 2010). Since going permafree, I now sell more copies of book two in one DAY then in an entire month prior to going permafree. I have a 7% conversion rate from book 1 to book 2 and better then 90% conversion rate to 3 and 4. I firmly believe this is _only possible_ because book 1 is permafree.

Again, I have not done any paid promos at all until recently. I only put a book out once per year. I write in first person. My books cross genres. Up till a few months ago I only had self-made covers. My first book was never edited until after it had been out a year. I only just started a mailing list and have about 20 people on it. I only JUST made a facebook page and I keep forgetting I have a twitter account. And so on. I really made a lot of mistakes, and that makes me think the only thing holding me up is the permafree book.

So yeah, firm believer here.


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## Jan Thompson (May 25, 2013)

VydorScope said:


> So, I am not a multi-million book sensation (yet!), nor do I put the hours in that Elle and the others do, but perhaps my experience will still be valid for you.
> 
> Up until a couple months ago I had done ZERO advertisements. In the past couple months I tried a couple adds, spent a grand total of $5 to date on them. As of right now, the first book in my series...
> 
> ...


Thank you. I see what you're saying. I'm a measure-everything sort of person, so I can only understand "FREE" if I see numbers to back them up. I see your cause-and-effect.

Questions if I may about your 7% conversion rate. Are you saying that for every 100 free book #1 that people downloaded, 7 people bought book #2? And that for every 100 book #3 people buy, 90 people went on to buy book #4?

Thanks!!!!


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## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

JanThompson said:


> Thank you. I see what you're saying. I'm a measure-everything sort of person, so I can only understand "FREE" if I see numbers to back them up. I see your cause-and-effect.
> 
> Questions if I may about your 7% conversion rate. Are you saying that for every 100 free book #1 that people downloaded, 7 people bought book #2? And that for every 100 book #3 people buy, 90 people went on to buy book #4?
> 
> Thanks!!!!


So, yes, that is correct. For every 100 copies of book 1 I "sell" as permafree, 7 copies of book 2 sell. For every 100 copies if book 2 sell, around 90 copies of book 3 sell. And so on.

All that is ignoring my omnibus which sells about 2 per 100 of book 1, and to be clear that is in addition to the 7 copies of book2. I assume the people buying the omnibus are not buying book 2/3/4, but i guess they might.


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

Cool.  Interesting numbers break-down, VydorScope!  This is making me super psyched to get the final book in my series all done so I can permafree the shizzle out of Book 1!!


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2013)

I personally don't run free days or put my work on perma free. That is not to say that it's the wrong thing to do. I just have chosen a different approach, and so far I haven't run into a problem. Of course, I have far fewer books out than many of the others, so that may factor in. My first book _is _less expensive than the others, so I do something similar. Just not free.

I agree with Mr. Blake that gaining a readership is far more important than making a sale. This why I am always eager to respond fan questions, run promotions that benefit my fan base and not just new readers, see to it that my more "enthusiastic" fans have access to insider information, give frequent updates on my progress, hints about upcoming plot twists, etc.

Acquiring a fan base is one thing. Keeping them is another. I never forget why I've achieved what I have, and see to it my fans know how much I appreciate what they have done and continue to do for me.


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## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

Brian: I also see that you have good covers, compelling blurbs, and presumably, well written innards. 

A compelling recipe for success. I wish you much of it.


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2013)

blakebooks said:


> Brian: I also see that you have good covers, compelling blurbs, and presumably, well written innards.
> 
> A compelling recipe for success. I wish you much of it.


Thank you. That means a lot. I wish you the same.


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## DGS (Sep 25, 2013)

Jay Allan said:


> There is no career where you get to do exactly what you want, when you want and still prosper.


Well, damn.

Thanks for the post, the 3rd point really hit home.


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## Jan Thompson (May 25, 2013)

BrianDAnderson said:


> I personally don't run free days or put my work on perma free. That is not to say that it's the wrong thing to do. I just have chosen a different approach, and so far I haven't run into a problem. Of course, I have far fewer books out than many of the others, so that may factor in. My first book _is _less expensive than the others, so I do something similar. Just not free.


I don't see any permafree books by Joe Nobody or CJ Lyons.

I wonder about the ROI for permafree. But no definitive stats on that. Only anecdotal that it works for lots of sef-pubbers.

I like your idea of making the first book in the series cheaper.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

> I wonder about the ROI for permafree.


How do you figure the I in the ROI?


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## ElHawk (Aug 13, 2012)

JanThompson said:


> I don't see any permafree books by Joe Nobody or CJ Lyons.
> 
> I wonder about the ROI for permafree. But no definitive stats on that. Only anecdotal that it works for lots of sef-pubbers.
> 
> I like your idea of making the first book in the series cheaper.


Its success is probably dependent on a lot of different factors, including genre and what the average reader in that genre is attracted to or expects. I think any strategy that has some logic behind it is worth trying out to see whether it works for you. You never know if it's the right approach for you to make until you give it a whirl.


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## Jan Thompson (May 25, 2013)

Terrence OBrien said:


> How do you figure the I in the ROI?


You mean I or R? Either way, I'm still waiting for statistics.



ElHawk said:


> Its success is probably dependent on a lot of different factors, including genre and what the average reader in that genre is attracted to or expects. I think any strategy that has some logic behind it is worth trying out to see whether it works for you. You never know if it's the right approach for you to make until you give it a whirl.


Good points about trying it out to see whether it works. I agree that genre is a big thing. I can see that intuitively, for my contemporary women's fiction which is on hold until next year, I will do something about book #1 to help sell the rest of the series. But for my thrillers and non-fiction, I'm not sure if the sub-niches are expandable to justify permafree. For my non-fiction it might be the only book I have in that genre so not sure about permafree either...


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## Guest (Oct 29, 2013)

JanThompson said:


> You mean I or R? Either way, I'm still waiting for statistics.
> 
> Good points about trying it out to see whether it works. I agree that genre is a big thing. I can see that intuitively, for my contemporary women's fiction which is on hold until next year, I will do something about book #1 to help sell the rest of the series. But for my thrillers and non-fiction, I'm not sure if the sub-niches are expandable to justify permafree. For my non-fiction it might be the only book I have in that genre so not sure about permafree either...


Genre can never be underestimated as a factor. I think it's why you see so many different methods succeed and fail inexplicably. You simply can't approach a fantasy fan the same way you do someone who reads romance. They read for many of the same reasons, sure. But are they the same type of person in general? This certainly would factor in to how you approach marketing and presentation. For example- My covers are never actual pictures of people manipulated into a scene. My cover art fits the genre. Why? Because that's what people who read fantasy like.


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## britnidanielle (Oct 13, 2013)

This thread just made me rethink my plan to release things as fast as possible. I need to focus on as GOOD as possible. 

Thanks for the reminder.


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## Guest (Oct 29, 2013)

britnidanielle said:


> This thread just made me rethink my plan to release things as fast as possible. I need to focus on as GOOD as possible.
> 
> Thanks for the reminder.


+1


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

> You mean I or R? Either way, I'm still waiting for statistics.


I

I is all under the authors control. No need to wait for anything.


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## 68564 (Mar 17, 2013)

JanThompson said:


> I don't see any permafree books by Joe Nobody or CJ Lyons.
> 
> I wonder about the ROI for permafree. But no definitive stats on that. Only anecdotal that it works for lots of sef-pubbers.
> 
> I like your idea of making the first book in the series cheaper.


I think something that is often left out of these discussions is what is the R you are looking for? I is easy to control, money for covers, time spent writing, and so on all go in to I... but what is the R you are looking for?

For some R is "I want to replace my primary income source with writing."

For some R is "I want to make some secondary income with writing."

For some R is "I just want to write and be published."

And so on. I think each person needs to decide what they want to get out of this. I think each end goal has different, but overlapping, methods to get there.


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## Sandra K. Williams (Jun 15, 2013)

Posts like this one are the primary reason I come to Writers' Cafe. Thank you, Russell and Elle Casey and SM Reine.



ellecasey said:


> What some writers don't seem to grasp (and I'll wager this topic will come up on this thread with someone giving you a hard time, Russell) is that it is entirely possible to focus on gaining readers (and the resulting sales) while also putting out a craft-proud, quality book. The two are NOT mutually exclusive. I get so crazy reading comments about how a thread like this one somehow espouses putting out [crap] material.


The problem, I think, is that some writers are putting out books that are NOT ready to sell and yet they believe that they are following the advice of successful authors like Russell. They're trying to write fast so they can make money. But they're still learning how to write, so they put up unpolished practice books that hurt them in the long run. These writers completely miss the "write a good book" part of the equation.

Anyone who blames Russell, well. No one's telling people to put up unfinished books.


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## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

Jan: Taking a quick look at my spreadsheet, the JET series, which went live with the first book perma-free Oct last year, has sold almost 100K paid installments in its first year over 4 paid volumes. Not sure what other numbers you need to see. Suffice it to say that I'm not disappointed with that result for a new series in its first year. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have seen those sorts of numbers without a perma-free first volume.


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## Justawriter (Jul 24, 2012)

JanThompson said:


> I don't see any permafree books by Joe Nobody or CJ Lyons.
> 
> I wonder about the ROI for permafree. But no definitive stats on that. Only anecdotal that it works for lots of sef-pubbers.
> 
> I like your idea of making the first book in the series cheaper.


CJ Lyons was one of the pioneers of permafree. If you google her or go to her website, you'll find many posts detailing how well it worked.

Likewise, if you want stats on permafree, search the recent threads for the post Elle Casey put up that very clearly showed that when she put book one in her YA series on permafree, it lifted all the other books in the series and she calculated that each free book resulted in over $4 back to her in additional sales.

edited to add...here's the Elle thread, http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,164086.0.html


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## nico (Jan 17, 2013)

Russell: Downloaded all your freebies. If i like any of them, i'll be sure to spread the word. Thanks for the advice. Now we just need more books!


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## Blue Bull Book Design (Sep 18, 2011)

Lots of interesting info in this thread - reminds me of the One Thousand True Fans theory (http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php), which basically says that having 1,000 people willing to spend $100 a year each on your stuff is the new gold standard for artists in the Internet Age.


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## AmsterdamAssassin (Oct 21, 2011)

I write for the reader in me.
I publish for the reader outside of me.


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## D.J. Gelner (Jul 8, 2013)

Great work, Russell--I think this post puts a lot of ideas that have sort of been "floating around" out there into concrete business principles that can be tracked and measured. Well done! 

Now, to get back to writing high-quality stuff at the same insane rate you manage...


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## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

Thanks, DJ. I'm going back to work right now. 11 novels this year is an insane pace? Say it isn't so!

I'll be off the boards as of this afternoon as I'm traveling for the next 3 weeks. With a laptop to finish my WIP, of course, even if no internet access.


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## Rykymus (Dec 3, 2011)

I certainly don't dispute Russell's logic, however, I attracting readers and making a sale is not mutually exclusive. In fact, I believe they are one in the same.

I see value in limited free runs as a promotional tool. I see value in perma-free of the first book in a long series of books. I even see value in a perma-free book for an author with a large back list of unrelated stand-alone books, all within the same genre.

However, as others have said, if you simply write a great first book, the effect will be the same, regardless of price. Free is not a golden ticket to success. There are people who will not touch a free book as the perceive no value lest the author would charge for their work. (Not an attitude I agree with at all.) There are others who will not try the work of an unknown author unless it is free. Then there are those who will wait until enough people of read and reviewed the work before trying it themselves.


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## Jan Thompson (May 25, 2013)

Rykymus said:


> However, as others have said, if you simply write a great first book, the effect will be the same, regardless of price. Free is not a golden ticket to success. There are people who will not touch a free book as the perceive no value lest the author would charge for their work. (Not an attitude I agree with at all.) There are others who will not try the work of an unknown author unless it is free. Then there are those who will wait until enough people of read and reviewed the work before trying it themselves.


This. Can't please everyone.

I think once again it comes down to:

1. Genre
2. Your Readership

If you write in a genre in which your readership expects free, then go free. Go permafree if it suits your business model. If I am a reader of that genre, I would appreciate anything free. Free books, free promotions.

But if you write in a genre in which your readership will buy your books anyway whether free or not, then I'm of the camp that says I would pay for a good book. And I do. Paying for the next book by an excellent author is my "thank you" note to him/her.


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## mariehallwrites (Mar 14, 2013)

I have two permafree titles. I write romances, but in different genres. UF/NA/Fantasy and I knew that because I was crossing subgenres I'd need to put the first books of the series free in order to ensure readers would find me. 

Her Mad Hatter has over 500 reviews on Amazon alone, A Moment close to 300. Permafrees are fantastic in the sense that you get a lot more reviews than you otherwise would. One of the things I like most about reading some of those reviews are the comments made that "I would have paid money for this, I can't believe it was free". I paid to have both books edited, I paid professional cover artists to make each of those covers, knowing I'd take an initial loss. Her Mad Hatter cost me close to 300 to put out. A Moment over 700. BUT... I've more than made that profit back with the sequels. Her Mad Hatter has four other books in the series for me to profit off of. And even though I only have one sequel to A Moment, it's sold thousands of copies. 

I have an 11 book backlist at this point, with me profiting off of 9. I have a few new series I'm starting, but I haven't set those books to perma free just yet, now that my other books give me a sustainable paycheck I've set those new books to 70% profit. No, I'm not selling many of them yet. A few hundred bucks every month off those books. BUT... the second I have the sequels ready, they too will go free.

I'm a HUGE proponent of permafree. I know some authors say it hasn't worked for them, but it most certainly has for me. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Great post, Blake. I'm also very much of the mindset to build my readership than the quick sale. It's served me well.


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## Guest (Oct 31, 2013)

If you don't have a book on perma-free and it's not selling. Why not? You're already not making money, at least you might gain a few readers. On the other hand, if it's selling there's no reason to. Also, you should take into consideration what works for other indie writers IN YOUR GENRE. Mr. Blake writes to a different audience than I do. And though our basic approach is in fact very similar, the details will differ somewhat. 
I have a discounted first book. In fantasy, the more popular indie authors price their books from $2.99-$4.99 generally speaking. There are the occasional .99 specials, but the free books don't do as well as in other genres. Not that it's a bad thing to do, but going down the list of best selling indies in fantasy, I can't think of anyone who has a book on perma-free. If there is, I don't know about it.
But that's fantasy. Fantasy readers are a different reader with different expectation, likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc. than someone who mainly reads action-adventure, romance, or any other genre. Each genre has it's own unique readers with their own tendencies and expectations. Perma-free may be the ticket. Look to the best selling indies in your respective genre and it's easy to know if it's a good idea for you.


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