A Guest Post from Author Rick Haynes

Guest post 

by 

Author Rick Haynes



You Want Free Books?


I’m totally against FREE books and I’ll explain why. But first, I give many thanks to Hákon Gunnarsson. He has given me permission to post his response about FREE books from a reader's perspective, although he is a writer as well.

Rick, I like your article, and to tell the truth, I've been sceptical of the free book idea for some time. I don't have any experience of putting a book out there for free, but as a reader, I'm very open to downloading anything that looks interesting and is free. The problem is that I have probably 400-500 books on my Kindle. Out of those, I've probably read less than 50. I've reviewed most of those I've read, but the rest gathers digital dust without being read or reviewed, so the 400-450 authors whose books I've downloaded, but not read have got little out of it. I'm told it can elevate the author temporarily within the Amazon ranking system, but that is about it. To me, and I'm no expert, it sounds better to sell it, even if it is at a low price.

Now that response got me thinking. If one honest reader is prepared to admit that he has over 400 unread books on his Kindle, my mind boggles with the numbers of FREE books lying dormant on other electronic devices all over the world. I checked with my friends and wasn’t surprised when the numbers on their Kindles were not dissimilar.
Are we authors blind to the figures? Are we really so stupid that we can’t see the woods for the trees? Are we determined to commit author-suicide? I know some writers disagree as they use free books as a marketing tool, and I understand why. But, think about this, not only are the odds stacked against them but how often does it work? There are many sites on the web offering FREE books; the markets are saturated with them. If everyone stopped offering free books I can’t see the main sellers complaining, can you? For if the minimum price was 99p/99c they would receive a slice of the cake, admittedly small, but so would all of us. Let’s be honest here, 99p/99c book prices are tiny, a cup of coffee is much higher, as is the price for parking your car.
The world is full of options and all authors make crucial decisions. From the planning stage right through to the selling and promotion stages, we decide what we will do. It’s hard, sometimes it’s unfair, but we love what we do.

So whether you decide to offer, Free, or not to be Free, I wish you all much success.
Have fun.
Rick.
rickhaynesauthor.com




Author Bio

Life is short, can be sweet or not as the case may be, but life is what we make of it.
From an early age I discovered the power of humour, and the essence of fun and laughter have been constant friends over the years. However when my soul-mate arrived to show me the true meaning of love, I finally realised just how lucky I was.
London, the home of my birth, gave me my upbringing. Various English homes in various locations, gave me an understanding of differing ways and customs, and working in the service industry gave me a good understanding of peoples needs and wants.
We are all basically the same - or - same-same - but different!
I love a good story, always yearned to write, and have now published novels, short story collections and am an award winning Drabblist.
And when you read my tales I would love to see your honest review.
Best wishes and have a great day.
Rick

Ricks Book Evil Never Dies, is available on Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Evil-Never-Dies-Rick-Haynes/dp/1512057649/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Other titles can be found here.

Author guest posts are the work and opinions of the author presented, and not necessarily the opinion of those affiliated with this blog.

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