The Cost of Free Books
Offering books for free is a largely ineffective audience building tool
Free is the ultimate four-letter curse word for an indie author.
I know this statement defies conventional marketing advice shoveled out nonstop to aspiring authors or newer authors trying to find their footing. If you join online groups or forums catering to indie authors, you’ll be bombarded with posts extolling the virtues of making one book or multiple books permafree or regularly running free book promotions. Following such advice can quickly turn into a huge mistake.
An author should never let themselves be pressured or shamed into offering their books for free. It is not the magical shortcut to building an audience of interested readers for your books like it is made out to be in some indie author circles.
Writing high quality fiction is not a universal skill. It requires blending natural talent with a consistent dedication to learning the craft. Published books are an end result of countless hours of writing and editing for an author. Taking this fact into consideration, you can see how giving away those stories for free doesn’t make a lick of sense. Authors can’t pay their bills or make a living with “exposure” alone.
Permafree myths
Permafree books are not a golden ticket to audience building. Advocates of making a first-in-series book permanently free will claim it leads to high sales and readthrough numbers for the rest of the series. Readers will embrace the author. That author, in turn, will earn legions of positive reviews and enhanced social media visibility — opening a door to build a thriving fanbase in short order.
The real world tells a different, much harsher tale.
Permafree books — and any free book promotion for that matter — attract gobs of freeloaders. These are self-professed readers who hoard countless free books without ever reading a single page from their book haul. They enjoy bragging about their TBR list and book hauls on social media more than doing any actual reading.
Not only do stuff-your-kindle type freeloaders rarely read free books they download, but their track record for leaving reviews or giving those books increased visibility on social media is terrible. They simply don’t value free books as much as ones they paid for.
Do free books drive sales? It’s a complicated answer.
Doing a free promotion through a BookBub Featured Deal often spikes sales in a series simply because BookBub sends out featured deal emails to millions of interested readers. Their unmatched reach makes a free first-in-series promotion worth the price.
Without the aid of BookBub, a different story unfolds. When your permafree book isn’t placed front and center before millions of readers within your genre, the math will not favor you. It often takes thousands of free downloads of your permafree book before you drum up even a handful of sales for your other books.
The Starving Artist Myth
Permafree books are, in some ways, a byproduct of the starving artist trope. Some authors in online groups and forums scoff at fellow indie authors who express a goal of making a full-time income from their craft, shaming them for embracing such thinking. “You can’t expect to make money from writing,” their detractors loudly and boldly proclaim. “If you don’t write simply for the love of writing, prepare to be disappointed.”
This sort of attitude is equal parts ridiculous and condescending. It’s also a flat-out lie.
Many successful indie authors boast five-figure and six-figure annual incomes from their books. A handful at the top tread into seven-figure income territory. People who labor to convince indie authors to give their books away for free are simply peddling the starving artist trope. They romanticize suffering for your art and sharing it with the world without expecting any financial gain in return.
The starving artist trope needs to be stamped out.
I’ve made a full-time living from writing for two decades. This includes selling 10,000 books over the last three years. One piece of advice I always share with newer authors is to know your worth. Never settle for anything less than fair compensation for your time and talent. This principle applies to every form of writing — including fiction.
Authors who argue against the idea of trying to make money from writing books typically fall into one of three categories.
An affluent hobbyist who writes for fun. They don’t need extra money from their hobby and refuse to understand why anyone else wants to make money from writing.
An insecure author who writes subpar stories. Their books are rough and unpolished, so they choose to offer their stories for free rather than work at improving their craft before going ahead and publishing.
A disgruntled author who sells few stories. They failed at making a living from writing, so they actively dissuade others from pursuing that goal and potentially experiencing the success that eluded them.
You should take anything these types of authors say with a whole barrel of salt. They don’t have your best interests in mind. Listening to their arguments and following their advice could sabotage your marketing efforts and damage your author brand.
When is Free Acceptable?
Free books are a useful audience builder only in specific circumstances.
When readers express interest in reading one of my books and lack funds to purchase the book, I encourage them to request a copy from their local library. All my books are available to order through distributors that provide eBooks, audiobooks, and print books to libraries worldwide.
All indie authors can take the same step when they publish to make it easier for readers to request copies of an indie author’s books at their local libraries.
Authors who publish eBooks through Draft2Digital for example will gain instant access to major library distributors such as Overdrive, Hoopla, Palace Marketplace, Baker & Taylor, BorrowBox, and cloudLibrary. When a library buys the eBook from one of these distributors, the author receives a royalty on the initial purchase. Then, the author receives additional royalties each time a library patron checks out their book. Print books published through IngramSpark are similarly available for libraries to purchase.
This is a win-win scenario for author and reader alike. The reader with a limited budget gets access to a free book while the author is paid for their writing at the same time. And it lets an author build an audience for their books without harming their ability to pay their bills and make a living.
Need help with editing or proofreading your novel?
Samak Press has you covered. Their expert team can offer valuable feedback to polish your story into a shiny gem.
Contact Samak Press today to see their full range of author services and get a quote on your writing or editing project.
AT LAST SOMEONE WHO AGREES WITH ME! In fact, I have lost contacts on other social media over this issue. Can I add one thing? All this giving books away has trained many readers to refrain from buying and to wait for those freebies. A great disservice to any writer, even those who don't want to make a living from their writing. Paying for books is a value for value exchange. Authors giving books away destroy that idea and make it harder for other authors to get paid. Bravo for posting this! You are now one of my fave people here (well, you already were, but even more so now).
I've never met anyone who likes to work for free.
As a storyteller, I want people to see value in my books. I can't see value in giving away my hard work.
As an avid reader, I always strive to buy paperbacks instead of E-Books. That way, I get to keep a book, and the writer gets his royalties.