Give your book away!

Should you give your book away for free?

Actually, it’s not such a bad idea.  And it’s an option with Kindle Direct Publishing.  I’m doing it right now with my first novel, BAGMAN, which is a free download until the end of the month.

This is how it works.  When you sign up for KDP Select status – which is essentially a three-month period in which Amazon has the exclusive rights to sell and distribute your book – you can run one of two promotions in that quarter: a countdown, in which your book is reduced (typically to 99p but you get to choose how much) for anything from one hour to seven days, or a full-on ‘Free for five days’ promotion.  I prefer the latter – not least because it’s a greater sacrifice by Amazon, as they incur costs even in the processing and downloading of digital orders. 

But the main reason is that, as I’ve said before, for me it’s really not about income.  I just like thought of people reading the books, even if they hate them (but if you do, please don’t leave a review saying so! Many thanks).  And if someone who might not have bought the book ends up enjoying it, they may recommend it to their friends – and word-of-mouth, as we all know, is the best sales weapon of all.

Long live the free book!

Happy downloading!