Giving it all away

I've long been suspicious of the so-called free or give-away days that are perceived as providing the principal way to the top for aspiring authors. For me, it goes against the grain and, while I like packaging things together to up-sell or to do deals, making an unlimited number of donations to the swelling libraries of others just doesn't sit well with me. Not only that, there's the old maxim of something that has no monetary value to one owner can transfer no monetary value to the receiver.

 No doubt that's a bit simplistic but I don't think it's a million miles from reality.

I've been told that I'm a quick writer but I still put countless hundreds of hours into my scribblings and I expect you're the same so that's why I urge caution regarding these freebie days and where they can lead. It’s like a blank check, a plague let loose or an open invitation to all and sundry to do their worst.


Will help flush your work
down the toilet

The usual concern is about people sharing your book around but, in all honesty, that's trivial. It might even be a good thing because your book will then either go to someone who's actually interested in what you have to say (as in 'great minds think alike' - possibly leading to future sales) or to someone who just happens to be on the wrong end of an unwanted gift (in which case you've given your book to someone who wouldn't have bought it anyway - no loss there).

It's not that which concerns me.

There are a growing number of sites which download books when they're free and then offer them (also for free) to anyone who wants them – even long after your freebie day has gone by. Thus, while your 5 freebie KDP days every 90 days are finite (for the other 85 days your book has to be priced at least 99 cents OR it has to be taken down altogether), this ‘freebie day’ has been turned into a ‘Groundhog Day’. Since we're all after a bargain, why would any of your faithful followers purchase your book at full price when they can get exactly the same for nowt?

While you are an unknown author, your sales will come from 'serendipity' - i.e. people stumbling across your work and liking the look of it. Once you've got a following, that's when the danger will begin as people search for either you or your newest title. That’s when they’ll type your name into a search engine and find the free gift that’s waiting there.

But what's in it for this scumbag site that's ripped off your book? If they're giving the book away, what do they make out of it?

To answer that, one needs to think laterally. Essentially their income (and, remember, they're doing no work at all - this is a 100% automated site) is achieved through 3 different streams.

Firstly, there's the sheer volume of traffic. The more traffic a site has, the more it's worth. Businesses will pay big money for sites with lots of visitors - both to buy and to advertise on.

Secondly, there are Google AdSense adverts (or similar), Amazon adverts and other book-related services which can be promoted. When a visitor to the site clicks on one of those ads, the host site earns money. Let’s say there are 1,000 visitors a day, the average click-through rate is 2% and the average PPC (Payment Per Click) is $0.50. That’s $300 a month for doing absolutely nothing. You’d have to sell 150 books priced at $2.99 to earn that.

Thirdly (and most sinisterly in my humble opinion), in order to get a free copy of your book, the downloader has to jump through a hoop. This can mean: complete a survey, leave an email address, download a cookie, click through an advert etc. Such data has considerable value to internet marketing companies who can then sell it on to 'relevant' businesses.

This is war - make no doubt about it

These parasitic sites address the issue of book distribution very cleverly. You'll find some text on their site saying your book was part of a give-away and that all they're doing is continuing in the same spirit. Since they don't actually sell the book, the legal water is slightly muddied. They also offer you the opportunity to get your books removed from their listings - not that anyone will actually pay attention to your irate 'Take my book down NOW!!!' request typed out vigorously, vehemently and venomously on their ‘Contact Us’ form.

Ah, but I've got DRM (Digital Rights Management) so my book can't be hacked - I'm safe (you cry). Unfortunately, it's no good clinging to that straw as it's stuffed full of Uranium (the densest naturally-occurring element) and most assuredly will not float. The simple plug-in that hacks DRM is freely and anonymously available on the internet and, in a period of about 20 seconds, your DRM'd book could be turned into an un-DRM'd copy along with other versions in HTML, Word, RTF, TXT and just about any other household format.

It's no good threatening these sites with legal action. You won't find actual contact details and, even if you did, they'd not be in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Europe etc. They'll be in a place where no-one will want to know about how you've had your rights infringed – be sure of that.

Talking of maxims - here's another one of mine. Anything that can be built by a human can be destroyed by one. Don't let the despicable bottom-feeders who create these sites steal your work. Instead of giving your book away, maybe offer something free when the purchaser submits proof of purchase, for example. Keep control at all times.

I have a nasty sneaking suspicion that there are going to be even more repercussions to this marketing experiment. Don't be a guinea pig.

Clive has written two works of fiction - The Road and Hobson's Choice (an anthology of twist-in-the-tail short stories) as well as a book about lymphedema (a disease he suffers from) and a guide to taking charge of job interviews.

Giving it all away

I've long been suspicious of the so-called free or give-away days that are perceived as providing the principal way to the top for aspiring authors. For me, it goes against the grain and, while I like packaging things together to up-sell or to do deals, making an unlimited number of donations to the swelling libraries of others just doesn't sit well with me. Not only that, there's the old maxim of something that has no monetary value to one owner can transfer no monetary value to the receiver. No doubt that's a bit simplistic but I don't think it's a million miles from reality.

To accompany your work
on its way down the toilet.

I've been told that I'm a quick writer but I still put countless hundreds of hours into my scribblings and I expect you're the same so that's why I urge caution regarding these freebie days and where they can lead. It’s like a blank check, a plague let loose or an open invitation to all and sundry to do their worst.

The usual concern is about people sharing your book around but, in all honesty, that's trivial. It might even be a good thing because your book will then either go to someone who's actually interested in what you have to say (as in 'great minds think alike' - possibly leading to future sales) or to someone who just happens to be on the wrong end of an unwanted gift (in which case you've given your book to someone who wouldn't have bought it anyway - no loss there).

It's not that which concerns me.

There are a growing number of sites which download books when they're free and then offer them (also for free) to anyone who wants them – even long after your freebie day has gone by. Thus, while your 5 freebie KDP days every 90 days are finite (for the other 85 days your book has to be priced at least 99 cents OR it has to be taken down altogether), this ‘freebie day’ has been turned into a ‘Groundhog Day’. Since we're all after a bargain, why would any of your faithful followers purchase your book at full price when they can get exactly the same for nowt?

While you are an unknown author, your sales will come from 'serendipity' - i.e. people stumbling across your work and liking the look of it. Once you've got a following, that's when the danger will begin as people search for either you or your newest title. That’s when they’ll type your name into a search engine and find the free gift that’s waiting there.

But what's in it for this scumbag site that's ripped off your book? If they're giving the book away, what do they make out of it?

To answer that, one needs to think laterally. Essentially their income (and, remember, they're doing no work at all - this is a 100% automated site) is achieved through 3 different streams.

Firstly, there's the sheer volume of traffic. The more traffic a site has, the more it's worth. Businesses will pay big money for sites with lots of visitors - both to buy and to advertise on.

Secondly, there are Google AdSense adverts (or similar), Amazon adverts and other book-related services which can be promoted. When a visitor to the site clicks on one of those ads, the host site earns money. Let’s say there are 1,000 visitors a day, the average click-through rate is 2% and the average PPC (Payment Per Click) is $0.50. That’s $300 a month for doing absolutely nothing. You’d have to sell 150 books priced at $2.99 to earn that.

Thirdly (and most sinisterly in my humble opinion), in order to get a free copy of your book, the downloader has to jump through a hoop. This can mean: complete a survey, leave an email address, download a cookie, click through an advert etc. Such data has considerable value to internet marketing companies who can then sell it on to 'relevant' businesses.

These parasitic sites address the issue of book distribution very cleverly. You'll find some text on their site saying your book was part of a give-away and that all they're doing is continuing in the same spirit. Since they don't actually sell the book, the legal water is slightly muddied. They also offer you the opportunity to get your books removed from their listings - not that anyone will actually pay attention to your irate 'Take my book down NOW!!!' request typed out vigorously, vehemently and venomously on their ‘Contact Us’ form.



Ah, but I've got DRM (Digital Rights Management) so my book can't be hacked - I'm safe (you cry). Unfortunately, it's no good clinging to that straw as it's stuffed full of Uranium (the densest naturally-occurring element) and most assuredly will not float. The simple plug-in that hacks DRM is freely and anonymously available on the internet and, in a period of about 20 seconds, your DRM'd book could be turned into an un-DRM'd copy along with other versions in HTML, Word, RTF, TXT and just about any other household format.

This is war!

It's no good threatening these sites with legal action. You won't find actual contact details and, even if you did, they'd not be in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Europe etc. They'll be in a place where no-one will want to know about how you've had your rights infringed – be sure of that.

Talking of maxims - here's another one of mine. Anything that can be built by a human can be destroyed by one. Don't let the despicable bottom-feeders who create these sites steal your work. Instead of giving your book away, maybe offer something free when the purchaser submits proof of purchase, for example. Keep control at all times. I have a nasty sneaking suspicion that there are going to be even more repercussions to this marketing experiment. Don't be a guinea pig.

Clive has written two fiction books - 'The Road' and 'Hobson's Choice' (a collection of short stories) as well as a book about lymphedema (from which he suffers) and a guide for how job-seekers can beat the interview blues.

Something for nothing? (Part 1 of 2)

If a complete stranger tries to give you something free of charge, what thoughts would normally go through your head?


• There's a catch
• Something is wrong with it
• The thing's been stolen
• It's got no value

Don't believe all you see.

Yet, despite this instinctively suspicious reception, authors are forever being encouraged to give away their books in return for enhanced rankings and thus more sales in the long term. It's a nice idea but, like communism, it's largely doomed to failure because of the inherent self-seeking nature of the human race.

If there's an easy way of making money, someone will give it a try. That's a simple fact of life.

So, what do I have against the freebies?

For those who don't know, the principal (although not sole) source of free books is that made available by authors who've signed up for Amazon's KDP program. This 'allows' them 5 promotion days (when they can give their books away for free) in a 90-day period. It's carefully controlled and 5 days is the maximum for everyone. The author decides which days and then does all the pre-promotion awareness-raising. In return, Amazon's algorithm gives a partial credit (how much is a carefully guarded secret) for every book that's given away. The result is that, after the promotion has terminated, the book is left floating at a higher level than before its free promotion.

There is one other salient fact to be taken into account. During the promotion, the book's normal ranking is suspended and it is given a temporary 'freebie' one instead. At the end of the promotion, the book's 'permanent' ranking is recalculated and that determines the mid-term visibility of the book.

But what does all this mean in terms of sales?

The answer is a mixed bag as it depends on the permanent ranking before and after. Given that there are millions of books available now with thousands more being uploaded every day, it's obvious nonsense to think that every promoted book is going to get into that magical top ten thousand with its more or less guaranteed sales. However, if you believe everything you read in the writers' groups, you could be forgiven for thinking that there must be a hundred thousand books in the top ten thousand.

If you see such things (like I do all the time), restrict any comment to “Uh-huh. Really? Well done”, and hang on to your cynical and suspicious instincts for all that is holy to you. Everyone has an agenda and, if you’d just discovered the magical elixir or the formula for the alchemists’ touchstone, would you go blabbing the formula to all and sundry? Exactly.

You want to gamble?

I could be even less charitable by saying that if I do something foolish, I’ll feel a lot less of a fool if I’m surrounded by fellow fools who’ve made the same mistake. Read Aesop’s Fable of the fox without a tail.

Returning to the mathematics of it all, if your book started off by ranking well then the promotion day is undoubtedly going to give it a boost. You've presumably got a readership already and a good promotional day will only serve to consolidate your position.

Going into the freebie day with a low-ranking book is another matter. Unless you've somehow managed to get loads of publicity, all you're going to do is to give free copies to people who don't mind taking a chance on an unknown author if the book doesn't cost them anything. There won't be enough of those to make a difference and your hard work will almost certainly go unrewarded and unnoticed.

Continued next week …

Clive West has written a novel, a collection of short stories and two non-fiction books. He now runs a publishing company called Any Subject Books along with his wife, also an author.