Deal Sharing Aunt

Here is my third stop for this week at Deal Sharing Aunt! This is a simply fantastic blog filled with all sort of giveaways. Are you a book lover? Stop by today and enter my giveaway or any of the fun giveaways she has posted there!

Deal Sharing Aunt: Naughty Shakespeare Series

Playing the system

I admit here and now that I'm no supporter of the idea of giving away books (and nor are any of our authors). Yes, it is founded on a good idea - the notion of giving free samples to customers in order to entice trade. My uncle used to be a rep for a chocolate company and he'd have boxes of sweets to give out to shopkeepers to 'try' (in the comfort of their own home, of course). I know for a fact that this ‘generosity’ ultimately resulted in lots of sales.

Don't make publishing a game of chance

I'd say the same for the modern book giveaways but just look at it from a customer's point of view. The average reader simply wants a (good) book so, unless they're seeking out a specific title or author, why should they do anything other than pick a freebie. After all, that same book could cost as much as $10 tomorrow (probably not but it could).

The sad fact of life is that there are just too many blasted books being given away for your novel to be noticed once it stops being free.

Based on the theory that goes 'if you can't beat them, change the rules', when you're looking to write a new book, make sure that you download all the top reviewed freebie books in your field. You'll need to do this over the space of about a week so that you don't miss any important ones.

Having got the books, quickly analyse them. How do they begin? How many principal characters? Do the books generally have happy or sad endings? What about the locations?

Because of the range of different genres, it's impossible to come up with an exhaustive list of questions but you get the idea. Find out what makes these books tick. Grab 20 or 30 and really see what the common thread is - that's what you're going to gain from this exercise from a writer's perspective.

Having done that, now look at the covers. For this part you can also go to the paid-for books but obviously don't download them unless you really want to buy them!

How many words do the titles have? What words keep appearing? How many images are the covers made up of? What do they have in common? Where is the title - top, bottom or middle? What about the author's name?

This sounds like a lot of work. True, but it's nothing like as much work as goes into writing a book. Given that all the invaluable research I've set out here shouldn't cost you a red cent, what can be the excuse for not doing it?

Not only that, the days of so many freebies to choose from has got to be numbered and they’ll soon disappear along with the incredible wealth of information that's currently a mere click or two away.

Any Subject Books acts as a conventional publisher of e-books and POD's as well as providing a full range of services to the self-publishing and independent author. Not sure which applies to you? Follow the link to the publishing services page.

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.

How to Run a Book Giveaway!

As many of you know, I had a book release this week--Bayou Myth! Bayou Myth is a young adult horror novel set in Louisiana. It's about Joan Renault--a teenage voodoo queen in the making-- and her struggle to fight off the contents of Pandora's Jar once they are unleashed. I'm currently on a virtual book tour with the novel and so far, I am really pleased with the reviews. As part of my book tour, I'm doing an ebook giveaway using Rafflecopter. Interested in getting your own free ebook of Bayou Myth? Then hop over to my blog, LOESCH'S MUSE, and enter today!

Okay, now that I've got the shameless self promotion out of the way, let's move on to today's topic: running a giveaway. It probably doesn't seem all that difficult, but I've discovered that in order to be fair to your readers there are a few tips to follow.

1. If you can, offer more than one copy of the book. Sometimes publishers, especially small press, will frown on this, but I think you should push the boundaries as much as possible. The idea is to get your name out there! So be in a giving mood!

2. Don't rely on blog comments to help you pick a winner. Some people are too shy to leave a comment, but they really want to a shot at winning.

Which brings me to tip 3.

3. Use Rafflecopter. It's a pretty simple way to set up a giveaway. All you do is go to the Rafflecopter website, sign up for free, and then customize your giveaway. The directions for how to put it on your blog are pretty easy to follow. The great thing is that you look so much more professional when you use this particular tool.

Try it on your own blog and let me know how it works for you!