Free to a Good Home
July 21, 2015
You may have read in a previous post that Discord's Child is currently available free in Smashwords' summer promotion, which runs until 31st July. I have mixed feelings about providing work for nothing.
Generally, I feel that it's letting the side down. Most authors struggle to get work published and make a living from it. As enjoyable and rewarding as writing is, it is work. No one would suggest that nurses, teachers or accountants should work for nothing, simply because they get satisfaction from what they do.
The jury's out over whether giving work away free is a good marketing tool. Those on the 'yes' side, say that it gets your work read so that readers will remember you and pay for your other work, and hopefully, recommend it. On the 'no' side, people say that readers download novels that they're not really interested in simply because they're free, and they'll probably never read them.
So why have I included Discord's Child in the summer promotion? Maybe because so many local libraries are having to cut back or close down that people no longer have access to as much free reading from that traditional source. Maybe because unlike print books, ebooks can't be lent to a succession of friends or given to jumble sales or charity shops. Maybe I'm just curious to find out what happens. I'm really not sure myself, but whatever the reasons, the result is the same: for the rest of this month you can download Discord's Child free simply by using the special code at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/410566.
Generally, I feel that it's letting the side down. Most authors struggle to get work published and make a living from it. As enjoyable and rewarding as writing is, it is work. No one would suggest that nurses, teachers or accountants should work for nothing, simply because they get satisfaction from what they do.
The jury's out over whether giving work away free is a good marketing tool. Those on the 'yes' side, say that it gets your work read so that readers will remember you and pay for your other work, and hopefully, recommend it. On the 'no' side, people say that readers download novels that they're not really interested in simply because they're free, and they'll probably never read them.
So why have I included Discord's Child in the summer promotion? Maybe because so many local libraries are having to cut back or close down that people no longer have access to as much free reading from that traditional source. Maybe because unlike print books, ebooks can't be lent to a succession of friends or given to jumble sales or charity shops. Maybe I'm just curious to find out what happens. I'm really not sure myself, but whatever the reasons, the result is the same: for the rest of this month you can download Discord's Child free simply by using the special code at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/410566.
Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
