I downloaded 19 free chapters of one of James Patterson's books on Kindle the other day. The first 19 chapters are free. What do you think of this type of promo? I think it is really smart, but do you think it will increase or decrease sales? I have bought many many books where I have read only the first 6 or so chapters and then quit. That's a sale for the writer. So I guess I'm asking, good idea bad idea? Unseen problems?
Free Ebook chapters?
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For me, that's too much. I'm usually certain by the end of the first chapter if I want to continue or not. I'm more on the side of the first chapter as a free sample.
Plus, it depends on how long the book at actually is. Is it 20 chapters? 38?
Plus, it depends on how long the book at actually is. Is it 20 chapters? 38?
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It depends how much of the book it is, and how much you need to pay to get the rest. Whatever works, works.
sarahdalton
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I think Kindle offer a sample of all ebooks don't they? I allow about 10% on Smashwords, I think it must be the same for Kindle.
I also have the first couple of chapters on Wattpad, but I don't think it receives enough traffic to result in many sales.
There's the 'look inside' feature as well.
I also have the first couple of chapters on Wattpad, but I don't think it receives enough traffic to result in many sales.
There's the 'look inside' feature as well.
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I think the "Look Inside" feature gives readers a chance to read the book and see if they like the style of writing. I post first chapters of all my books on my website.
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I guess offering sample chapters for free is a good idea, but I've never read any. I either buy the book or I don't.
A sample size isn't a bad idea. I look at it from the perspective that a reader who might not be familiar with your work/writing style/subject matter can at least preview it before buying it and then not being very happy with it (and possibly leaving a negative review). I wouldn't give away TOO much though...
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I set mine at 30%. I think if the reader isn't hooked enough to want to buy it by then, I haven't done my job. Or they're not the right reader. That's okay.
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Amazon provide the first 10% as a sample on kindle books (I think it's 10%). In the case of my book this is almost 80 pages, and has given away three plot points, which might seem a lot, but I don't think it hurts sales. It certainly is enough of a sample for them to determine if they want to read on. If they don't, or they give up on the first page or so, like girlyswot said, they aren't the right reader.
I also think that although most readers are probably hooked on a story in the opening paragraphs or the fist chapter, that bit extra might help sway those who don't want to risk their money on an unknown writer without a bit of a feel for where the story is going and to see if the plot and the writing holds up beyond a first chapter.
I also think that although most readers are probably hooked on a story in the opening paragraphs or the fist chapter, that bit extra might help sway those who don't want to risk their money on an unknown writer without a bit of a feel for where the story is going and to see if the plot and the writing holds up beyond a first chapter.
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Gads, I've got free chapts (tons) up at Booksie and Watpad, usually about 2 or three, totaling aprox 10% or so of the entire book. I've pulled a lot of reads and believe that some sales have sparked from that exposure. Actually, as someone pointed out, Amazon allows a chunk of text as a sample in their "Look Inside Feature." I just went to the other display sites to catch another part of the crowd.
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I'm a fan of it. I download the samples of a lot of books from Amazon, and especially now that I have a Kindle, it helps prevent me from forgetting what I've read samples of.
Last fall I was shocked when I got to read the five chapter sample for Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone through Amazon, but I loved it so much I got out of bed and drove straight to the bookstore to buy it. The shorter samples are nice, especially in genres where not a lot of authors are very original, but longer ones like this get me to that point where I HAVE to know what happens next.
Last fall I was shocked when I got to read the five chapter sample for Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone through Amazon, but I loved it so much I got out of bed and drove straight to the bookstore to buy it. The shorter samples are nice, especially in genres where not a lot of authors are very original, but longer ones like this get me to that point where I HAVE to know what happens next.
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