I know what you’re thinking. What kind of nonsense is this? Well, bear with me for a moment, if you will.
You see, the reason I’m writing this is that I send out emails and make posts periodically about free book promotions. These are promotions that authors like me participate in to reach new readers. In addition to participating in third-party promotions with other authors, I also offer free ebook copies of When Luck Dies, The Murder Lawyer #1, and, occasionally, Missing Girl.
I could tell you that I offer these books for free because I live off a trust fund and I write as a hobby. Other authors might tell you this, and they’re probably lying. No, most definitely, they’re lying. We giveaway books because we want you to read them, and hopefully, like our writing enough to buy future books from us.
Now, before we go any further, I want you to open your iPad, your tablet, or whatever it is that you read books on. How many free books have you downloaded in the past few months? If you belong to Amazon Prime, you get to choose from one or two free books each month. Add these to the books you download from free promotions like myself and other authors share. It doesn’t take long for the free books to stack up virtually and become overwhelming.
I’m not immune to this. I have a lot of free books in my virtual library. I have a lot more than I’ve actually read, and that’s a problem.
When we don’t read the free books we download, we’re not doing anyone any favors. As readers, we’re not giving ourselves the opportunity to discover new authors. As consumers, we’re not supporting authors.
So, here are my tips for reading free books:
Be Selective
As a reader, I’ve made a conscious effort to be very selective about the free books I download. I try not to download any more than I can read in a month or two. For me, that’s usually one or two books. For you, it might be eight. The point is to keep your free book stack manageable.
Read the Book
The word free elicits a psychological response that triggers our desire to get as much as we can with as little commitment as possible. Think about it. When something is free, what incentive do you have to use it?
Consider all the buy one, get one free grocery sales. We buy the extra stuff we don’t need, and when it goes bad, it’s no big deal because we aren’t out any money. It’s that same mentality that pushes us to keep adding free books to our cart. We might not have time to read them now and will get around to them someday, but when is someday? And, if we don’t, no big deal.
Well, it is a big deal for authors who give away hundreds of copies of their books for free. Consider an eBook that retails for $2.99. Giving away one hundred free copies, in theory, costs that author $299 in potential sales. Of course, there’s the potential to make 2-3 times as much in additional book sales if the free promotion is a success. But readers have to read the books, and then buy subsequent books for that success to happen.
Leave a Review
Authors who give away free copies of their books also crave reviews. We do, really. Of course, we hope you love the book and want to leave a raving review, but critical reviews are welcome too. Reviews help more people find books and discover new-to-them authors.
Refer to a Friend
Not all readers like to leave reviews. I’m actually this type of reader. I rarely write reviews because if I didn’t like a book it’s usually for a very personal reason. Also, even though I’m a writer, I never know what to say. What I will do is happily recommend books to people in person and social media. Want a good book recommendation? Ask me, and you’ll never get me to shut up.
All right, friends! That’s it. That’s my tutorial on how to read a free book. That being said, if you have time to read one or two free books, check out this promotion: https://books.bookfunnel.com/ladieslovelitjuly1/nxrktie62h