For those who are selling e-books, will lit members sepnd money?

[lovecraft68]

For those who are selling e-books, will lit members spend money?

I've wondered this for awhile, but haven't really asked around. This week though something happened that spurred me to ask this question.

I pulled the 5 part Finale of my SWB series. Part 3 had been banned and I was tired of people e-mailing me asking me if I could send it to them. So I pulled the whole thing and it is now on smashwords as Broken Book 8.

On my page I explained I pulled it to avoid hassles with the site and put the SW link if anyone wants to buyt it.

A reader e-mailed me after finishing chapter 39 where I still advertise there is more to come and blew smoke up my ass "It's an amazing series, best I ever read! I need to know how it finishes!" would I consider a free download for a "true fan"

My response was no. I invested in a cover and the time to format and etc... I told him the book is 130k and the price is only $3.99. It's not a major investment to get the conclusion of such a long involved work.

The response? I'm a money grubbing asshole. How dare I not want to share the ending to the fans who have supported my work with their votes and comments?

Unable to leave it alone I sent one more response that said basically that I have left 46 chapters up there for free for people to enjoy. it took two years to write it and how about my loyal fans show me some support and spend a lousy 4 bucks.

Now I realize this guy is not everyone. But I also have doubts lit members will spend any money. Why would they? They are o a site that has thousands upon thousands of back logged stories in every fetish possible with 75 or so new ones added daily.

They are the equivalent to the people who scour the kindle store for free downloads, but will never actually purchase anything.

But this is my take and I'm wondering if anyone here either agrees through experience or has found the opposite to be true. I know its hard, because short of someone e-mailing you and saying "Hey I'm from lit and I just bought your book" how do you really know?

Just wondering if its worth bothering to try to market anything in a site where people are getting anything they want for free.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Life is a numbers game, you know that. Pick whatever category you want, and 99% of people involved with that particular thing are self-absorbed gimme-grabbers. Its like ants and picnics.

 

[master_chay]

Cheer up lovecraft, that person thought they had more of a relationship with you than they did. That happens all the time in the author's game. A few emails and they think you're best buddies.

The thing to remember is that yeah, it's worth advertising, because they can't get "anything" for free.

They can't get you. And what you do is special.

x

 

[manyeyedhydra]

Whenever I put up new stories on Lit I pick up new sales of ebooks. I think it's pretty good advertising, but striking the right balance between what to give away and what to hold back so they're still buying something with original material is hard. It's easier for short story collections where I can aim for about half new and half reprints.

For series it's hard. I'm not convinced running "here's the first fifteen chapters for free, if you want to see how it ends buy the book" is a good strategy. It pisses people off and they don't come back. Better to find ways of working in extra scenes or fleshing out parts in the middle so people know they're getting something extra for their money rather than triggering resentment by making them pay to see the end -- they might have done it anyway, but forcing them to do so adds a sour taste to their enjoyment.

 

[lovecraft68]

Whenever I put up new stories on Lit I pick up new sales of ebooks. I think it's pretty good advertising, but striking the right balance between what to give away and what to hold back so they're still buying something with original material is hard. It's easier for short story collections where I can aim for about half new and half reprints.

For series it's hard. I'm not convinced running "here's the first fifteen chapters for free, if you want to see how it ends buy the book" is a good strategy. It pisses people off and they don't come back. Better to find ways of working in extra scenes or fleshing out parts in the middle so people know they're getting something extra for their money rather than triggering resentment by making them pay to see the end -- they might have done it anyway, but forcing them to do so adds a sour taste to their enjoyment.

Well in my defense the entire series was up. I had issues with the site on the finale and as I said pulled it. So it was all here for awhile.

Each of my Broken books which are the SWB series from lit all contain at least 2 unreleased chapters and new material.

I am speaking more along the lines of getting them to but things that are not here.

 

[master_chay]

For series it's hard. I'm not convinced running "here's the first fifteen chapters for free, if you want to see how it ends buy the book" is a good strategy. It pisses people off and they don't come back. Better to find ways of working in extra scenes or fleshing out parts in the middle so people know they're getting something extra for their money rather than triggering resentment by making them pay to see the end -- they might have done it anyway, but forcing them to do so adds a sour taste to their enjoyment.

This is interesting. I'm new here but it seems to me that one should probably decide up front whether one is going to write a series for free or if it is to become a sellable book. Then one can easily aftewards write some stand alone scenes for free story publishing using the characters. Hm. That might even open the door, if the character is good, to create a kind of virtual porn star about whom many books could be written.

I like the thought of that!

 

[Mrtouf]

Well, I'm not so cheap that I won't buy a book. Especially at a price like $4. If I'm a paying reader, I'm paying for a certain quality or more of what I like.

Like you say, here is a site where there are lots of stories to whet a reader's appetite, and unless they go looking up your profile they aren't going to see the link to the storefront.

Lucky for you I'm a nosy bugger.

 

[sr71plt]

I get that gnashing teeth feeling too when a friend asks me if my mainstream books are in the library. (Well, yes, some of them, but I didn't write them to be borrowed.) If it's a little old lady on a spartan pension, I'll sometimes lend her a copy. Otherwise, I usually bite the bullet, let them know which ones are probably in the library, but also say that I did write them to sell them.

(And you might as well have gone whole hog in the promotion of your books in the OP and provide the cover images. I think that's a legitimate activity on the forum. )

 

[lovecraft68]

I get that gnashing teeth feeling too when a friend asks me if my mainstream books are in the library. (Well, yes, some of them, but I didn't write them to be borrowed.) If it's a little old lady on a spartan pension, I'll sometimes lend her a copy. Otherwise, I usually bite the bullet, let them know which ones are probably in the library, but also say that I did write them to sell them.

(And you might as well have gone whole hog in the promotion of your books in the OP and provide the cover images. I think that's a legitimate activity on the forum. )

My cover images are over in the authors and their books thread, which is where personally I feel they belong, but there's no rule against having them anywhere you want I suppose.

Speaking of libraries ( get ready to gnash some more), I know you're on smashwords, they just had some type of survey about them putting our books into libraries so people can borrow them and instead of a sale we get pennies on the dollar.
You can read it on their updates page

 

[sr71plt]

Speaking of libraries ( get ready to gnash some more), I know you're on smashwords, they just had some type of survey about them putting our books into libraries so people can borrow them and instead of a sale we get pennies on the dollar.
You can read it on their updates page

Amazon is already doing this. Yes, it's teeth gnashing from an author's point of view.

 

[lovecraft68]

Amazon is already doing this. Yes, it's teeth gnashing from an author's point of view.

Is this that Kindle select program? I've heard a lot of bad things about it on the Amazon forums, they will block your account in the blink of an eye over dozens of "infractions"

What's more teeth gnashing is my sister is one of those people. She has about 400 books on her kindle and has maybe paid for a dozen.

And she thinks I'm giving her a free copy of mine.

 

[sr71plt]

Is this that Kindle select program? I've heard a lot of bad things about it on the Amazon forums, they will block your account in the blink of an eye over dozens of "infractions"

What's more teeth gnashing is my sister is one of those people. She has about 400 books on her kindle and has maybe paid for a dozen.

And she thinks I'm giving her a free copy of mine.

I don't think it's Kindle Select. I've seen it on the books of mine I've checked. My publisher only put one book into Kindle Select (a coauthored pen named one), but hasn't liked the result. Not much that Amazon has done has been author friendly.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't think it's Kindle Select. I've seen it on the books of mine I've checked. My publisher only put one book into Kindle Select (a coauthored pen named one), but hasn't liked the result. Not much that Amazon has done has been author friendly.

I just got a confusing e-mail from them last night. It's on one of the "step mother" stories I have up there.

They are saying that I need to lower my price, because it is available elsewhere for less. I started it at $2.99 and they lowered it to $1.99.

It's about 18k and I start everything at $2.99 because of their policy of anything less you only get 35%

so they lower it to $1.99. It ios on smashwords for $1.99

So I pretty much replied "what do you want from me" because I really don't know what they're looking for.

They really do what they want and can get away with it unfortunately.

 

[sr71plt]

Well, and I know you never like to hear this, this is what I have publishers for. I just write them. I let the publishers worry about stuff like this. And since, by concentrating on the writing, I can produce an average of two of them a month, the sheer volume of titles makes whatever is going wrong with one of them not such a big deal.

 

[MaxSebastian]

so they lower it to $1.99. It ios on smashwords for $1.99

If it's on Smashwords at $1.99, the Amazon bots will find it and trigger the lowering of the Amazon price to $1.99. It's in the Amazon small print that if they find the price for the same ebook elsewhere is below the one you've picked for Amazon, they can match it.

I've heard mixed things about Kindle Select. I'm tempted to try it on a title. Supposedly you can get your books priced for free on Amazon (which would help sales with other titles) by putting a zero price on Smashwords and then waiting for the Amazon bots to find it, and discount yours to zero on Amazon. Hasn't happened to me yet.

I suspect some Lit readers stumble on my website and perhaps purchase a few ebooks, but I haven't got many of my backlist published yet, and am in the process of final edits for about 5 more stories, so I'm wondering about which to make free as well.

 

[lovecraft68]

If it's on Smashwords at $1.99, the Amazon bots will find it and trigger the lowering of the Amazon price to $1.99. It's in the Amazon small print that if they find the price for the same ebook elsewhere is below the one you've picked for Amazon, they can match it.

I've heard mixed things about Kindle Select. I'm tempted to try it on a title. Supposedly you can get your books priced for free on Amazon (which would help sales with other titles) by putting a zero price on Smashwords and then waiting for the Amazon bots to find it, and discount yours to zero on Amazon. Hasn't happened to me yet.

I suspect some Lit readers stumble on my website and perhaps purchase a few ebooks, but I haven't got many of my backlist published yet, and am in the process of final edits for about 5 more stories, so I'm wondering about which to make free as well.

If that's their policy that's fine, but they sent me this after they lowered it and the wording was making it sound like they wanted me to lower it again.

So what I decided to do was.....

Go to smashwords and raise the price to $2.99

 

[BONNIEBREA]

When I went to self-pub I used Kindle, but quickly backed away from it and went to smashwords.

I find the file formatting a lot easier, and of course you get greater exposure on the smashwords premium list.

I have a seven volume series I've published there, and the first volume is free. It's been a good way to get readers into the series. Obviously, download numbers are much higher for volume one, but I've found many readers going on to purchase more volumes in the series.

 

[lovecraft68]

When I went to self-pub I used Kindle, but quickly backed away from it and went to smashwords.

I find the file formatting a lot easier, and of course you get greater exposure on the smashwords premium list.

I have a seven volume series I've published there, and the first volume is free. It's been a good way to get readers into the series. Obviously, download numbers are much higher for volume one, but I've found many readers going on to purchase more volumes in the series.

Smashwords is easier and honestly I have done pretty good there through the affiliates. I expect it to get beter with microsoft investing serious money into B&N for the sole purpose of competing with kindle.

But there is no reason not to be able to have both except Amazon is bound and determined to become a monopoly in every aspect of its company.

And a free download in that scenario makes perfect sense. You hope they ike the free one enough to spend on the others.

 

[lovecraft68]

Well, and I know you never like to hear this, this is what I have publishers for. I just write them. I let the publishers worry about stuff like this. And since, by concentrating on the writing, I can produce an average of two of them a month, the sheer volume of titles makes whatever is going wrong with one of them not such a big deal.

Its not that I don't want to hear it. I understand your reasons. On my side, I just stick with there is nothing I can't learn to deal with and like anything else there is trial and error and growing pains.

Amazon is truly one big growing pain.

 

[bashfullyshameless]

At the risk of not entirely addressing Lovecraft's point (I'm a little groggy from a failed attempt at napping): I've been entirely happy with my experience of putting Good Intentions (originally Angels, Demons and Alex on Lit) up on Amazon & Smashwords. I pulled ADA from Lit in or around May of 2011 and had it up for sale as Good Intentions in early June of last year. I know most of my early sales were from Literotica readers... it's the sales that I'm getting now that leave me scratching my head.

It's still selling, and in fact over the last couple months it has gone back up to the same level of sales it was at when it first became available & there were Lit readers who'd been waiting for it. Also, my Kindle sales have vastly outweighed my sales on Smashwords, but I also have many more reader reviews on the Kindle page than I do anywhere else.

It's clear that at least some of those sales are still Literotica readers who remembered the story when it was here. I still get the occasional email asking for the "original" version (I made some changes, including cutting down somewhat on the depth & breadth of the explicit sex). However, that can't really account for all of them. I really wish I knew what was helping my sales, because I'd sure as hell do more of it!

So far, I've had all of ONE GUY EVER who complained to me that I was "screwing" my fans by monetizing it ($2.99 for a 200k word novel). I also had one reader who was plainly incensed that I went with Kindle, and he sent me a private rant about how much he hated DRM and how I was screwing fans... but as soon as I told him, "Hey, it'll be up on Smashwords in a couple days, I just had a file formatting issue with the cover," he was cool.

So, yes, in my experience, Literotica readers will spend money if they like your story enough. I don't know what a difference it would've made if I charged more, but I'm happy with where I am. Conversely, I'm not sure if they'd be cool if I put out X amount of chapters on Lit and then said the rest was available for purchase. I expect some would go ahead and buy and others would be put off by it.

 

[sr71plt]

Its not that I don't want to hear it. I understand your reasons. On myAmazon is truly one big growing pain.

But still the single greatest sales point by far (although shrinking).

(My e-books sell across some ten distributor platforms. Amazon still makes up over half the total sells each month across that set.)

 

[lovecraft68]

But still the single greatest sales point by far (although shrinking).

Shrinking? Interesting where is the business going do you think? The Nook?

 

[fuckwaffle]

When I went to self-pub I used Kindle, but quickly backed away from it and went to smashwords.

I find the file formatting a lot easier, and of course you get greater exposure on the smashwords premium list.

I have a seven volume series I've published there, and the first volume is free. It's been a good way to get readers into the series. Obviously, download numbers are much higher for volume one, but I've found many readers going on to purchase more volumes in the series.

Publish on both...Amazon pays royalties every 60 days, which means that every month I get a pretty amount deposited in my checking account. Every quarter is when I get Smashwords deposit in my Paypal account.

I have had no problems with the Kindle store or Smashwords...well Smashwords does seem to mind nudity, where Amazon doesn't ... which amazes me.

All in all I make about the same in both outlets, so I'm not complaining.

p.s. I have never had a problem with formatting at Amazon, but Smashwords is another story.

 

[sr71plt]

Shrinking? Interesting where is the business going do you think? The Nook?

It looks like a lot of it is going to Kobo, and I don't even know what you use to read that.

I'm not all that surprised that Kindle sales (per title) are going down. The big wave in e-book sales for Kindle came after the big Kindle device sales of Christmas the year before last. The novelty is off for some and some overloaded their Kindles then. And since then the offerings have burgeoned, having seen that first big bonanza for sales. That wave has come and gone, though. Those that made a killing were the ones who got on that first wave.

 

[Cruel2BKind]

It looks like a lot of it is going to Kobo, and I don't even know what you use to read that.

I'm not all that surprised that Kindle sales (per title) are going down. The big wave in e-book sales for Kindle came after the big Kindle device sales of Christmas the year before last. The novelty is off for some and some overloaded their Kindles then. And since then the offerings have burgeoned, having seen that first big bonanza for sales. That wave has come and gone, though. Those that made a killing were the ones who got on that first wave.

Do you think it will repeat itself every christmas?