On a Sunday morning, while nursing
a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper,
I turned to one of my favorite pages – the books page – and perused the list of
that week's bestselling fiction authors.
I sighed. No surprises. I saw only one author I had not read, and
she's on my to-be-read list for this year.
"Listen," I said to my
husband, who is definitely not a book
reader. "I'm going to read you the
names of the authors of the top ten bestselling books. Stop me if I mention someone you've never
heard of." I read the names: James
Patterson, John Grisham, Mitch Albom, Tom Clancy, and a few more, all big-time
authors with huge followings. I came to
Donna Tartt, author of The Goldfinch.
"Stop," he said. “I don't know that one."
Neither did I, until the book
became a bestseller and is now on everyone's list.
I finished my recitation and he
said," "I know all those names even though I've never read any of their
books."
Interesting, I thought, that someone
who is not a lover of books can listen to this list and be familiar with 90
percent of the names. This is because
the bestseller lists include the usual heavy hitters who are sure to strike
gold with every book they write, many of them “celebrity” authors. I wonder if any of them had to give away their
books to potential readers in order to gain recognition.
People ask me, "Why do you
give your book away?" I've done a
few free Kindle promotions for my debut novel, Blue Hydrangeas, you see, and given away thousands of books. It seems
dumb and a sure fire way to complete failure, but there's a method to this madness.
The two major reasons for doing a
giveaway are reviews and rank. Readers
are more willing to take a chance on an unknown author if it doesn’t cost them
anything, and if they love the book authors hope they'll take the time to write
a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, their blog, or whatever
website led them to the book. Perhaps they’ll
tweet about it or post their thoughts on Facebook. Favorable reviews might help the next
potential reader decide to purchase the book, and slowly the author develops a
following.
As the number of sales climbs, so
does the author’s rank in the bookseller’s most wanted list. The higher the rank, the more attention paid
to the book (similar to how the bestseller lists work - everyone wants in on
the winner), leading to more sales, more reviews, and even more royalties.
So, when I see an opportunity to
get my books into the hands of readers - even if I have to give it to them for
free - I don’t walk away if it seems like a winning proposition. That’s why my book is currently available
free on Story Cartel through
January 18th. All I ask is
that you please give it a fair review on the venue of your choice.
For book lovers, Story Cartel is “a
resource to discover great books and fresh authors; for authors, it's a
platform to build deeper relationships with readers.” Books in twenty genres, including romance,
mysteries and thrillers, literary fiction, and non-fiction, are available. Both traditional and self-published authors participate,
including New York Times bestselling authors.
Simply sign up for an account and each week you’ll receive an email with
that week’s offerings. Choose the book
(or books) you want, download them, and start reading on your Kindle, iPad, or
other reading device.
According to their website, “Since
October 2012, 16,400 people have downloaded 37,000 books, helping over 500
authors get reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, and blogs.” It’s a win-win for all of us book people.
Promotions such as this allow
authors to create an audience, to start a buzz, to get in the game.
Readers benefit, too. You may discover a book or a new writer that you
love; expand your reading selection; investigate new genres; and grow beyond your
own literary boundaries at no personal expense, other than the time it takes to
read the book and put together a few lines (or more!) about what it meant to you
and why you liked it.
What if you didn’t like it? Write about that, too, letting the author
know why it didn’t appeal to you, or explain that something about it just
doesn’t work. Negative reviews can be
helpful (once the sting has passed) in showing the author where he or she went
wrong, messed up, lost the plot, ruined the character, or screwed up the
ending.
Of course, if you choose not to
write a review, no hard feelings. You don’t
have to, but it’s a nice way to say thanks for the free book.
Imagine this: by taking advantage
of a free read and then writing your own few words about it, you could help
develop a new name on the bestseller lists.
Shouldn’t there be room for more names, some unrecognizable to the nonreader,
the casual reader, even the well-read reader?
This is how literature thrives.
We can all be a part of it.
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