So, the first months of 2012 have pretty much been Eight Straight Weeks of FREE for me. Medallion started things off with two flippin’ weeks of offering Zombies Don’t Cry for FREE on Kindle and Nook!
Then Decadent rocked five whole days of FREE for both Ushers, Inc. and Panty Raid at Zombie High. THEN Medallion kicked off my new YA release by offering Vamplayers FREE for another two weeks. It has been an amazing, crazy, high, low, rewarding, disappointing, challenging, and all kinds of educational ride.
I’m not exactly unacquainted with the politics of FREE. From the minute I heard that Zombies Don’t Cry would be published early last year, I started writing, polishing and publishing FREE stories and poems about the living dead. Mostly they were promotional, but also a chance to try new things outside of the world I created for ZDC. Some were funny, some were sad, some were scarier than others but all had one thing in common: they were FREE.
Then I found out Vamplayers would get published, so I started doing the same for vampires: lots of short, sweet, some funny, some scary – all FREE – vampire poems and short stories.
They got some decent play on Scribd.com and Smashwords, where the reviews were mostly 4-stars; a few 3-stars, one or two 5-stars. Not too shabby.
But Scrid.com and Smashwords are one thing; Amazon, BN.com and Goodreads are another. To be FREE on Amazon.com for one week, let alone two weeks, is to ride a roller coaster of emotions. You’re up, you’re down, you’re checking your numbers, trying to get to #1 on the FREE Kindle list, settling for #12 or #23 or however high – or low – you land.
You see your book suddenly listed on all these Freebie sites, which seem to exist JUST to list… freebies. It’s awesome and a little scary all at once. Then your book starts showing up in a lot of bloggers’ “In My Mailbox” features, naturally, because it’s a freebie so if they haven’t gotten it from your publisher, or you, here is a chance to snag it for their TBR pile; it’s all good.
But there’s something a little strange about the freebie mentality as well. I mean, if your book costs something, even 99-cents, it tends to weed out the freebie book hoarders. Or at least, give people who aren’t YA, who don’t dig zombies or vampires, pause. Things are more targeted when there is a cost involved, I think; people will think twice before buying a book, but when it’s a freebie it’s almost like they’ll just grab anything.
We’ve all been there; why not? I have a ton of freebies in my Kindle for PC library, half of which – let’s face it, most of which – I’ll never read. But there’s a freedom to all this freeness; it gives random people cause not only to notice you – although they don’t really seem to care about you – and your book (ditto) and as such they almost feel empowered, even obliged, to comment.
I’ll never forget reading the comments on the Barnes & Noble blog the day Zombies Don’t Cry was featured as their Friday Freebie. One guy said “not even for free.” I knew exactly what he meant; you do, too. He meant, “I wouldn’t read this book even if you gave it to me.”
Others chimed in, with a pack mentality, dogging the title, the book, the genre and, by association, the author. You could kind of see them feeding on each other; once somebody said something nasty, everyone else was “free” to chime in and add insult to injury as well. It stung, for sure.
You think after the book’s been out for almost a year, you’d have a thick skin; not so much. And then, after a few days of it being free and adding to people’s “to-read” list, the reviews start coming in on Goodreads. And that’s where the real ugly started!
Man, it was like an avalanche of ick. Within a week, maybe even less, Zombies Don’t Cry went from a solid 4-plus star rating to an ugly 3.7 something; and it’s still creeping down.
Every day is like a death watch; you think it’s holding steady, you think it’s bottomed out, and then some wise guy comes along and gives it a 1-star; no profile picture, no review, no comments, just a quick double-click and, bam, down the rating goes some more. I call them “drive-by disses,” ‘cause that’s what they seem to do. You can click on their profile and see they do that to a lot of other authors well. Which makes you feel a little better, but not much.
I get it, Zombies Don’t Cry isn’t War & Peace, it may not even be Rot & Ruin, but… 1-star? Really? In my world, I guess, I check out of a one-star leaning book and quit reading before I review it. Heck, I can’t even remember reading a book so bad I’d give it 1-star.
It’s more than sour grapes (although I suppose it’s that, too); it’s a commentary on the ugliness, the pettiness and, yes, the politics that makes social media, publishing and promoting YA such frickin’ WORK these days. It’s not bad enough you have to constantly edit your actual book, now I have to edit myself so I don’t go off on every ungrateful, thoughtless freebie-addicted so and so for trashing my book(s) every chance they get!
On the flip side, freebies are great for actual YA, zombie or genre fans who may not have had the chance to pick up your book before. I see lots more “likes” on my Facebook page by random users who I can tell probably just ran across me from the freebies, and their enthusiasm and support is really positive and uplifting. And it’s an awesome chance to reach out to readers who may have never heard of you before, and maybe find a new “fan” or two.
I see lots and lots of reviews starting out with, “I would never have picked this book up if it wasn’t free” or “I’ve never really been a big fan of zombies before, but I saw this on Kindle for free and…” That’s nice. It’s like using a hashtag that gets you in front of a lot of eyeballs who wouldn’t normally find you via #zombies or #amwriting or #yalit, you know?
So, what am I saying? That I only like the reviews that are “nice” to me? That I only appreciate readers who “get it”? That I only like to be in rooms where I’m welcome? Not at all; I get that Zombies Don’t Cry, Ushers, Inc., Panty Raid and Vamplayers aren’t for everybody. I get they’re not all five-star books. I get that some folks don’t dig active voice, first person POV or, for that matter, snark.
So, I dunno. I have absolutely NO regrets. I think both the publishers and myself learned a LOT about the “politics of FREE” from these exercises. I could write a whole book on the experience, and maybe for those of you who’ve read this whole piece it feels like I already have, but in summary: giving your book away for FREE is pretty much part of the new social media PR routine.
Lots of readers will expect it, but even more, so should you. It’s good, it’s mostly good; I feel mostly good about it. I was just unprepared, I think, for the ugliness, pettiness and politics of certain camps who have grown up to expect, demand and then turn around and kind of spit on authors who offer their books for free.
It’s so easy these days to be random, to be ugly and a little petty. I get it; it’s the internet. And I don’t want to just be isolated, or even insulated, in a little bubble where I only get friendly reviews from friendly reviewers and think I’m a better writer than I really am; I’m not sure that’s a good recipe for growth.
But I’m not sure a lot of these freebie reviews are good for growth, either. They’re not constructive, they’re not concerned, they’re not targeted and, like I said, they’re mostly random. Non-zombie people, non-vamp people, non-YA people and, in many cases, non-book people, I think. By that I mean, folks who have a Kindle or a Nook but may not necessarily have a love of the written word, or books, or YA or especially authors.
So, yeah, I’m bummed; more so than I thought I was when sitting down to write this post. And maybe I sound petty and a little bitter and, yeah, I’m probably both of these things, too!
What I feel like, mostly, is a piece of meat. Like I had one too many beers and entered a wet T-shirt contest and walked offstage to see a bunch of downturned thumbs and hastily scribbled “3’s” and “4’s” on those scorecards as people “booed” me back to my chair. “Sit down, clown; your zombies suck!”
So I hope your experience with FREE is a little, okay a LOT, better than mine; as a reader, finding books and/or as an author, offering books. Why did I write this post? I suppose, in the end, I know most/every author will have to offer their book for FREE at some point. Now, hopefully, you know what to expect…
Yours in YA,
Rusty
Then Decadent rocked five whole days of FREE for both Ushers, Inc. and Panty Raid at Zombie High. THEN Medallion kicked off my new YA release by offering Vamplayers FREE for another two weeks. It has been an amazing, crazy, high, low, rewarding, disappointing, challenging, and all kinds of educational ride.
I’m not exactly unacquainted with the politics of FREE. From the minute I heard that Zombies Don’t Cry would be published early last year, I started writing, polishing and publishing FREE stories and poems about the living dead. Mostly they were promotional, but also a chance to try new things outside of the world I created for ZDC. Some were funny, some were sad, some were scarier than others but all had one thing in common: they were FREE.
Then I found out Vamplayers would get published, so I started doing the same for vampires: lots of short, sweet, some funny, some scary – all FREE – vampire poems and short stories.
They got some decent play on Scribd.com and Smashwords, where the reviews were mostly 4-stars; a few 3-stars, one or two 5-stars. Not too shabby.
But Scrid.com and Smashwords are one thing; Amazon, BN.com and Goodreads are another. To be FREE on Amazon.com for one week, let alone two weeks, is to ride a roller coaster of emotions. You’re up, you’re down, you’re checking your numbers, trying to get to #1 on the FREE Kindle list, settling for #12 or #23 or however high – or low – you land.
You see your book suddenly listed on all these Freebie sites, which seem to exist JUST to list… freebies. It’s awesome and a little scary all at once. Then your book starts showing up in a lot of bloggers’ “In My Mailbox” features, naturally, because it’s a freebie so if they haven’t gotten it from your publisher, or you, here is a chance to snag it for their TBR pile; it’s all good.
But there’s something a little strange about the freebie mentality as well. I mean, if your book costs something, even 99-cents, it tends to weed out the freebie book hoarders. Or at least, give people who aren’t YA, who don’t dig zombies or vampires, pause. Things are more targeted when there is a cost involved, I think; people will think twice before buying a book, but when it’s a freebie it’s almost like they’ll just grab anything.
We’ve all been there; why not? I have a ton of freebies in my Kindle for PC library, half of which – let’s face it, most of which – I’ll never read. But there’s a freedom to all this freeness; it gives random people cause not only to notice you – although they don’t really seem to care about you – and your book (ditto) and as such they almost feel empowered, even obliged, to comment.
I’ll never forget reading the comments on the Barnes & Noble blog the day Zombies Don’t Cry was featured as their Friday Freebie. One guy said “not even for free.” I knew exactly what he meant; you do, too. He meant, “I wouldn’t read this book even if you gave it to me.”
Others chimed in, with a pack mentality, dogging the title, the book, the genre and, by association, the author. You could kind of see them feeding on each other; once somebody said something nasty, everyone else was “free” to chime in and add insult to injury as well. It stung, for sure.
You think after the book’s been out for almost a year, you’d have a thick skin; not so much. And then, after a few days of it being free and adding to people’s “to-read” list, the reviews start coming in on Goodreads. And that’s where the real ugly started!
Man, it was like an avalanche of ick. Within a week, maybe even less, Zombies Don’t Cry went from a solid 4-plus star rating to an ugly 3.7 something; and it’s still creeping down.
Every day is like a death watch; you think it’s holding steady, you think it’s bottomed out, and then some wise guy comes along and gives it a 1-star; no profile picture, no review, no comments, just a quick double-click and, bam, down the rating goes some more. I call them “drive-by disses,” ‘cause that’s what they seem to do. You can click on their profile and see they do that to a lot of other authors well. Which makes you feel a little better, but not much.
I get it, Zombies Don’t Cry isn’t War & Peace, it may not even be Rot & Ruin, but… 1-star? Really? In my world, I guess, I check out of a one-star leaning book and quit reading before I review it. Heck, I can’t even remember reading a book so bad I’d give it 1-star.
It’s more than sour grapes (although I suppose it’s that, too); it’s a commentary on the ugliness, the pettiness and, yes, the politics that makes social media, publishing and promoting YA such frickin’ WORK these days. It’s not bad enough you have to constantly edit your actual book, now I have to edit myself so I don’t go off on every ungrateful, thoughtless freebie-addicted so and so for trashing my book(s) every chance they get!
On the flip side, freebies are great for actual YA, zombie or genre fans who may not have had the chance to pick up your book before. I see lots more “likes” on my Facebook page by random users who I can tell probably just ran across me from the freebies, and their enthusiasm and support is really positive and uplifting. And it’s an awesome chance to reach out to readers who may have never heard of you before, and maybe find a new “fan” or two.
I see lots and lots of reviews starting out with, “I would never have picked this book up if it wasn’t free” or “I’ve never really been a big fan of zombies before, but I saw this on Kindle for free and…” That’s nice. It’s like using a hashtag that gets you in front of a lot of eyeballs who wouldn’t normally find you via #zombies or #amwriting or #yalit, you know?
So, what am I saying? That I only like the reviews that are “nice” to me? That I only appreciate readers who “get it”? That I only like to be in rooms where I’m welcome? Not at all; I get that Zombies Don’t Cry, Ushers, Inc., Panty Raid and Vamplayers aren’t for everybody. I get they’re not all five-star books. I get that some folks don’t dig active voice, first person POV or, for that matter, snark.
So, I dunno. I have absolutely NO regrets. I think both the publishers and myself learned a LOT about the “politics of FREE” from these exercises. I could write a whole book on the experience, and maybe for those of you who’ve read this whole piece it feels like I already have, but in summary: giving your book away for FREE is pretty much part of the new social media PR routine.
Lots of readers will expect it, but even more, so should you. It’s good, it’s mostly good; I feel mostly good about it. I was just unprepared, I think, for the ugliness, pettiness and politics of certain camps who have grown up to expect, demand and then turn around and kind of spit on authors who offer their books for free.
It’s so easy these days to be random, to be ugly and a little petty. I get it; it’s the internet. And I don’t want to just be isolated, or even insulated, in a little bubble where I only get friendly reviews from friendly reviewers and think I’m a better writer than I really am; I’m not sure that’s a good recipe for growth.
But I’m not sure a lot of these freebie reviews are good for growth, either. They’re not constructive, they’re not concerned, they’re not targeted and, like I said, they’re mostly random. Non-zombie people, non-vamp people, non-YA people and, in many cases, non-book people, I think. By that I mean, folks who have a Kindle or a Nook but may not necessarily have a love of the written word, or books, or YA or especially authors.
So, yeah, I’m bummed; more so than I thought I was when sitting down to write this post. And maybe I sound petty and a little bitter and, yeah, I’m probably both of these things, too!
What I feel like, mostly, is a piece of meat. Like I had one too many beers and entered a wet T-shirt contest and walked offstage to see a bunch of downturned thumbs and hastily scribbled “3’s” and “4’s” on those scorecards as people “booed” me back to my chair. “Sit down, clown; your zombies suck!”
So I hope your experience with FREE is a little, okay a LOT, better than mine; as a reader, finding books and/or as an author, offering books. Why did I write this post? I suppose, in the end, I know most/every author will have to offer their book for FREE at some point. Now, hopefully, you know what to expect…
Yours in YA,
Rusty
