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action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /srv/users/sandra/apps/sandra/public/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Our guest blogger today is my friend-in-real-life, Rhonda Penders, who I have known for almost 20 years. Rhonda is president and editor-in-chief of The Wild Rose Press, Inc<\/a><\/em>.<\/a>, a publisher of\u00a0mainstream fiction including women\u2019s, romance, historical, murder\/mystery\/thrillers, and erotica. She’s also an author using\u00a0the pen name Roni Adams. When she told me over lunch recently about the negative impact free giveaways were having on her authors’ royalty checks, I asked her to write about it for us.\u00a0Here’s her perspective.<\/em><\/p>\n Why buy the cow when the milk is\u00a0free?<\/p>\n We\u2019ve all heard that saying. Basically, the meaning behind it is that someone isn\u2019t going to pay for something that is offered for free. Whether it\u2019s your virtue or\u00a0your book, the issue is still the same.<\/p>\n When a writer devalues her work to the point of giving away her book, isn\u2019t that what she is really doing? Just giving it away as if it were nothing?<\/p>\n I have to wonder if an author is so desperate to have someone, anyone, read her book, that she\u2019s passing them out like pamphlets on the street corner.<\/p>\n [novashare_tweet tweet=”I have to wonder if an author is so desperate to have someone, anyone, read her book, that she\u2019s passing them out like pamphlets on the street corner.” hide_hashtags=”true”]<\/p>\n Is it so bad that she doesn\u2019t think anyone would or should pay for it? What about the months, maybe even the years, she spent pounding away at the keyboard creating that book? What about the lost hours spent editing and reworking it to perfection?<\/p>\n Most authors sacrifice a lot to write a book. They give up any and all free time in exchange for getting the story on paper. That has to be worth something; certainly more than a freebie.<\/p>\n Authors tell me it\u2019s a promotional ploy. Promotion is great and today we have to constantly try new angles\u00a0and\u00a0ideas to draw in readers. I have no issue with giving away a chapter to entice a reader to purchase the rest of the book but give away the whole book? It doesn\u2019t make any sense.<\/p>\n Authors hope that by giving away a book, readers will buy more of them\u00a0or will buy the next book that comes out.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t usually work that way. Readers are a very frugal bunch. If they can get free books, why would they pay for yours? They will simply pick up someone else\u2019s free book tomorrow, and someone else\u2019s the next day, and so forth.<\/p>\n You may disagree with me\u00a0— maybe your experience is\u00a0different\u00a0—\u00a0but as a publisher, I have to tell you that the sales numbers don\u2019t lie. While a select small number of authors may have seen book giveaways as a clever promotion to boost the sales of their next book, it is rare. Giving books away isn\u2019t making sales numbers climb. How could it? Free doesn\u2019t equal bigger royalty checks.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, authors have devalued their craft to the point where even they don\u2019t think it should cost anything. I\u2019ve been to a lot of craft shows the past couple of months. I\u2019m amazed at the price of the handmade pieces people are selling.<\/p>\n [novashare_tweet tweet=”Meanwhile, authors have devalued their craft to the point where even they don\u2019t think it should cost anything.” hide_hashtags=”true”]<\/p>\n But then I think about the hours and hours of hard work these artists put into each piece and I have to admit it\u2019s probably a bargain. Aren\u2019t authors the same as these other artists? Aren\u2019t authors creators of their craft and shouldn\u2019t they value their work just as much as a wood carver or a glass blower does?<\/p>\n Maybe this old adage has a point in today\u2019s publishing world. Every writer has to do what he\/she thinks is best for their career.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a tough time in publishing for authors but the answer isn\u2019t giving it away. To me, that\u2019s the same as giving up.<\/p>\n What do you think? Do you agree with Rhonda Penders that you shouldn’t give your books away for free? Tell us about your opinion or experiences with this in a\u00a0comment below.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/a><\/h2>\n
Why you shouldn’t give your book away<\/h2>\n
By Rhonda Penders<\/h3>\n
A promotional ploy<\/h2>\n
The numbers don’t lie<\/h2>\n
What’s best for you career?<\/h2>\n