Skip to main content

The Price of Free

Free samples attract customers.  Amazon offers way for authors to give away copies of their books, and although it is counterintuitive, it is, I’m told, a great way to gain attention.  If I ever get published, I hope to try it out.

Meanwhile, authors sometimes send me their books to mention on my blog.  That’s a nice freebie.  I love books and I’ll read just about anything.  But there’s a price to this free material.

You have to write a review.  I can say this with the protection of a pseudonym: I’ve been disappointed in just about every free book I’ve been sent.  It’s usually pretty obvious why they’re being given away.  And yet, the author has given it to me.  Don’t I owe a positive review in return?

I am a softie.  I don’t like to hurt the feelings of others.  It probably comes from growing up in an emotionally abusive situation.  I want to say something nice.  Sometimes it’s very difficult.

Especially with self-published authors.  Some make every mistake in the book—literally and figuratively.  Things that I’m careful to avoid in my writing come to me in published form; someone is making money off this, and it’s not good.  What positive things can I say?

Amazon reviews, Goodreads reviews, blog reviews.  I have to compliment that which I found trying to read and that cheapens the efforts of those who agonize over every word.  That’s the price of free.

Some self-published books look pretty slick.  Nice covers and professional-looking layout.  Whitewashing graves, as one literate critic once said.

Still, I’ve never turned down a free book.  As I’ve written before, there’s a value in reading bad literature.  To improve, of course, it is best to read those who manage better than you—writers you admire.  In just like any sport, the best way to improve is to play someone better.


Of course, with publishing the way it is these days, getting a chance to show what you can do is passing remote.  Some things you can’t even give away.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dusty

  My, this thing is dusty.   My fans—hi, Mom!—perhaps believe me to have perished in the pandemic.   No, it was nonfiction’s fault. Since the pandemic began I’ve had two nonfiction books published and have written a third.   With a nine-to-five job something’s got to give.   Unfortunately it’s been fiction. Well, the groundhog didn’t see his shadow yesterday, so it must be safe to come out.   I shuffled away the rejection notes and began submitting again.   I’ve got a backlog of weird stories and maybe some new publishers have emerged? The thing is, don’t you just hate it when you’re in the mood to submit and some lit journal has its window for submissions firmly shut?   My last story, “ The Hput, ” was published about three years ago.   Oh, I’ve submitted since then, but with no traction.   Well, it is winter. I’ve got a lot of stories lined up.   I’ve been sending them out again, dreaming of making a dime at what I love doing best.   When you’ve been writing for half a century, you l
Post a Comment
Read more

Neglectful Parents

If I was a parent I’d be accused of neglect.   I have to say 2017 was the least published year of recent memory.   Not that I’ve been neglecting my fiction, but I had a non-fiction book accepted and I work full-time and commute to that job—you get the picture. I’ve also had a personal epiphany.   If you can write, you should get paid for it.   I know a publicist (not my own; I don’t have one) and she says she won’t let her authors even write an op-ed if they don’t get paid.   I guess I’d never get published then. My Medusa novel had a flicker of hope for a few moments.   A publisher actually wrote back asking for the rest of the manuscript.   That’s never happened before.   Then the editor disappeared.   Even called me by the wrong pseudonym.   I’ve gotta wonder about that because the second half of the novel’s even better than the first. While looking for an agent for my non-fiction (couldn’t find one of those either) I came across several who said they liked quirky ficti
Post a Comment
Read more

Too Much Writing?

  Has this ever happened to you?   Have you written a story that you’ve completely forgot?   Not only completely forgotten, but made unfindable?   I play games with my stories and sometimes the joke’s on me. Okay, I suffer from graphomania.   I write constantly.   I do try to keep organized—I use a spreadsheet that has all my submissions on it.   It has rejection/acceptance dates (mostly rejection).   Lots of information. I decided to list on it every story, whether finished or in process.   There are far too many (mostly in process).   When I finish a story I often submit it.   If I get burned, I’m shy about resubmitting.   I often rewrite at this stage.   Then, when I feel brave enough, I try again. The spreadsheet is color-coded.   There, in the color that indicates finished and ready to submit is a story cryptically titled “The Password.”   I don’t remember this story.   I can’t recall what it was about or why I thought it was ready to publish. Looking through my electronic files,
Post a Comment
Read more