In celebration of their second anniversary, Kindle Press is putting all Kindle Scout winning books on sale for 99c through April 3rd, 2017 (you can find them all at KindleScout.amazon.com). Evelyn Marsh has only been out a week. It normally sells for a modest $2.99. I’m anxious to see how the 99c sale price will affect the number of books sold. And I want to sell lots of books. Like anyone else, I’d like to be remunerated for the many months or years it takes to write a novel and bring it to market. But more importantly, a sale means a reader. It’s also a validation that what you’ve written is entertaining enough to attract readers. I have no use for esoteric books that sit unread on the shelf. I have no interest in being remembered a hundred years from now for experimental prose that no one will read today. I’m writing to connect with readers during my lifetime. Finding readers is no easy task. You’d think with the millions of English speaking readers in the world, it would be easy enough to attract the attention and loyalty of a few thousand. It turns out it isn’t easy at all. It takes craft and art to write the story. It also takes marketing and promotional skills that take time time and effort away from writing.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of self-published writers today are only too happy to give away their work to attract the attention of readers. My own feeling about this is that the only time it makes sense to give away a book, is if it’s the first in a series, which gets the reader hooked and ready to buy and read more. Otherwise it’s disrespectful and a disservice to the writer. Ebooks are so cheap that a 350 page novel sells for about a penny a page, or less. I don’t know of any other product or art form that is valued so cheaply.
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