Giveaways – Publetariat

This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. I LOVE to read. And while I don’t have as much reading time as I wish, I do read fast and manage to do my part. I still can’t get through my to-be-read pile. Because of one of my day jobs I am constantly being exposed to a lot of titles. Some I end up deleting after a chapter or even a paragraph because there are so many good stories out there, why waste time on stories that are not going to thrill me. But having this large amount of decent content means I never get to authors I love and would have to pay more for their titles. On the flip side, I am currently reading a series that I got the first story for free in one of those anthologies and the story was so good, I had to buy the whole series right there because I was going to die if I didn’t know what happened next! What are your thoughts?

Is Writing Being Devalued by Giveaways and Cheap Ebooks?

by Jane Friedman

Increasingly, at writing conferences and in the mainstream media, I observe growing unrest surrounding the proliferation of free and cheap literature, particularly ebooks. The reasons for sharp discounts and giveaways are legion (and some reasons are better than others), but regardless of the reason, I see greater peer pressure on and shaming of those who are seen to “devalue” literature in our culture.

Whole books have been written on this topic, as it’s an anxiety affecting creators in diverse fields. Some describe the phenomenon from a neutral and even historical perspective (“how have we ended up here?”), some are more activist in their approach (“fight and resist”), and still others are pragmatic (“here’s how to play with the hand you’ve been dealt”).

Read the full story on Jane Friedman!

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Authors are trying everything to get their book noticed. One great way is free stuff. You want to make sure that you are using items that work. Over at Janice Hardy’s Fiction University, Marcy Kennedy gives some great information. Editor’s note – Marcy mentions Moo.com as a resource. I want to add that I love them. Their quality is amazing and they have so many diverse products that you can do creative things with. I am not paid by Moo or get any affiliate income, I just love using their services.

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Creating Promotional Material That Works: Swag

By Marcy Kennedy, @MarcyKennedy

Part of the Indie Author Series

Promoting with fireworks is out of most people's budget - but really cool — Promoting with fireworks is out of most people’s budget – but it would be really cool!

Over the last two months we’ve looked at writing a tag line for our books and writing our book description that goes up on retailers and on the back of our book.

This month we’re going to talk swag. Swag is physical items related to our book/series. It could be bookmarks and postcards, mugs or magnets with our book cover on it, or even jewelry based on something worn by our characters.

Authors sometimes confuse swag with things like candy that many also hand out when doing book signings or attending conferences. The defining quality of swag is that it’s a “permanent” physical product and it’s directly related to our books in some way. So candy with a custom wrapper doesn’t really qualify. People will eat the candy and throw the wrapper away. It won’t be something others see and comment on. Disposable items usually aren’t a good investment.I polled a few other authors for this post to see what’s worked for them when it comes to swag and what sites they like the best.

The secret to what swag works seems to be know your personal business model.

For authors who want to be able to quickly adapt, swag can be a bad idea because it leaves you with a lot of outdated products.

“I have not done bookmarks for a very long time,” said multi-genre author Pauline Baird Jones. “Because I need to be nimble and flexible, my covers sometimes change, so then I lose the money spent on bookmarks. I think bookmarks work better for authors who do a lot of events, such as signings. Most of my sales are online, so it’s not cost effective for me to do a lot.”

However, for authors who’ve built up a street team to help them spread the word or who want to do launch events, swag can be a great way to build audience excitement.

Read the full post on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Is Writing Being Devalued by Giveaways and Cheap Ebooks?

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Creating Promotional Material That Works: Swag

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