Tag Archives: Wendy L. Young

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Guest Post: Does Free Reign?

Today’s guest post comes from Wendy L. Young, Tuesday’s featured debut author. Wendy mentioned in our chat that offering one of her short stories for free on Amazon has helped sales of her self-published novel, Come the Shadows. I found this to be interesting. Conventional thought used to be — and as my grandmother used to tell me when I hit puberty — nobody wants to pay for a cow when they can get the milk for free. Recently, Akashic Books defied that logic when copies of its parody children’s book, Go the F— to Sleep, went viral before its publication in June. Sales of the book still skyrocketed, and it remains on the New York Times Bestseller List three months later. Many authors offer their books for free intentionally as a way to increase their visibility. Wendy chose to offer a separate, shorter work. I wanted to know more. Today, Wendy gives it to us.

When I embarked on this journey I focused on the writing, telling myself that the marketing would follow — just get it out there and then worry about the rest. The only pause I took in the middle of writing Come the Shadows was to pen a quick short story titled “One Final Night.” From first word to publish I spent one week on it. I put it out there, quickly learned some important self-publishing lessons, and largely left it alone.

Fast forward 3 months and Come the Shadows was published and available for download – and I was standing at an abyss called Marketing. I saw some chatter about freebies and realized that I had something to offer. At this point I had considered UN-publishing my short story and wiping it from the public eye because it was in a different genre. After considering my options, I switched tactics and made it free. That’s not an instant thing — neither Barnes & Noble or Amazon will let a self-published author choose *free* as an option – but after a couple of weeks it finally took effect.

Within 48 hours of the price change almost 2500 people had picked it up off Amazon. 24 hours later the total doubled. In less than a week it peaked at #15 on the freebie list – that’s ALL freebies, for all Kindles. Now, in less than a month, it has been downloaded almost 27000 times on Kindle. I cannot access any B&N numbers for it due to how it is listed there but I would venture it’s 5,000+ there as well. The reviews have been great too — averaging over 4.5 stars across the board.

But, what does that mean for my book?

At this point, not a lot. Were I listing a free novel with a tie-in to a paid book I think I would be running down the road screaming joy as numbers climbed. I am very happy I did it but it has not bought me a trip to the moon, or even over a hop over the Atlantic.

But that’s not to say it hasn’t done any good. It did bump my sales a little when I combined it with dropping the price of Come the Shadows from $2.99 to $0.99. And with such glowing reviews it definitely helps those who research see very positive statements about my writing and the effect my work can have on a reader. That’s something you cannot buy.

Overall I recommend this as a very positive technique for a new writer. Amazon, especially, does an amazing job promoting free works. I mentioned it most days on Twitter but for the most part Amazon did it for me. The downloads have slowed but continue and I have no plans any time soon to return it to a paid price.

I will definitely use free downloads again in the future and on larger works. I have seen multiple stories about how effective it can be and I believe that used well — long-term or just for a week or two — it can pay great dividends in growing an author’s footprint with readers.

Wendy L. Young has been writing for more than twenty years. She now writes and publishes short stories in literary fiction/drama and novels in mystery/suspense. Her first mystery Come the Shadows is out now and the sequel will be published in late fall 2011. Follow her online at http://www.twitter.com/wendyyoung

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Meet Wendy L. Young

When Wendy Young, today’s featured debut author, mentioned that she writes in a “very old-fashioned way,” I immediately envisioned the tap-tap-tapping of my college days onto my electric typewriter. But, nope, that’s not what Wendy meant at all…

Name: Wendy L. Young

Name of book: Come the Shadows

Book genre: Mystery

Date Published: July 27, 2011

Publisher: Self-published via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and CreateSpace

What is your day job? I am a contract employee, full time for a confidential company. I stay home with my two-year-old son and fit the work in wherever I can, be it 5 a.m. or 10 p.m.

What is your book about? It revolves around a small town in North Carolina that has lived in anonymity and peace for the better part of a century. Everything is thrown into chaos when bones are discovered in a derelict factory. The fact that it’s the first murder in 17 years is big enough, but there’s a lot more going on than just one simple murder.

What would you say is the most challenging part of writing a book? Editing. Editing. Editing. That’s the hardest part for me, anyway. I haven’t yet developed the hard edge needed to cut all that should be cut. I want to continue to nurture my favorite scenes, and my favorite people, even when I shouldn’t. Some were cut anyway in this book, but I’m sure I could have cut more.

What motivates you to write? I just love telling stories through the written word, and I have an intense desire to create things. I’ve dabbled in just about every craft you can think of before finally admitting that nothing in this world does it for me like writing.

Did you experience writer’s block? On the small scale, yes, I sometimes experience writer’s block. But I think it helps that I don’t start until I know where I want to go. Writer’s block is just another way to say you lost your train of thought. If that happens to me along the way (I write start to finish) then I just make a few notes about the scene or chapter and move on. I can finish it later in the editing stage.

If lack of planning is the problem, which happened to me in a novel I started last year, then it’s another animal altogether. I plan to pick that book up again, but before I do I have to figure out some important aspects of the climactic scenes and “big reveal.” If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re in trouble. Outlining isn’t for everyone but a certain amount of planning is necessary.

How long did it take you to write this book? It took me about ten weeks of writing, fitting it in around my stay-at-home-mom and works-full-time titles. Then it took another two months to edit because I drug my feet so horribly. All in all: four months and change.

Why did you decide to self-publish? I self-published for a lot of reasons, and I wonder every day if I made the right decision. Both traditional and indie publishing routes have their lures and their pitfalls. I think every person has to decide for themselves the right path. Just be sure you don’t self-publish with the idea you’ll be the next John Locke or Amanda Hocking – it takes work and a good stock of written material to make it happen!

What is the biggest misconception about writing a book? The biggest misconception about writing a book, to me, is that people will automatically want to read it. There’s a “selling” aspect to writing that most writers don’t consider. When you start, your footprint in this world is tiny. It takes a lot to be heard in this big, wide world.

What was your favorite aspect of the writing process for this book? The writing, period. I loved my daily write time. I write in a very old-fashioned way – with a pen and a spiral note book – and simply the action of writing, as your hand moves across paper, is fantastic.

What tools/methods have you employed to promote your book? I have promoted my book in a variety of ways – Twitter, Facebook, my blog and word of mouth. I also have several book bloggers lined up who are excited to read it, and one who already has posted her review. Getting my short story, “One Final Night,” free on Amazon also helped tremendously as it brought my name, and a small piece of my work, in front of thousands of readers within just a couple of days.

My biggest advice would be to start promoting before you publish. I was incredibly naive about this aspect and will definitely remedy that when I publish the sequel later this year.

How has life changed for you since the publication of your book? As of yet, not a lot. I’ve only seen a couple of reviews of the work, and I’m still at the very beginning of promoting it. I revel in every review and every word of praise, however. For a long time, writing was a very private thing. I was incredibly nervous to let my husband be the first one to read this. Now that part of me is thrown open to the world, it can make you feel vulnerable and alive at the same time.

My favorite last question: Oprah once famously said that there is no such thing as luck, without preparation and a moment of opportunity. Would you agree or disagree with regard to your own success as a writer? That’s hard to answer at this point – ask me in a year!

But right now I would have to say that I agree with her. I think everyone who wants to transition from writer to book author needs to be well prepared for the work involved and ready to seize those moments – be it a chance conversation on Twitter discussing what has worked for someone else or being fortunate enough to catch a good book blogger on a light stress day where he or she says, “Yes!” Be poised to jump and prepared enough to know how to use the opportunity to your advantage.