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| This is NOT a good cover |
A day in the life of a freeloader:
I go to eraderiq.com, click on Free Books then Last 24 hours. Since I have been doing this (maybe a few weeks), new free books have ranged anywhere between 300 - 550 free books/day (this does not include erotica, which they have moved to its own section).
I scroll down the list, keeping an eye out for writers/covers that I recognize from KB. (KB is Kindle Boards, a forum that has a section comprised of (mainly) self-publishing types.) Otherwise, I scan the page looking at COVERS. I’m also picking up titles and authors as I scroll, but mainly the covers. And let me tell you, there are atrocious covers out there. If you have a good one, you are light years ahead.
If I see an interesting cover, I slow down enough to focus a little more on the title/author. Haven’t heard of him/her? Move my cursor over the book and a blurb appears. A couple of intriguing lines? I’ll click on it and it opens in Amazon, where I’ll look at it in more detail after my scrolling. Mediocre start of a blurb? I move on or see how many reviews it has and the average rating (which ereaderiq puts under the cover), but I will generally pass. Novella or short story. I’ll probably pass on those as well.
Now I have several Amazon tabs open. For the most part, I will download a KBer regardless, unless I think you are a butthead. I’ll take a look at the question mark books and decide if there is a chance that I will ever read this thing. Forget about sampling: these are FREE after all. Yay.
So, even for FREE (yay) books, there is still substantial discernment involved.
1) Good cover (go ahead and slap a great cover on it)
2) Good blurb (go ahead and make it great - it’s also fine to be succinct)
3) Reviews (may have an impact)
I go through these steps just for a FREE (yay) book. Think what potential customers consider when they are paying for it.
C’mon, Stonewall, we know this, we read Konrath’s blog, after all. Then why don’t you do it?
I go to eraderiq.com, click on Free Books then Last 24 hours. Since I have been doing this (maybe a few weeks), new free books have ranged anywhere between 300 - 550 free books/day (this does not include erotica, which they have moved to its own section).
I scroll down the list, keeping an eye out for writers/covers that I recognize from KB. (KB is Kindle Boards, a forum that has a section comprised of (mainly) self-publishing types.) Otherwise, I scan the page looking at COVERS. I’m also picking up titles and authors as I scroll, but mainly the covers. And let me tell you, there are atrocious covers out there. If you have a good one, you are light years ahead.
If I see an interesting cover, I slow down enough to focus a little more on the title/author. Haven’t heard of him/her? Move my cursor over the book and a blurb appears. A couple of intriguing lines? I’ll click on it and it opens in Amazon, where I’ll look at it in more detail after my scrolling. Mediocre start of a blurb? I move on or see how many reviews it has and the average rating (which ereaderiq puts under the cover), but I will generally pass. Novella or short story. I’ll probably pass on those as well.
Now I have several Amazon tabs open. For the most part, I will download a KBer regardless, unless I think you are a butthead. I’ll take a look at the question mark books and decide if there is a chance that I will ever read this thing. Forget about sampling: these are FREE after all. Yay.
So, even for FREE (yay) books, there is still substantial discernment involved.
1) Good cover (go ahead and slap a great cover on it)
2) Good blurb (go ahead and make it great - it’s also fine to be succinct)
3) Reviews (may have an impact)
I go through these steps just for a FREE (yay) book. Think what potential customers consider when they are paying for it.
C’mon, Stonewall, we know this, we read Konrath’s blog, after all. Then why don’t you do it?
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