Indie Book Club discussion

Ok, the whole "Make 1 book free in the hopes the other books takes off" strategy doesn't necessarily work when you only have one book for sale.

So, what can we do? I had mentioned on another thread that one possible gimmick is the whole freebie option. People love getting free stuff. So, here's a suggestion: what about bundling your book with someone else who has a book in the same genre? For instance, say something like: "If you like that book then you'll love this book. The following coupon is good for..."

I'll start. I always love publicity and exposure. If someone wanted to bundle my first book with another fantasy story, I'd be totally on board with it. I can generate a special coupon that I'd only give out for "bundling" and make it good for a year. That way it can be included with someone else's book. What does that mean? A 2 for 1 deal!

Anyone interested?

I might be. Gonna talk with the boss (wife) and see what she thinks. I'd love to see how many people would be interested in this, as we might be able to set up sort of a "discount circle."

I'm thinking as a slight tweak to this, maybe a few authors of same genre get together and all put (random number here) 25% off coupons with each others' books. You bought one book at a normal price, get discounts for 2-4 others. Lets readers not only get a deal, but lets them peruse a little more than the buy-one-get-one idea.

Thoughts?

Anything that would allow the reader to believe they are getting a good deal, or getting something for free, would work. Then again, that's my own honest opinion. Since I'm constantly on the lookout for good deals, free books, etc., I can say that either a 2-for-1 deal or a discounted deal would definitely get my attention.

So if we get enough people interested, we can start looking to get all the fantasy stories together, or the thrillers, or mysteries, etc., and see what books would compliment one another. As I said, I'm all for it. Anything we, as authors, can do to get more exposure to our books would be a good thing!

Everyone get together and write a short story compilation that is free to download then after each person's story include a discount code for a whole length book. It would probably be a pain to get it put together and edited and such though.

It would be a nightmare pain. I'd lean more towards back-cover (or similar) blurbs in a list at the end of the book, with discount codes. Better...no...easier...yes.

LOL! I think that would work. I can easily add that to the end of my ebooks and say something like, "If you enjoyed reading this book, then may I personally recommend some of my favorites? All the authors are personal friends of mine and all have agreed to provide Smashwords coupons if you're willing to give their books a try."

I was even thinking that I could put the review from the books back there so that it would further entice a prospective buyer.

Generate the coupon from Smashwords and make it good for a good long while. But make it a separate coupon and only give it to fellow authors. That way if we see that coupon used we'll know that this is working.

What do you think? For the record, I'm still on board with all of this!

Not a bad idea. I just wish I didn't have to use Smashwords, lol. C'mon amazon, give me coupons!

Yeah, no doubt. Auntie Ammy just doesn't like to play certain types of ball. :)

I suppose you could put a note back there and say, "drop me a line and I'll gift you a Kindle copy", but at least with Smashwords the buyer can choose which format they want. Plus you can see which coupons were used, when they were used, etc.

Yep. I just hate the fact that anything you put on Smashwords seems to end up on the pirate sites within a month. Not that I don't mind the advertising, but it's still pretty annoying.

Odd. I've never had any problems with Smashwords. Hmmm, gonna find some wood. *knocking*

So right now we're at 3 authors (I think). Need a few more, esp if we want to narrow our focus to ones that are similar in style (or kind of similar).

After running math on the smashwords coupons, it looks like if you're charging $2.99 for your book, 30% off is probably going to be the sweet spot. Any less and the price doesn't look as great ($2.99 becoming $2.01 doesn't entice people...but if it becomes $1.99, it does, generally speaking. Yay psychology).

I have one more author interested and he may pop in once his book is officially released in a month-ish.

Ok guys, classify your work. Fantasy? Sci-fi? Young adult? I'd say mine was fantasy adventure. I never originally thought to classify it as Young Adult, but I've been told it is.

Can you guys sum up your books in a few sentences so that we can see how they'd match up?

Here's mine:

A light-hearted fantasy story suitable for young adults. A portal sends a couple from present day America to a magical world complete with dragons and griffins. After being named Royal Babysitters to the young prince, they Americans must find a way home before harm befalls the prince.

127,000 + words.

Epic fantasy (ie, world-altering events) in a high-magic world. Not young adult, though some readers initially think it will be, as the story's "feel" changes as the main character matures.

Summary:

Local region is divided into two warring city-states. Neither views the wildling people as more than animals. Estin (a wildling) gets himself stuck in a really dumb situation and must flee the city. He finds himself thrown in with other wildlings who ARE as savage as wild animals. Estin must decide whether ill-fated love and personal loyalty are worth becoming like them, or whether he is truly so different to begin with. Meanwhile, the world falls into magical warfare that envelops the entire region. Yay apocalypse!

198,000 words

Ok, that may have been my worst summary ever, but I think it covers everything. :)

Here's a thought. What about putting something like this at the end of our books? For me, I'd put it at the end of my "Author's Note".

"This author is a proud member of Goodreads.com's Indie Book Club. If you liked this book, I invite you to check out the following books from fellow club authors as they are all personal favorites of mine. As a personal thank you, please use the corresponding Smashwords coupons to download discounted copies!

1. Book 1, by Author
Link... coupon: ???

2. Book 2, by Author
Link... coupon: ???

3. Book 3, by Author
Link... coupon: ???

We hope you enjoy!"

What do you think?

Big thumbs up. Just need more authors. :)

Anyone else out there interested in offering discounts in an effort to increase exposure?

I'm all for it! Jim and Gregory are also interested. Speak up! The more we can ge involved, the better!

I'm in guys! Love the idea.

Ok, I'm ready to add a blurb to the end of Bakkian Chronicles, Book I - The Prophecy about our bundling deal. I'll add a "About the Author" section where I'll put a blurb about myself then mention that I'm a member of Indie Book Club, and that I recommend some other books and post a short little blurb about each one, and then include the Smashwords coupon code. Since we're so close to the end of the year, I'd go so far as to say make the coupon good through 2012. However much you want to discount it is entirely up to you.

Ok, now here's what I need to get this ball moving. Anyone that would like me to include your book at the end of mine, write me a short two or three sentence blurb about your book and then include the coupon. Since this coupon will be good for 2012 (hopefully!), email it to me instead of posting it in here so that way if you guys see that coupon being used, you'll know this bundling gimmick is working! The only way people will know that the code exists is to get it from our ebooks!

Use: jmpoole (at) gmail dot com. I tried to generate a coupon for my first book, but since the darn thing is already free, it won't let me. Plus, it's doing so well that I think I'll leave it as it is for the time being.

Let's see if we can drum up some more sales! Since mine is fantasy, any other fantasy authors out there that would like some extra publicity, drop me a line!

Oooo! Random thought!

Let's call this "gimmick" the Indie Book Club Credit!

Email sent.
Anybody else want it, give me your email.
Send yours to Robert dot day1at hotmail dot com

~Rob

Gregory - absolutely! Give me the link you'd like to have me include, and I'll include it. Is the blurb you submitted earlier what you'd like me to use?

"The main character is a young street thief, who's mighty content with himself... until the gypsy who raised him is murdered, a dying young soldier shows up on his doorstep, and several powerful people suddenly want him dead."

This is what's being appended to the back of Bakkian Chronicles, Book I - The Prophecy:

Introducing the Indie Book Club Credit!

This author is a proud member of the Indie Book Club from Goodreads.com. If you liked this book, I invite you to check out the following books from fellow club authors as they are all personal favorites of mine. As a personal thank you, please use the corresponding Smashwords coupons to download discounted copies!

------------------------------------------

Demon Gates by Robert Day. Coupon code: XXXXX

Long have the races of Kil'Tar lived free from the threat of the Demon hordes, banished inside the Voids, their dark portals locked by the magical Seal of Akashel and guarded by powerful Loremasters. But now the seals are breaking! Can Valdieron, the last descendant of a long dead race of Dragon Riders, accept his legacy or will he falter and forsake the land of Kil'Tar to demonic destruction?

------------------------------------------

In Wilder Lands: The Fall of Eldvar by Jim Galford. Coupon code: XXXXXX

"The wilding Estin just wanted to be left alone, find shelter and food, and live to a nice old age. With war escalating around him, these may be beyond his reach. Instead, survival becomes his only goal as he flees civilization to pursue the chance at a better life by following a fox wildling into the mountains, far from the war's conflicts.

The war might still be raging elsewhere, but Estin will find the mountains are far from safe. Estin must decide what he is willing to do and become, as well as who to trust if he is to survive, no matter where he lives."

------------------------------------------

Brother Thief by Gregory J. Downs. Coupon code: XXXXXX

The main character of this book is a young street thief, who's mighty content with himself... until the gypsy who raised him is murdered, a dying young soldier shows up on his doorstep, and several powerful people suddenly want him dead.

Nice Jeff. I am happy to add that to my books if you can give me the blurb and code for your book(s)?
Same for Greg and Jim, I will use these blurbs if you want to give me the coupon codes.

Cheers,
~Rob