The trouble with free books is:

Miss_Jane2014 · Post by **Miss_Jane2014** » 13 Jan 2015, 13:22

I have a fascination for free books. There are several series that I have ended up actually purchasing because of a free book that I fell in love with. I have found several new authors that I like, including Nicky Charles. I have discovered that I love her work.

Jpro29 · Post by **Jpro29** » 13 Jan 2015, 17:58

For me, all the disappointments with books that are not well written just make it more exciting when I find one that is incredible. If they were all good, it wouldn't mean as much when I find an excellent read. Makes all the slogging through drivel worth it for the one or two that are really well written.

MitchellDCalhoun · Post by **MitchellDCalhoun** » 14 Jan 2015, 00:41

krichardson wrote:I have no trouble with free books. Yes it is good marketing to give the first book in a series away for free this helps to generate sales etc. I prefer the free book that I do not like to the one I paid for.

I agree with you. It is a good marketing trick but it is also beneficial for readers because reading the first book reader can know that the next books are worth taking or not.
E books are available in internet so we can get it anywhere no matter which part of the world we are in.

Mariah Porter · Post by **Mariah Porter** » 15 Jan 2015, 22:33

As authors, we love to trick our authors into doing stuff like that

Since there are so many people out there who only read books that are free and therefore have hundreds and thousands to get around to, gotta play it smart... Give it a cool cover, let them download, and see if you can't reel them in... Hehehe.

readerromance2003 · Post by **readerromance2003** » 16 Jan 2015, 00:35

Most free books is the first book of the series and if I like that free book I NEED to buy the rest. With the rate I am going I will be broke for a while.

wordscrafter · Post by **wordscrafter** » 21 Jan 2015, 22:42

...that they're free! (My e-library gets full sometimes.) If it looks halfway decent/interesting, I'll get it. If I like it, I'll go back and buy the rest in a series, or, if it's not part of a series, i'll get other books by the author. If I don't really care for it, I'm not out anything but some time.

shakeitkatie · Post by **shakeitkatie** » 22 Jan 2015, 10:47

I personally love the free books. There are several that are just stand alone novels, so I am not disappointed if other books by the author are not on the free list. I sometimes run into the issue of them being not well edited and riddled with errors but I think it just takes some patience to weed that stuff out.

Sometimes a book by a famous/well known author will be available for free but not on the free list (I think on kindle they just show the top 100?). For my kindle, I will go onto the computer (rather than using the kindle device) and just search for authors I like on Amazon and sometimes there will be a free book. They are typically older books or they are the first novel in a series but I honestly don't mind.

I also subscribe to many of my favorite author's and publishers newsletters because they will often release their new books or shorts for free. One of my favorite authors gives a free electronic edition of her newest book every Christmas. Harper Collins has free electronic book give-aways quite often as well.

Kotenburg · Post by **Kotenburg** » 28 Jan 2015, 16:10

I'm just not a big fiction reader. And lots of free books that I have seen a romantic novels, ugh.

THWilliams82 · Post by **THWilliams82** » 28 Jan 2015, 16:38

Yes the editing! So frustrating! I also am not a fan of the novellas posing as a full book. They give you the first one free, then you purchase 5 more, and in the end you have read the equivalent of 1 actual book. I unfortunately also need to know how a book ends, even if it's not that great.

christinad2015 · Post by **christinad2015** » 28 Jan 2015, 20:27

I completely agree with you on this topic. I just finished the first book in a series of 6 (so far). Even though book 1 was free, 2-6 are each $3.99. I am not sure I like the first book enough to pay for the remaining books. The books are all around 240 pages each and I can read them in 2 days. I would buy them if they were $0.99 a piece, but not $3.99.

-Christina

THWilliams82 · Post by **THWilliams82** » 29 Jan 2015, 17:14

Yes it seems like a bit of a money grab to me!

ejcogan · Post by **ejcogan** » 29 Jan 2015, 18:47

I love the free books! They are FREE afterall! If I didn't like the story then I'm not out anything. If I did then I don't mind paying for more. I've discovered some great self published authors this way and am more than happy to pay them for the adventure

exquisitelyL · Post by **exquisitelyL** » 29 Jan 2015, 21:42

I agree. And they charge for them too.

SusieGee1978 · Post by **SusieGee1978** » 29 Jan 2015, 22:16

I love free books! However, that being said, I get my ebooks on my nook from Barnes&Noble and also from Google Play. I find a LOT that the free books from Google Play are 35-75 page novellas. I want a BOOK not a 35 page story I'll finish in a few minutes. Thats always a disappointment when the book description sounds great and you're excited to get started, open the book and you realize you're going to have to resume your search for another book in about 15 minutes.

That's my only complaint, I like getting the first book in a series for free so I know if I'll like the rest of the series

ALynnPowers · Post by **ALynnPowers** » 03 Feb 2015, 05:43

SusieGee1978 wrote:I love free books! However, that being said, I get my ebooks on my nook from Barnes&Noble and also from Google Play. I find a LOT that the free books from Google Play are 35-75 page novellas. I want a BOOK not a 35 page story I'll finish in a few minutes. Thats always a disappointment when the book description sounds great and you're excited to get started, open the book and you realize you're going to have to resume your search for another book in about 15 minutes. That's my only complaint, I like getting the first book in a series for free so I know if I'll like the rest of the series

I hadn't thought about the free novellas! I dislike that as well! I am not a big fan of short stories, so it bothers me when I am expecting to read a book and I get something tiny instead.