Summary: This episode was chock full of big-brained, high-strategy stuff. We started by talking how we're all getting a little disillusioned at the whole "free economy" that up until very recently we've endorsed on this show… which shows that all things are in flux and that very little is set in stone. Now, this is all just our opinion, but we all said that we've noticed SIGNIFICANT declines in the effectiveness of free promotions. I launched Fat Vampire 4 to a rather hungry audience (I'd been getting emails and tweets for a while from people eager for it) and that promotion resulted in approximately jack shit: 1. I rose in the free list, but not high enough for the free list to take the ball and hit critical mass, exposing me to new people. 2. I rose in the genre lists (horror and satire) but got no real new exposure. 3. Sales of other titles were pathetic. I can maybe attribute $40 total to this promotion. Something felt very wrong to me about this. Sean and Dave said they've felt the same… that all we're doing with free these days is giving shit away to the people who wanted to buy it. Additionally, we're not getting enough reviews to justify the giveaways. How important is it to keep readers? This led to an epic verbal battle wherein Sean accused Dave of being too soft regarding losing readers. Sean and I feel that if you have readers who will ONLY get your stuff for free (will in fact WAIT for it to be free and not buy it if it doesn't go free) and who also won't review your stuff, then FUCK THOSE PEOPLE. Dave wants to keep them, but I want readers who value my work… who, in short, don't feel that they're somehow doing me a favor by simply reading my work but offering me no return, remuneration, or response -- ever -- in return. Now, not everyone who gets your shit free will be like that, but a lot will. So we have to wonder… why not go back to charging for everything, and building funnels? Our new launch strategy Sean and Dave decided to go back to launching their episodes for 99 cents instead of free. Sean and I decided to do the same with books, which feels ballsy but also totally correct to me. We launched Unicorn Western 4 for 99 cents for a limited time as a special deal for our readers, but then raised it to full price of $2.99. There was no free period and will not be for subsequent books in the series. (Same thing will go for Fat Vampire books 5 and 6.) Remember, we are in the business of selling books. If that's not happening, we need to adjust. We feel and hope that our best readers will be willing to spend 99 cents. And if they're not willing, then we don't really need them. That may sound harsh, but it is what it is. Formula and format helps the creative process rather than hindering it We finished up by talking about how speed, formula for writing (ex: we decided in advance that Unicorn Western would be nine books of 25,000 words each… before we knew anything about the plot) and process actually helps the creative process. In other words, some people would argue that you should let your story be organic and be whatever it wants to be. But Sean and I at least contend (and Dave seems ambivalent) that if you put restrictions on the project, it gives you a framework and allows you to kick even more ass. I can tell I personally am going to listen to this one about five times. This is important shit! To view the video version of this episode, go to: Self Publishing Podcast #48 - Talking Strategy and Other Big Plans
