Free to Me

Why Readers Should not Ask

Writing may be a hobby for many but when an indie author publishes his or her book, it is for a reason. They wish to share their stories with others. Sharing with a cost, however. 

Readers, especially those who are friendly with the author, have the unrealistic expectation that the weeks, months, or years of an author's life are theirs to expect. They ask for the unreasonable "free" book from their author friends.

To let you know how difficult a request this it, I've decided to provide a list of reasons to not ask for free books from your favorite indie author.

• They spent a long time, their own time, writing this book and their work is considered work, just like going to a 9-5 job. Would any reasonable person do all that work for nothing if it is their expected income? Even if only a second source?
• There is a lot of money spent on writing a book. Indie authors may not have publishers, but they have editors, and costs of ink, paper, computers, internet, and coffee. These things are a drain on the author's wallet. Most indie authors know they will not make a killing on their book sales but they certainly would like to recoup some of their spending.
• Indie authors are unlikely to be able to tell you "no". Inherently, people do not tend to like to tell others "no". That is how salesmen who come knocking at your door can get you to buy something. That is why hard-selling car salesmen can get you to agree to extraneous junk you don't need. If you ask an author for a free copy of your book, they will probably tell you "yes" and be out their meager royalty of $2.09 for a $2.99 priced book. If you cannot pay $2.99 to $4.99 for a book, that is not the author's problem.
• Their book is their baby. Would anyone in their right mind just give away their baby? They have not only vested time in writing the story, they have made friends or enemies with their characters and those characters are real to them. They want to share their hearts and souls with you but do not want to give them away readily.

If you read, understand that authors are nice people but they must make a living. Most indie authors charge much less for their books than they are worth in the hopes that someone will buy them and help them to further their careers and continue their stories. They truly do not believe they ask too much and have the hope that readers understand.