The Everything Everywhere All At Once Approach

 

Photo by Irina Rybcko on Unsplash.com

July 10th, 11th and 12th.

That is the narrow window I have created in order for you to get all of my 20+ Kindle titles for free. 

I know. It seems crazy. And it is. 

But when was the last time you got 20 something odd books for free?

And it doesn't end there. After the giveaway, you'll still be able to get all of my books on Kindle Unlimited for free. All it costs is $11.99 per month. It's like having a Netflix subscription but for eBooks. 

Plus, even if you don't take advantage of the Amazon giveaway or a Kindle Unlimited subscription, all my novels are 99 cents a piece. They will continue to be at this price point until the end of summer. 

Now, you may be asking why would I do this. And I will tell you, honestly; I want more readers to find me. 

Up until now, I've had pretty good luck when it comes to marketing my work as Audiobooks. But, for some reason, have not been able to crack the ebook code when it comes to Kindle sales. So I thought I'd try something different and wild. I'm going after binge-readers, slow readers and everyone in between. I write in a multitude of genres so there's always something for everyone. 

But most importantly, I want my work to spread like a wildfire. The last time I ran an ebook giveaway I did it with only 3 titles simultaneously. I got a good response. About 200 to 300 people downloaded each book and then...crickets. 

It wasn't a total loss. I got more exposure and I was able to get on more shelves. But back then I had 8 Kindle titles to my name. Not mention that now Amazon can pay you royalties "per-page-read." 

So I'm excited for this 3 day experiment for you, the reader, to get a deep dive of my work through July 10th to the 12th. I will even share the numbers of downloads for each title because I don't recall any other author doing this. And even if I am not the first, I hope I won't be the last. I still have a lot of books in the hopper. So keep checking my author website 

robertoscarlato.com to be updated on future title releases and future giveaways!

Go here to get my books!

My Thoughts On KDP Select

I started publishing ebooks as far back as 2009. One of the many questions I had was how on earth would I be able to gain enough exposure and sell more copies? The biggest suggestion is to offer your books for free. So I have. I have taken full advantage of both Smashwords and Amazon when it comes to giving away free books. The only problem I thought I had was the exclusivity agreement that Amazon proposed. Three months is a very long time to wait to put your ebooks up on other sites. But, nevertheless, I tried it.

I tried it with all six of my titles.

Here's how many copies I've given away in all:

Smashwords - 4,274 copies
Amazon - 2,023 copies

Total: 6,297 copies

Does giving away free copies translate to actual paid sales?

In my opinion - Nope!

If anything, I think this helps you lose money. Both Free and 99 cents used to be good tactics to get your books out there. Sadly, that's not the case anymore. Sure, it is fun to get that little bit of an ego boost when you see your free title climb the charts...but that euphoric high is short lived once the promotions end.

The only thing that carried over was that I recieved one or two extra reviews and that's pretty much it.

So, for now, I think I'm going to drop out of KDP altogether and consider it just a simple experiment that didn't quite work for me.

After all, if exposure was key, I think I've exposed myself enough already.

Wearing Donnie Torr eBook Giveaway

Ladies and gentlemen, now comes the part where I do something for you, the readers of this here blog.

This was the second book I've written. Since the last two giveaways worked so well, I decided to do one for this thriller as well. So far I've gained an extra 265 new readers and hope to gain even more with the release of a new Kindle Single in the coming weeks.

"Wearing Donnie Torr" will be free on Kindle from:

-SEPTEMBER 21st through SEPTEMBER 25TH-

Here is the back cover synopsis of the book:

Deep in the Wisconsin woods, a killer waited patiently. On a cold night in 1999, the notorious Donnie Torr went down in a hail of gunfire. The threat to the town was supposedly eliminated. Now, in 2002, local writer James Dorrell has just purchased a leather jacket at the thrift store. He knows its getting colder, bleaker as the weather grows gray. But what he doesn't know is that the killer lived on, connected to the very vessel of the jacket that James now owns. With the leather fusing to his skin, his thoughts being perpetrated with malicious fantasies, and his sudden habit of sleep walking, James must discover how the killer accomplished such a curse and why he chose James to do his bidding. Better yet, James will have to figure out an ending for this horrifying tale…that might be his own.

Click Here to buy it now: Wearing Donnie Torr on Amazon

And don't forget to write a review ;)

Worth A Second Look eBook Giveaway

Ladies and gentlemen, now comes the part where I do something for you, the readers of this here blog.

I've been working on this manuscript for a while and just recently I was able to release it to the Kindle. Since this may be your first time visiting this blog I decided to surprise you and everyone else who owns a kindle with a special treat.

The new book titled "Worth A Second Look" will be free on Kindle from:

-AUGUST 25TH through AUGUST 29TH-

Here is the back cover synopsis of the book:

In 2009, people were introduced to stories of hit men, specters, crooks, playful spirits and empowered heroes. Now, a new batch of stories have come alive.

Come to a place where mice gain the ability to speak, where super humans work middle class jobs, where a mythical man grants chances to feeble victims and where science has created murder rooms or genetically mutated monsters. Discover worm holes, the supernatural and a bit of lunacy. Encounter the unexpected.

You heard it here first, folks.

Five whole days of the book absolutely free!!

Get your Kindle and boot that sucker up because 20 new short stories from yours truly are just dying to get on that thing!

Click here to get your ebook: Worth A Second Look on Amazon.

The Slight Snag

Well, in the midst of my so-called brilliant scheme, I found that it is near impossible to price your book at zero on amazon unless you are a publisher or know someone in the biz.

Fortunately, I priced the kindle books as low as I can go on amazon which is 99 cents each. That should help.

But you can still get my books for free on smashwords by clicking here.