Since we’re started out free urban fantasy serial, I’ve learned that giving away free fiction is actually a controversial topic. There is a really interesting article at Smashing Magazine, which talks about pitfalls of providing free services. It’s a lengthy article, but it makes an interesting point: if we perform any labor, that labor has value and we have to be compensated for it.
Labor is the ultimate currency of our society. We’re walking in the footsteps of John Locke, who defined ownership as exertion of labor upon natural resources, meaning that since a person owns themselves and spends themselves in labor, he then owns the product of that labor. When you own something, you want something in return before you part with it.
The article states that when labor is given away, it is either presented as a gift, in which case “the action of giving a gift satisfies our desire to please someone we care about” or it is given away with expectation of compensation, if not from recipients of the gift, than from a third party. For example, Twitter is a free service, but at some point its creators had to monetize it. It costs money to run Twitter. There are servers, man-hours, utility bills, and so on. Since Twitter is provided free of charge to its users, the revenue is derived from advertisers. The article points out that in this scenario, the users of a free service become its product.
Nobody really wants to think of themselves as products.
This mindset creates several conflicts of interests. First, to target advertising, one must know a little bit about the consumer, which means that free services end up compromising the user’s privacy or compelling/bribing the user to permit them to pass his or her personal information to advertisers. Second, the development of this free service is no longer dictated solely by the needs of the user. It must also accomodate the needs of the advertisers, who are the source of revenue.
You can see it with technically oriented WordPress bloggers. They hawk WordPress theme sites in return for advertising and affiliate fees, and it’s often very difficult to find an honest review of a particular theme, because everyone who reviews it is an affiliate and receives money if the visitor to the site purchases a theme.
I think that if a blog is popular and the blog owner wants to earn compensation by advertising on a sidebar or what not, they should have full power to do so. We come to these blogs with expectation and understanding that some revenue has to be generated from our visit. But the example above shows that sometimes the very value of the reviewer’s content – his unbiased opinion – can be compromised and what was supposed to be an impartial evaluation becomes a sales pitch.
The author of the article makes a simple point: if the consumer is willing to pay a small fee for using the service, than that service can be profitable to the creator on its own, which eliminates conflicts of interest. I agree with this: I’d rather pay $3 per month to use Facebook and not have it redesigned to accomodate advertisers. I’d rather drop $10 on an online game, instead of getting it free only to have it flood my wall with “notifications” which are actually disguised advertisements.
So given my stance on free, why are we giving away the broom thing? For two reasons. First reason is simple: I hope that the readers share links to our work and people who might not have necessarily tried us will give our work a shot. At the very least, when the serial runs its course and becomes an ebook with a price attacked, we hope that some readers might purchase it.
Second reason is a little more complicated, but in a nutshell, because posting a free novel or novella, or whatever it will end up, makes us feel better. It’s very nice to post a snippet of something that came out of your head and hear that it made someone’s day or someone had a sucky week and this was a bright spot for them. So yes, in essence we are getting emotional compensation for our free fiction. Does it mean that our readers are products? I hope not. :/
You guys ROCK!
I don’t know about other people, but I read a lot, and I don’t have unlimited funds for purchasing books. That said, if I read free fiction on the site of an author I like, I always buy something of theirs, instead of getting it from the library. I want my favorite authors to be successful, so they can devote more time to writing. I have found it easier space-wise since ebooks became available, and I will purchase individual short stories instead of a whole anthology. I buy the anthology if it contains several authors I like. That said, I own the entire Kate Daniels series and every short story that’s been available for purchase. I will reread series that I like (three times through Kate so far). As soon as The Innkeeper Chronicles goes up for sale, I’ll have my credit card ready. Thanks for all the nice things y’all do for your fans.
I agree totally, I so appreciate when authors share something for free, I spend more on books than anything else personal but those $$ arent limited. Kate & Curran’s books live on my bedroom bookshelf (as opposed to the downstairs library) alongside my other favourites which are read and re-read and added to with each new release. I see freebies as both an enticement and a thank you and am always ready for the next installment whether free or paid. Thank you IA for sharing your magic with us.
I just want to say thank you! I love the free read. But I’m also a big enough fan that I’ll pay for the books. I want to own them. Heck, I need to own them! The free reads are just this awesome bonus that makes me even more of a fan.
I think most of those asking why the serial is free just want you to know we loved it and you deserve it, in not so many words.
I loved what’s out so far, and I don’t doubt it will get better. Thank you for being generous to us.
A book format gives a different flow to the story somehow compared to a serial, so I will buy it when it’s out.
Like others, I love to get free books to read and have often found a new author that is added to my “must read every book” list. But I also buy lots of books to help support the authors that I really enjoy reading. I appreciate an author that will take the time to chat with the readers and offer a free book once in a while…one of the ways I repay that kindness is by leaving a review to hopefully introduce that author to more readers.
HAH! Free fiction has been a subject of debate previously.
Jo Walton started International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day after an article criticizing “webscabs” are “converting the noble calling of Writer into the life of Pixel-stained Technopeasant Wretch.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Pixel-Stained_Technopeasant_Day
I think your solid fan base appreciates the work you put into all your stories/novels/novellas and we’re always just happy to get some moar stuff to read! It is pretty awesome to come onto your blog and find a cool snippet, funny dog story, or (now) new chapter from a pretty cool novella you’ve written. You guys are more than generous and I can’t help but compare the appreciation you show your fans by interacting with us to other writers that are more insular. I’ve got to say that I love the stark contrast you guys offer. Visiting your blog is like being invited in to hang out for a while in a cool, fun environment. So, thanks for inviting us to stay a while and yes, whenever you put the novella somewhere buy-able I will be there!
I think its beautiful to give stuff away, it always comes back 3 fold.
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When you own something, you want something in return before you part with it.
I would disagree fundamentally with this (my general disagreement with Locke’s attitude to property and its consequences for the Native American Indians notwithstanding). Sometimes things you own don’t matter enough to you to want something in return, or the convenience of not having a thing outweighs the benefits of having it. This is why I’ve found many people giving stuff away when they move. They’ve paid for it, it’s their property, and yet they’re giving it away.
Perhaps the difference lies in the notion of ownership, that things are only owned (are only “property” in the Lockean sense) when you produce it yourself, when the labour gets mixed with it. This produces a far tighter attachment with the product of the labour than a mere monetary exchange could produce, and therefore the costs involved in buying said property would be higher. Although that makes for all sorts of complications, the most pressing of which being that if this is the case then things we buy are never completely our property.
Re your free novels, if you must commoditise and categorise things, the free content becomes advertising for the full paid product. Free advertising is generally a good thing, and is a cost-free way of promoting a product that will get you revenue. That’s sufficient justification for giving away free samples of anything, including writing.
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The bottom line is I like your writing. I feel like you are a normal person, whatever that means, and that were I inclined and given time to do so I might write in a similar way…after a bit of trial and error and luck and a few years copying you work
. If you were to put the Broom series, which I have not had time to read more than just the first installment, in an ebook, I’d be all over it and reading it on my Kindle AND for a price. Simply because your writing pleases me. It makes my day bearable. So, let me just say, THANK YOU!! The free book is AWESOME! and so are you.
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Also, in response to the ownership/property issue: I draw, fairly well. I am a teacher. I’ve used my drawings to help earn a little extra money in the form of coloring books, but I NEVER ever hesitate to give my drawings for free. I suppose, I get enjoyment from the kids saying they really like my drawings, but also, I think I like the idea that they often try to draw things of their own after they see me do it. (I never sold to the kids anyway, just parents and other teachers.) But, I think it is a similar idea.
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If you are paying $3 here and there on the internet your credit card gets harder to keep track of and easier to rip off, which led to systems like paypal, which are really not very reliable. There are a lot of things on the internet that I would be interested in, but they aren’t worth the possible hassles. If I have never played your game or read your book and you are going to charge me an insignificant amount of money for a free sample, I may just go off and read someone else or play someone else.
In your case, I already read your books–read the Saiman story in a collection I got on sale and then bought the rest–so it would neither be here nor there.
I avoid the ads, too, though. I mean, the world is full of things to do. Some even happen in the real world.
I’m not complaining in the least, but I saw the title and I thought you guys were doing another giveaway. I squeed.
Good talk, Ilona. I think this is why your fans love you guys so much. Thank you for always being willing to share your writing with us. You guys are the best.
I don’t feel like a product. In fact, I feel more like a spoiled brat: “Can I have a Curran POV, please? Just a line or two, pretty please? No? Then a snippet, a very tiny snippet? Maybe an Inkeeper’s chapter?”
pretty please don’t ever stop giving free fiction…i love your stuff, but regular fiction is a HUGE drain on my limited monies.
I feel like the author of that article completely disregards the value of gifts and voluntarism in general. Why do he/she/they think that the monetary compensation is the only reason people should engage in labor? Often if you do something for money only, it’s not really good, and this doesn’t relate only to writers. Yes, we need money, but it’s very human to value “it makes me feel good” more than money. It makes me feel good to find a solution for really complex math problem. It makes me feel good to make a quilt and give it as a present for my daughter. It makes me feel good to go to the elementary school and judge Science Fair. I don’t get money for any of these activities. Moreover, the idea that all our relationships should be described in sales terms “if you are not a service you are a product” feels really appalling. Please don’t listen to them, we need and greatly appreciate you free fiction!
Well, that’s not strictly true. I quoted above where he distinctly says that people like to give each other gifts, “the action of giving a gift satisfies our desire to please someone we care about.” You do get some emotional compensation from volunteering. He spends several paragraphs on this, actually.
I had to go read it in full, and I have slightly different impression now. I kind of agree with some things that the author say with regard to business models based on free content. But since those are still business models, I think their original goal was to make money, not to provide free servises. So then, there is no real conflict of interest, but a strategy to ensure wide distribution of a product (which likely from the begining was advertisement and servises) to people who gather to those free sites for whatever reason. A success of these busines models depends on how well they can gather people in, so they are known as providers of “the gathering content”, but their main goal was still to do profitable business. And I think I disagree with the author when he is saying that the solution is to charge money for anything. Yes, that is a traditional business model. Here is something you need, pay for it. But it doesn’t work with very new things. For facebook, twitter ot google – the benefits of having access to them were not clear at all. I’d never buy membership in any of them at the time they were introduced. So, realistically, their creators needed different business models. And even thorugh he does talk about gift giving, it is still limited – you give gifts to people you are emotionally attached to, but if you are not, it doesn’t make sence. And the importance of emotional compensation should not be underestimated. After all, you can’t take money to grave.
I agree. Actually, I got the sense from the original article that they were good with the gifting that happens when people do it because it makes them feel good to express appreciation or make someone happy; they really had a problem with people who used free as an insidious marketing tool to get people’s contact information — “get this free ebook only if you enter your information and agree to sign up for my newsletter.” It’s rampant and super annyoing — I’ve taken a few online marketing classes and that’s the standard advice, which just makes me grit my teeth..
My little rant aside, that’s why I love your guys, because you don’t have that cynical streak when doing business. The free serial is a gift to us and we love you more for it! We share it with our friends who get hooked on you too, And if you make it into an ebook, we’ll buy because we appreciate you so much — it’s prosperity for all!
Sometimes offering something for free can come back to bite you, especially with the segment of the population who never learned that the earth doesn’t revolve around them. But those folks are never really happy anyways and will whine no matter what. For the most part, though, I think the free fiction is a great gift for your fans, and a good way to introduce new folks to your writing. I know I appreciate it, and it makes me very happy!
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I have no problem what so ever being a ‘product’ if it means you keep posting free fiction. I literally LOVE everything you write and you’re the first Author/Authors I’ve come across that I can say that about. Please continue as you are. It’s perfect. xxx
Thank you guys for indeed. The serialization definitely provides a warm spot of sunshine that is much appreciated.
Completely agree w/ dsolo above – limited funds but buy copies like crazy of authors that are great and treat their fans so well (I actually have two copies of Kate Daniels books 3 & 4 and the rest of the series too!). Thank you guys!
I think the snippets and stories rattling around in y’alls heads are vastly interesting and entertaining. Each time I visit your blog and discover you’ve posted something new I get so excited. Your blog is like a Crackerjack box – I can’t wait to see what prize is hidden inside. LOL
I’d make the arguement that although your free snippets and novellas may not generate revenue, they do generate goodwill. And goodwill, from an accounting standpoint, is an asset with value. But that’s just me. And I’m an accounting nerd.
You guys are so amazing and, those people whose days are made by your snippets and stories? I’m totally one of them. I think you could write a story about shapeshifting baby dinosaurs and I would love it to bits. Thanks for making a poor students day!
And the summary at the end of this blog post is a large part of the reason why, we your fans adore you.
Not just because you write amazing fiction, with kick ass characters, who can somehow still melt our hearts, but because you have such big hearts as well.
I’m loving Tuesdays.
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I’m an economist…
There are many reasons to “give away” a product. It’s altruistic (it makes you, the authors, feel good); it’s a demonstration of quality and value (see how good our writing is! go out and buy our other books!); it’s an advertisement to draw in new people; etc. Those returns have value that is not easily quantifiable by money.
Other authors have put a button for donations there — that’s akin to a street-musician model, throwing money into the hat if you like the performance and can afford to give. Some offer a subscription model, pay-per-chapter, or somewhat like a Kickstarter model (if you give $X you’ll get the e-book if we finish; if you give $Y we’ll send you the print copy too, if you give $Z we’ll mention you in the acknowledgements, if you give $REALLY_BIG_AMOUNT we’ll name a character after you…). There’s no right or wrong here. Do what works for you, and don’t feel bad about it.
Oh — if possible, at the end of Clean Sweep I’d like the option for a dead-tree version. I haven’t made the switch to e-books yet, and it sometimes pains me that bits and pieces of what I want to read are ONLY available electronically. I stare at a computer monitor entirely too much for my day job…
Your frequent snippets, and now this serial (along with the great writing!) are the reason I check your site regularly and am always ready to snatch up your latest release. So whenever you wrap “Clean Sweep,” I’ll be there buying the e-book
On a related topic, any plans to release Julie’s story as a stand-alone? The anthology isn’t alluring enough for me to drop $13.
Personally I was discussing this topic with my hubby yesterday, i was saying you guys are very clever
by trying products in free snippets, that way you can check material and also if you have something very good (and you always do) you get to make new fans, also keep entertained your regular fans (you know us who are itching to buy anything you release) so we never feel neglected. In overall if i feel appreciated as a buyer I am most likely inclined to buy anything you sell. Personally, its a mix of your great stories, great fan contact and approachability which has made me a loyal fan and I am always buying everything i can, and buying even when i cant haha 
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I don’t feel like a “product”. I do however , deeply appreciate the freebies you guys share with us. I look forward to keeping up with your blog posts. If I’ve had a sucky day your writings brighten it considerably. I enjoy sharing a lot of it with my family. You guys make me smile, if not sit and laugh outright at my computer like some looney tune. It also helps to have something to look forward to in between book releases. So, thanks again for your generosity, and I will of course snatch up the work once it’s released in an ebook. It’s the least I can do.
Just shared your link to the Free fiction on your site through my LinkedIn profile today.
Also did this via intranet off my work in The Netherlands.
Hope that now may more people will enjoy your very good writing.
Totally agree on the ‘emotional compensation’!
I’m loving your free gift! Makes my day every time I find a new installment!
To me, the free reads are a frequent reader reward. Like many others, I buy most of the books I read, because I do appreciate the value of the authors’ work and, for me it is an investment of sorts because I do reread books I like multiple times. When you share a short story or even just a small scene with us, I see it as your showing your appreciation for loyal readers. I also think they are a wise investment on the authors’ part because these small scenes keep me interested and engaged in a series between the publication of books. By the way, I got my niece hooked on your series and she’s the one that alerted me to the bonus reads on the website. I think these little extras will strongly appeal to the digital native generations and will help them develop lifelong reading habits.
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In the introduction to the Baen Free Library over at Baen Books, Eric Flint has interesting things to say about free books. http://www.baen.com/library/intro.asp
Hey!
Just back from trip.
1. Yay! New entries to read! YAY!! Thank you! I love your writing!! Humor, excellent plot, characters and great storytelling are things you have wrapped around your little fingers.
2. I LOVE your site not only for the snippets, but also…
3. Your blog! And your voices on your blog. I come to read your stuff and sometimes post because your voices are genuine and you have created a community I can be part of. I love that even your kids sometime post. And you and others can talk about books. Most people I know just aren’t interested in reading fantasy or science fiction, but here there are loads of people who do. Yay! Love it!
All these things and others guarantee that I will purchase any and all of your books and ebooks–even if they formerly have been posted as free drafts! You respect your readers–how can I not respond in the same way? I’m just grateful for the cool and interesting space you have created! You are a great example of one way to do it right.
Thanks and have an awesome week!