Why You Should Pay for Books

Writer Wordart (Photo credit: MarkGregory007)

This morning, I read a blog post by my friend, Alan Jobe, regarding the trend toward pricing e-books at “free.” Alan has been reviewing books for a number of years and worked in a library, so I know the man has a strong appreciation for the written word. His thoughts on the subject were enlightening. This post is written in response.

As someone who has been a full-time novelist for nearly three years (thanks mostly to the faith and patience of my hard-working husband), I can tell you that being a writer is no way to make a living.

The truth is that, while publishing has gotten easier, finding an audience has become increasingly difficult. I am thankful to have a fair number of vocal readers, most of whom have paid for every book I've written. With each book I write, I hope to pick up more of these readers. Progress is slow, though. And my dream has a deadline. Without a larger audience, I will be forced to return to editing full time in the near future, which means I will likely stop writing entirely.

So, how do you build an audience in today's publishing market? With a glut of terribly written novels competing against others of higher quality, it is no surprise that "free" is often the only way to get a "new-to-you" writer onto the average e-reader. After that, the quality of the work is the only tool the writer has in getting readers to buy another of his or her books.

Alan argues that he has no reason to buy a book when he can get so many for free. If you agree with his argument, please keep this in mind: if writing becomes a “non-profit” industry – so to speak – readers will soon find themselves in a barren literary wasteland. That’s not to say there won’t be books – there will be millions of them! But none of them will be fresh and new, because no one will be writing anymore.

My plea is this: if you read a free book and enjoy it, buy one of the author’s other books. Most e-books cost about what you would pay for a cup of coffee or maybe a fast-food hamburger. If you read a new author and love their work, tell your friends! There is no shortage of e-books, so there’s no reason to horde all the good writers for yourself.

On My Fortieth Birthday

Image by freakgirl via Flickr

In a few short hours, I will be forty years old. Honestly, it's hard for me to believe -- I still feel sixteen.

Okay, maybe not. Don't get me wrong -- sixteen wasn't a bad age for me, all things considered. I started college when I was sixteen, and many of the women who will read this met me that year. Hi, Cottey girls! (Just in case any of my male friends think I'm discriminating, Cottey College is a women's school -- a finishing school, in point of fact, though they gave up trying to "finish" their students sometime around 1920 or so.)

Maybe I should say I still feel like I'm twenty-five. But twenty-five wasn't that great. I was working for a title company back then, having dropped out of college after five years of relatively directionless education. I was single and starting to wonder if I was going to stay that way forever. It wasn't a bad life, but it certainly wasn't perfect.

I don't feel much different from the day I turned thirty, but I'm definitely happier. On November 17, 2001, I was separated from my first husband, having decided that single wasn't such a bad thing after all. I had an interesting job, good friends, and a sense that things were looking up. Of course, that could have been the relief of shedding a couple hundred pounds of irritating weight. (If you happen to be reading this, ex-husband, don't take offense.) However, I was still like a boat without a rudder -- just bobbing in the current.

The last decade has brought me many worthwhile things: the love of my life, two trips to Italy, several good friends, a college degree, and a career. In case you didn't know, I'm not just a blogger -- I'm a writer with seven novels under my belt. And I have a publisher, which is a fair accomplishment these days.

So I guess if I had to choose an age, I'd say...I feel forty and forty feels damn good. If you want to wish me a happy birthday, the best way to do that would be to buy one of my books. By the way, my seventh novel, Charmed Life, will be available tomorrow. It's the second in my Brass Monkey series. As part of my birthday celebration, I'd like to give you the first book in that series, Wild Life, for free. The Smashwords coupon code, good for November 17, 2011, only, is BJ56J.

Thanks for being a part of my life.