To Amazon or not to Amazon …

• Posted in About Books, On Writing

As y’all know, I’ve been writing short stories to go along with my Elemental Assassin series. I plan to write at least one short story to go with Tangled Threads, probably from Jo-Jo Deveraux’s point of view.

I’ve been offering the stories for free here on the Excerpts page my website, but for Tangled Threads (as well as for my new Mythos Academy young adult series), I’m also thinking about offering the short story as a 99-cent download on Amazon. (I believe 99 cents is as low a price as you can set on Amazon.)

Why the change? Well, I think putting the story on Amazon would attract some new readers to my books. I know when I’m interested in a book, I tend to look at the links to similar books and click on those. Plus, a lot more folks visit Amazon than look at my website, and I think it would be a relatively easy way to market my books. And I’ll be honest, it might be a little bit of money in my pocket.

I know that not everyone has an e-reader and that not everyone who has an e-reader has a Kindle, so I’d probably post the short story for free here on the website like normal. I’m still thinking about that or if I want to go whole hog and make the story available in a variety of e-formats. Really, it would just depend on the cost.

I know some authors have had enormous success marketing their books through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers. But I’ve also seen blogs by other writers who’ve only sold a few copies and haven’t even recouped the cost of putting the books online in the first place. I guess I’m considering posting a short story as sort of a test run. I’ve got a couple of books that I’ve written that just aren’t right for traditional publishers for whatever reason. I figure they should do more than just collect dust in my computer. LOL.

What do you guys think? Do you download cheap reads on Amazon? Would you download an Elemental Assassin or a Mythos Academy short story? Share in the comments.

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20 Responses to “To Amazon or not to Amazon …”

  1. Zita Hildebrandt says:

    I don’t download ebooks from Amazon. To be honest, I have had terrible experiences with them and I won’t buy from them anymore. I have downloaded ebooks from Smashwords and from Chapters/Indigo, however. Frankly, if I really want the book, I pay whatever the listed price is. In other words, I don’t hunt for the $0.99 bargains, I buy the book because of the author and pay whatever. Don’t get me wrong, if I get a bargain I’m very happy about it, but I would pay more if it was something I really wanted from a favourite author.

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      Hmm. Thanks for the info. I know I’ve seen several authors posting about putting their books up on Smashwords, but I don’t have any experience with that. I was thinking about Amazon because it seems like the easiest option — and the one that would reach the most people.

      I’m with you. I keep an eye out for bargains, but if I want a book bad enough, I’ll pony up the money for it — even if it’s a (gulp!) hardcover.

  2. Erin Eusanio says:

    I have the Kindle app for my phone and I am always on the lookout for short stories (especially from authors I like) that I can buy and load onto my phone (I tend to read them at work!). I would definitely buy one of your short stories! I buy your other books in paperback because I always buy my favorite authors in actual books (I like feeling the book in my hands and reading the pages). Hope you are having a good day!

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      Hmm. That’s interesting. I hadn’t thought about people being able to read the stories on their phones. I guess there’s an app for everything now. LOL. Glad you are enjoying my books. 😉

  3. Jimmy Jones says:

    You can always setup the Amazon thing, and then provide a means for people who bought Tangled Threads to get the short story for free.

    For example, earlier in the year I bought Leona Wisoker’s Secrets of the Sands book, and inside the book they provided a link by which you could also ask for a free e-copy of the book given you had bought the hardcopy.

    So I don’t think it’s far-fetched to have a similar system in place for those that buy Tangled Thread to get access to the short story.

    Ilona Andrews I recently saw they provided a short story from Curran’s PoV through Amazon while still providing it for free at their site.

    And when you have enough of them, and had some novellas, and some short stories in anthologies, you can always do what Jim Butcher did with Side Jobs, which I see he sold quite a bit of it at $14+.

    So my thoughts at the moment is keep building the series and the fanbase, which in the end should be more beneficial and lucrative.

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      That’s what I was thinking — post the story at Amazon and then for free here on the website too. That way, everyone should be able to read it in some format or another. I had seen the Andrews’ short story on Amazon, but I didn’t realize it was for free on their website too.

      It would be nice to become as popular as Jim Butcher one day. 😉

  4. Jennifer Wadsworth says:

    The Elemental Assassin series is on of my top pics of “New Series Of The Year,” at least for me personally. So, where ever you post your short stories, I’ll get them. I actuall am a Kindle reader and LOVE my Kindle and Amazon’s services (as long as the publishers are playing nice), so I would probably pick it up there even if there was a charge just for the convenience and to support my authors. However, Smashwords has been handy, too. I’ve picked up several short stories there by Karen Chance. Just be sure to advertise where they stories are and I’ll hunt them down. I agree that Amazon will probably get you the most exposure. 🙂 Good luck with everything! I hope the series can continue on!

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      Thanks. That’s really nice of you to say. I’m glad you’re enjoying the books. I hope to be writing many more Gin stories. Fingers crossed anyway. 😉

      I agree that Amazon is probably my best bet. Honestly, I’d never even heard of Smashwords until I came across some blogs talking about it. But this is all still in the planning stages. I actually have to write the story first. LOL.

  5. CandaceB says:

    There are a few authors that I follow who offer free short stories on their websites, which is great. I love that you do too and it is much appreciated. I have loved each one. 🙂

    I love my Kindle and it usually more convenient to read off of it, as compared to my laptop. So if the short story is also available on Kindle, I will also buy it, just to have it on my Kindle too. This is what I did with Ilona Andrews’ Curran POV stories.

    Getting a short story on amazon for $0.99 is how I discovered Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamer series. It is also how I discovered books by Jeannie Lin (though her short story was $2.99). Another example is Winter’s Passage by Julie Kagawa. I got it from amazon for $2.99 in between the first and second books of her Iron Fey series. It provided a nice fix and setup for the second book.

    In conclusion, if you offer your story on your site, I will read it here. If you offer it on amazon, I will also get it from there. 🙂

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      That’s what a lot of folks are saying — that they’d buy the short story just for the convenience of reading it on their e-reader. I can see the appeal of that.

      Is the Julie Kagawa series good? I’ve thought several times about picking up The Iron King, but I haven’t yet …

  6. Tia Nevitt says:

    I think it’s a great idea if you could manage to do it without incurring too much expense. It’s difficult to format an ebook, from what I’ve heard (getting it to flow correctly), but I bet Amazon has tools that help out a lot with that.

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      Yeah, I need to figure out if I can do it myself or if not, how much it will cost me to get it done. Like I said, I’m still in the research/planning stages right now …

  7. Claire c says:

    I would buy them, I downloaded the ilona Andrews ones for free from smashwords then paid for the kindle versions so I could have them in the format I want.

    If I notice stories by authors I know of I will quite often buy short stories they have done, they come in handy if I have some spare time but don’t want to start a long novel – it’s strange as I hate anthologies but e-versions seem to be easier reading for me.

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      I know a lot of people have commented that they’ve read/downloaded the Andrews story. If Gin’s that popular, I’ll be thrilled. LOL.

      I really like anthologies because I can read a story and then go do something else for a while. Sometimes, I need a break from longer books. Plus, they’re a really good way to find new authors.

  8. Beth says:

    I own a Kindle and would definitely buy a copy for the convenience factor. I actually own most of the Jim Butcher short stories in Side Jobs but bought the book just to have everything together in chronological order.

    I remember buying a book and it came with a free short story so you could market it as $.99 by itself or that it comes with Tangled Threads for free.

    I also went to a few Cons in the last year (Comic Con, Dragon Con, etc.) and several publishers had booths (also some authors) and they also had signings which really got readers involved.

    I really love your books and have been recommending them to friends and on Goodreads. I can’t wait for Tangled Threads to come out!

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      I can see the appeal of that. In fact, I almost picked up Side Jobs myself yesterday at the bookstore. I love short story anthologies like that.

      I’m thinking I’ll go the 99-cent Amazon route. Now, I just need to find someone to do all the technical stuff for me. LOL.

      I’m glad you are enjoying the series. Thanks for spreading the word. 😉

  9. Anna says:

    Definitely Amazon! I download ebooks to my iPod Touch using the Kindle app, the Stanza app, and other ebook stores. The opportunity to try an author’s shorts story for an inexpensive price allows a reader to try their work without the expense of purchasing an anthology. I’ve tried several authors this way. Some with success and future purchases. It’s a great way to pass the time at the airport or doctor’s office, plus discovering talented authors.

    Another thing is once you the discover the author you can download short stories that delve within a series world. Such as Nalini Singh’s Angel’s Pawn, a short story only available in ebook that expands upon the secondary character Ashwini and her relationship with Janvier. Then there’s Patrica Briggs Alpha and Omega, originally from an anthology, which is available as an ebook sans the other stories. I love re-reading those stories. Plus I have Ilona Andrews’ mini on Curran’s POV, which many are unaware of unless you visit this author’s forum/website.

    So yes, Amazon is a good bet.

    • Jennifer Estep says:

      That’s what I think too — that sometimes folks are just in the mood for a shorter story when they’re waiting somewhere, like you said. That’s one of the reasons I like anthologies. I can read a story in a few minutes, then go do something else for a while.

      I know what you mean. I like to think of my short stories as bonus material in a way, especially since I’m writing them from different characters’ points of views.

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