Awareness

“Why would anyone give away something it took them years to create?” This question kept running through my head as I considered offering the kindle version of my first book The Hidden Sun for free for a short period of time. 

 Granted, that question doesn’t truly reflect the dilemma—after all, eBooks don’t require printing costs and Amazon handles the delivery, so it’s not like I’m giving away the only copy ever created. 

 There are three things that convinced me to offer the promotion: 

1. Even if you have created something people will enjoy, they can’t enjoy it if they don’t know about it. 

2. I’ve heard from other authors who have series the success stories they’ve had from offering the first book for free. 

3. Maybe, just maybe, people will like the first book enough to buy the next two in the series. 

 So, how did the promotion go? 

 Fantastic! 

Thousands of copies of The Hidden Sun were downloaded. 

Even during this short period of time, people read it and posted positive reviews like: 

 “I have been reading some new author books lately and this was the very best one yet! Just the right mixture of characters, plot and action. A must read!” 

 “Really enjoyed getting to know the characters and falling into the story. Loved the picture painted as the story unfolds.” 

 “Really great book! Has a little bit of everything and great characters to pull you through. I couldn't put this one down! Highly recommended this one!” 

And yes, I even sold a number of copies of my other books. 

Alas, The Hidden Sun is no longer free. That’s right. You’ll have to spend a whole 99 cents if you want to download the kindle version.