1. JC Said,

   I think it works. And for readers who have already bought your books (sometimes in both electronic format and in real book) it’s a nice way to reward us and keep us interested.

2. Devon Said,

   First off, I just want to say I absolutely love, love, love Rackety Kate - my only complaint is that it is frustrating to wait a month for each chapter (I’m not real good with delayed gratification ), but on the other hand I dont want it to end either… ah well…
   In response to your question, I think the whole free reads are a great introduction to your work for those that are new to reading you, and for those who have read everything, it’s a tidbit to tide us over til your next book. I equate author freebies to party favors - they’re like little thankyous to your readers for coming. Plain and simple, if I enjoy reading an author’s freebie, I buy said author’s book(s).

3. Denise Said,

   Ah, JC… I LOVE to think of readers who need a fix because they’ve bought ALL my books. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Anyway, that’s definitely a vote in favour. Thanks for the feedback, JC.

4. Denise Said,

   Welcome Devon! You just made my day. Sometimes I have the feeling I’m sending poor Kate out into a vacuum. (Which is one reason I’m asking the question.) I do hope you vote and encourage anyone you know to do so too - it’s a way for me to know someone is reading it! I enjoy writing Kate, it’s very um, freeing not knowing what comes next and not bothering with editing. Which is probably perfectly apparent.

   I like the comparison with party favours - that’s pretty well spot-on and I’m so glad it works for you. Thanks.

5. Dani Said,

   I think it’s great that you put up the things you do on your site. If I’d never read any of your books before the freebies you post would make me want to.

6. anny cook Said,

   I know of readers who’ve won a free book in one of my contest and then bought the rest of the series so evidently it does work to some extent. Thank you for the link to the free books. I intend to entertain myself while the house hunk watches the Super Bowl!

7. Fedora Said,

   Denise, I agree with what other commenters have said–it’s both a way to try before buying and a way to get a fix once we’ve bought everything we can It can be a way for an author to play with an idea or genre that she might not want to explore as a full-length something, too, but see if something works… And we readers will never complain about that! Thanks, Denise!

8. Denise Said,

   Hi Dani, that’s very reassuring to hear. If it works, it’s worth it. Thanks for the feedback.

9. Denise Said,

   Hey there, Anny - great to see you pop in! Watched part of Superbowl last night (while doing email). Geez, the pants those guys wear are so, um, affectionate… Being me, of course, I was trying to work out what they wear underneath. Jockstrap, I guess, ‘cos there sure ain’t a panty line.

10. Denise Said,

    Thanks for that Fedora. That pretty well confirms what I thought. And yes, it’s nice to have a kind of writer’s “playpen” where you can try out stuff. I like that I can be funny if I want and it doesn’t matter too much if it doesn’t come off.

11. Jenny Said,

    I never really thought a whole lot about whether somethink like Kate makes me buy or not … but I do know that samples like Ellora’s or Amazon or etc. do make a difference. I can read a couple pages in a brick store so why shouldn’t I be able to in an e-store? This is why I like the Kindle as well. I think I have only ran across one tittle that didn’t have a sample down load and I did not buy it; it was some way popular best seller.

    Sharon Lee and Steve Miller who write the SF Liadan series did something that was neat. Don’t know how it worked out for them financially, but they wrote and posted in serial form the first draft of their next novel (2x now). Readers were asked to donate $25 and are supposed to get a final copy of the book. I haven’t yet but I haven’t checked lately if the final copy is published. I would pay another $25 quite truthfully to see the final form of the book as it needed some editing. From the very beginning the readers were told that the final form could vary a good deal from the first draft.

    So free content probably does sell as long as you are a good author like Denise!

    On another note, old laptop PC took a large gulp of coffee, like half a travel mug. Very sad since the only backed up file was Quicken to their web sight. The good news is a racy new little HP, 14.1″ screen, less than 5 pounds, and get this a back lit keyboard. It is way cool - worth the couple hundred dollars difference. Insomicacs like me l-o-v-e to play with PC’s at night. Why didn’t anyone think of this before? Of course the ironic thing is that the only quiet night activity (playing with pc) actually is supposed to interrupt one’s sleep cycle even more because of the “blue” light emitted by the monitor. Go figure.

12. Denise Said,

    I agree, Jenny. I won’t buy an ebook these days without reading an excerpt. If none is provided - well, no sale. And thanks for the kind words. I’ve always thought long and hard about what excerpts to put up, especially for my EC books. My editor, Suz Gower, is totally brilliant at choosing them. It’s one of her many gifts.

    Mucho sympathies on the coffee-flavoured demise of the old laptop, but the new one sounds fabulous. And hey, a little blue light never bothers me. Once I’m gone, I could sleep through Armageddon.

13. Rhonda Said,

    This is my first time to your site and I’m excited to read about Kate. I think it’s great that you give people a taste of your creativity. I think it will prompt people to want to read more and going out and buying your books should be a treat.

14. Denise Said,

    Welcome to the dark side, Rhonda! Great to see you here. Well, after that, I do hope you enjoy Kate. I certainly enjoy writing her. And thanks for the feeback. The consensus seems to be that “try before buy” works.

15. Sara Said,

    Hi Denise,

    I was home sick 40kms from the nearest bookstore/library and bought your entire back catalogue as e-books purely from first chapter teasers and Rackety Kate etc.

    Rackety Kate especially, i have now gotten another two friends addicted to her, i agree with Devon about hating to wait a whole month for the next tid-bit but good things come to those that wait, don’t they??? Maybe not good but definatly fun,

    Keep up the great writing
    Sara

16. Denise Said,

    Aha! Oh, Sara, Z’m so pleased the excerpts on the website were enough to persuade you to buy. I do hope they cheered you up when you were sick. And aren’t ebooks wonderful? I’m a fan of instant gratification and I’m afraid I find them a terrible distraction. *sigh*

    Thanks for the kind words about Kate. She really is my light relief, such freedom to mess around and be silly. And puhleeese, spread the word to your friends. I’d love for them to join the newsgroup, but they’re welcome to read on the website, of course.

    What a lovely note! Thanks for taking the time to write it.

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