Excerpts at the end of ebooks

[Eric Christopherson]

Ignored? Annoying? Or a nice little bonus?

[Linton Robinson]

Good question.

Start with:  What is the difference between "a reader" and "readers".

That's what I'm trying to get at here.  In my experience when people cite mass opinions, and you ask where they got that information and they don't tell you, or get upset, there isn't any real information.

Again, I don't downrate your opinion or attempt to argue with it.

I'm asking if anybody has any statistics or polls or anything about what readers feel about this.  A dozen people here have said that "readers don't like free chapters", but not a single one is aying where they got that information.  And I think you know that "well I'm a reader and I have have one person's opinion" doesn't ansser that.

Which wouldn't even be worth pushing for if it weren't something i see so much of.  I'm stating to question anything people say about reader tastes...and I almost never get anything to back up these statements of taste...which are really important to writers trying to figure out what to do.

[Martyn V. Halm]

I understand that you want 'hard evidence' that adding sample chapters is detrimental to ebooks.

I used to add the first chapter of Peccadillo to Reprobate (and that was after Peccadillo was finished, so there was no 'waiting period' for anyone reading the sample to read the whole book). However, there was a discussion on Kindleboards, where both authors and readers chimed in where the overwhelming majority was against adding sample chapters for the reasons I stated before: unlike a paperback, which requires a visit to an (online) bookshop to buy the sequel, an e-reader often has a built-in internet connection that allows you to visit the retailer and download a sample or the whole book in a matter of seconds, making a sample in the back of a book redundant. Furthermore, in paid books, readers expect the end of the story around the 95/100% mark, so they (might) feel cheated if the story ends at 80%, followed by 20% sample chapters and back matter.

So, you can transport a practice intended for paperback books (I rarely found sample chapters in hardcover books) to ebooks, or you can adjust to the new medium and just add some pitches and URL links to aid the reader to buy the next book in the series.

Your choice.

Me, I only add sample chapters to my free short stories, since I figure they are loss leaders intended to interest people in the main feature, my novels. I don't add them to my novels anymore, because I assume that readers who read Reprobate know where to get Peccadillo.

I'll leave it at that, if you don't mind, because I'd rather put my energy towards writing my books than convincing you about changing business practices.

I think you can find more opinions by googling 'sample chapter in e-books'.

[I. J. Parker]

I think most of us pick up such feedback from comments on reader sites. I've seen a few (fewer than 10, I think), but I'm not often on such sites.

[Susan]

Like the politicians say, the real "poll" is whoever gets elected. Why bother with polls? People lie to pollsters. The best poll is ... book sales.

For that matter, Lin, why worry about what other people say? Do your thing. If I worried about what other people were saying, I'd've never made it too .... well, 39 and counting ... :)

[Linton Robinson]

HEY!

Just saw your "Natalie's Revenge" on Book Bub!    Cool!

Free today!

[Susan]

So grab a copy and write a review ... :)   Ya might like it, NYC strip clubs, a call girl in Paris, and back to New Orleans with a gun.

[Linton Robinson]

Strippers and guns... my kind of scenario.

[Susan]

Knew you'd like it. No tequila tho ...

[Linton Robinson]

I'll stipulate on the Tequila

Can't wait to take a look

[I. J. Parker]

I'm getting increasingly dubious about readers. A couple have left utterly nonsensical 1-star reviews for me. I have some very thoughtful reviews also, so should probably disregard the idiots, but those review averages affect sales.

In any case, I will not add samples in the future and have never added more than a few pages. I will also not do other stuff to please customers or promote heavily or listen to their complaints. I have accepted that my books appeal to a small group of readers, and they will buy them faithfully. My objective is to write more books and stop worrying about promotion.