Wednesday, March 14, 2012

An avalanche of freebies

I have to admit, I'm a book junkie. I love them. I buy them. They sit on my bookshelves (one in the living room, another in my office, a smaller one made by hubby to double as a bedside nightstand -- all stuffed to the gills), and now on my Kindle (last count, 271 items).

How did I amass such a treasure trove of books? Freebies, mostly. Especially for the Kindle. A few print were actually free as well. Our local YMCA has a book exchange, and I picked up one or two there while leaving a few copies of my own books. :)

Amazon has a running list of titles available for free. Publishers have been making titles free, so I snatch them up. Authors hold giveaways and "free for a day" events, so I grab those too.

It's becoming overwhelming. I have so many books, there's no way I can ever read them all. Reading time's hard won for me, and it takes a back seat to my writing time. This Murderati post says it best.

Having a Kindle makes it easier to sneak in a read here and there, but actually finishing something? It feels like a victory when I do.

So is making your books free a good idea? Many say yes. I would agree, with a caveat: free for a limited time. Otherwise, they're just out there with the limitless number of other freebies, alone and desperate, thinking of joining Freebies Anonymous.

I have stopped commenting on authors' blog posts with giveaways because I know I will never have time to read it. I love to support them, but I already have a ton of book giveaways that I haven't gotten to, and someday I need to finish them and post reviews. I'm just overwhelmed, but yet I keep downloading freebies.

How do you feel about freebies? Seriously, consider this an informal poll. I need to know - would you download my dark paranormal, Dancing with the Devil, when I make it free for a few days around the end of March?  Thanks!