So why was Watermelon Summer malingering? The book is my first work of fiction, and I should have realized that my existing fan base was a little leery of putting down hard cash for something unlike my usual how-to guides. I'd been listing those how-to guides between 99 cents and $2.99, and I placed Watermelon Summer at the upper end of that spectrum since the novel is significantly longer than some of my other ebooks. But due to my fans' hesitance, the slightly high price, and a bad description (since updated), the book barely sold. For its first month of life, Watermelon Summer was only downloaded 25 times, even though I dropped the price to 99 cents a couple of weeks in. I'd lost the all-important launch momentum, and it looked like my novel might drift in the doldrums forever.

This was the perfect opportunity to test a no-holds-barred free period. I've reached the top-100-free list a few times through no effort of my own, and I often even forget to tell my fans when I've set an ebook free. However, I knew Watermelon Summer needed a real boost, so I did some research and followed other authors' advice to treat the free period like a book launch with lots of promotion. Luckily, there are dozens of free sites that will consider placing your book in front of thousands of eyes during its giveaway period, especially if you have a good cover and have put in the effort of acquiring at least ten good reviews. I submitted Watermelon Summer to about a dozen sites and it was listed by bargainebookhunter, ebookshabit, and freebooksy. Meanwhile, I also emailed my fan list and posted on my blog, my facebook page, and google plus, begging my loyal readers to download a free copy and to tell all their friends about the opportunity.

It took two days for Watermelon Summer to reach the top 100 free books on Amazon, which was the length of the initially planned giveaway period, but I had two more free days in the bank that I quickly tacked on the end. My book spent those last two days in the lower top 100 (mostly around 70 - 80), and by the end of the free period, 7,693 people had downloaded Watermelon Summer.

This is where the free-period naysayers will tell you that you've just thrown away $2,693. But what they don't tell you is that most of these downloads would never have happened if the book hadn't been free, and you do receive instant positive results from those free downloads. I went into my free period with 11 reviews and came out with 18, one of which was for four stars and the rest of which were for five. And I started showing up in the "Customers who bought this also bought" category on others' page at the same time. That meant that I sold 13 copies the day after my book went back to the paid store, and the novel immediately jumped up into the top 100 paid in its category. Watermelon Summer had found its way out of the doldrums!

Of course, if you give away thousands of copies of the first book in a series, chances are you'll see an even greater sales boost from the free period since happy customers will go on to buy the later books in the series. But even if you only have a standalone book, my experience suggests that a well-promoted free period will net significant rewards. Plus, you can treat it as a pro bono round of market research --- are your title, cover, and description catchy enough to draw in the masses? If not, it's time to put some work into the public appearance of your book so that it can reach as many people as possible.

I dreamed about moving back to the land ever since my parents dragged me off the family farm at the age of eight. I worked as a field biologist and nonprofit organizer before acquiring fifty-eight acres and a husband, then quit my job to homestead full time.


I admit that real farm life involves a lot more hard work than my childhood memories entailed, but the reality is much more fulfilling and I love pigging out on sun-warmed strawberries and experimenting with no-till gardening, mushroom propagation, and chicken pasturing.