Most indie authors have free books. Some, with a larger catalogue of books, will give away their first book , the first book in a series, or perhaps one of the shorter ones. Other authors will offer the first few chapters or a short excerpt. Whatever the freebie, the first goal is to introduce new readers to the authors work, risk-free. Like a test drive. The second goal is to turn the reader into a fan and future purchaser.
My first free book was (still is) a poem from each of my chapters from my first book. I added some humorous fake reviews at the beginning to show the playful side of my writing. I called it Excerpts from the book Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures, which inadvertently threw the Amazon algorithm into a loop of removing the free status of the book because it couldn’t differentiate the two titles. [slow clap]
I finally removed it after two wonderful (frustrating) years, now only offering it directly and on KOBO.
Once I published my science fiction short story collection, I put the stories that I had previously posted into a second freebie. When I turned one of those short stories into a novella, I included the first chapter, which was a complete short story in the original collection.
With both free offerings I try to give an authentic overview of my writing style. So, here they are. Both require a newsletter sign-up, but you can always unsubscribe after (or before) reading my long-winded (and entertaining) welcome letter.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to join the “Lines by Leon” community, here are the direct download links:
Excerpts from the book Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures
The story behind Free Book Friday:
I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?
Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. There lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.
Featured Author: Ryan R. Campbell
Ryan R. Campbell is an author, speaker, and software engineer whose work as R.R. Campbell has earned him accolades including finalist placement in the International Book Awards and acclaim from New York Times bestselling authors.
Ryan is offering this four chapter sample for free:
Kindle Unlimited: Review these books!
Reviewers still needed!
See all current promos here: Discover New Authors and Free Books
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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Lines by Leon 
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