This is a follow up post to Monday’s Kindle Thoughts – A Reader’s Perspective. I want to take the time to give my thoughts on the Kindle from the perspective of a writer.  First, a writer should know all about the means by which their readers will take in their work.  Although this is not the primary reason I wanted a Kindle, it is important to me to know how my work looks in the most popular reading device on the market.  To that end, I do have a Kindle Edition Ebook available.   More on that later.

In the post on Monday I touched on the very curious pricing that I’ve noticed.  Before I owned a Kindle, I just naturally assumed that ALL books would be $9.99.  Soon I realized that the classics (out of copyright) were mostly free.   Bonus!  I read The Picture of Dorian Gray and believe me, I otherwise would never have even considered reading that book.  I quickly discovered that it was not just the classics that were free or deeply discounted.  To give you an idea of what I mean, look at the top ten on the bestseller list as of 9pm Alaska time:

See what I mean?  9 of the top 10 are free.  Why would a writer do this?

You can bet it’s not sheer generosity and goodwill.  It can truly be only one thing, right?  Marketing.  Building a loyal base.  Crazy like a fox, me thinks.

Think about it.  You just got this great reading device and you can’t wait to test it out on a new book or two.  You see this best seller list and think, “Hey, what have I got to lose?  I’ll look at the reviews for “Daring Chloe” at number 1 and give it a go.”  Okay, so Laura Jensen Walker didn’t make a penny from that sale.  But what she did do was create an opportunity to make a fan.  She made an opportunity to sell herself.  So what if she didn’t make a penny this go round.  Hell, she’s sitting on top of the Kindle best seller list.  Do you think that maybe her name might ring a bell with her next book?  Or let’s say the folks are conscientious enough to write a review after reading the free book.  Now, she’s got dozens of reviews to bolster her standing and she has some name recognition.  And here’s the thing:  Tomorrow, the book could be selling for 8 or 9 bucks.

I caught a Tweet the other day from one of the folks I follow.  It lead me over to Amazon where his book had just been published.  Well, he has been a very personable fellow and I pony’d up the 4 bucks for the Kindle book.  I noticed there had been no reviews yet so I promised him a review after I read the book.  Reviews are the lifeblood that can help to make or break a book, near as I can tell.  I have to say, I love his book.  It’s called TimeSplash and at over halfway through I can tell you it is a very fun read.  Just one of the things that makes Kindle such a cool writer’s tool.

Ebooks, publishing, pricing and author pay are all wound into this symbiotic mass of writhing worms.  I think the outcome is still anybody’s guess.  Meanwhile, we can watch from the sidelines and hang on for the ride.

A favor?

Like I said, I’ve got an ebook over at Kindle.  It’s called The Writing Experience.  I’ve got it on sale for 99 cents I’m asking folks to go over and get it and then write a review.  If you hate it, email me your snail mail addy and I’ll send ya a crisp dollar.  I’m very curious to see how the addition of reviews affects the standing of a book over there.  What’s that you say?  You don’t have a Kindle?  No worries.  You can go here and download the free software from Amazon to read any Kindle books from your PC or iPhone or Blackberry.

If you choose to participate, thank you very much.  If not, no worries – I’ll still luv ya.

I think most of the readership here knows that I received a Kindle as a gift from a special friend right around Christmas.  It had been on my wish list pretty much since the thing came out.  As a voracious book junkie and lover of all things bibliographic I had no intention of an electronic reading device replacing the books on my shelves nor replacing my strong desire to continue filling those shelves.

Here are my thoughts thus far:

As a Reader

I transitioned into Kindle reading with ease.  Amazon has stated that their goal with the Kindle is to make the device disappear once in the hands of a reader.  In other words it should be no different than holding onto and reading a printed book.  I was skeptical about the ability for an electronic reader to do this but in fact that is exactly what happens when I am reading in my Kindle.

I’m not going to delve into the various features since I think that has been done to death.  If you’re interested in that facet, feel free to shoot me an email and I’ll tell you what I think, but suffice it to say I’m very happy with that aspect of Kindle Ownership.

Okay, now to the books.  My degree is in Aviation Administration.  One of the things I learned through my collegiate career is that ticket prices for nearly any flight are dynamic.  The prices are a function of availability and any number of other factors.  By dynamic I mean that they change literally thousands of times every day.  Kindle books are no different, although the scale is not quite as grand.

When I go to the Kindle Store, I immediately head on over to the Bestsellers List.  The first few times I was there, I fully expected to find a boat load of books all priced at $9.99.  Sheesh was I ever wrong.  The first time I went there 7 of the top ten were priced at $0.00.  Wha?  Durned system is AFU.  That can’t be right.  But it was.  And what I learned over the past month is that the prices change all the time.  I found a book called Two Rivers.  It was free and so I read the reviews.  They were positive so I downloaded the book.  Two hours later, the book was $9.60.  I see that happening all the time.

The other interesting observation comes from looking at the Movers and Shakers List.  This shows the Kindle editions ranked in terms of the highest percentage of movement in rank.  So, the day that Mr. Salinger died, Catcher in the Rye moved up some astronomical percentage – something like 3000 percent.  (Moral of the story for writers:  If you want to sell books, die)

What does all of this mean?  Well, for readers it means that paying attention to the lists can land you some pretty good bargains.  There are also PLENTY of free books on Kindle – not just out of copyright classics.

I’ll post the Writer’s Perspective in a few days because what is happening over at Amazon is important to writers.  There is some strategy involved there and it merits discussion.