I don’t know why, but I’ve been getting a lot of emails recently asking for free books – some from the type of organisations that contact authors on a regular basis, but increasingly from children asking me to send them a signed copy.
Without wishing to sound harsh, my response is always in several parts:
One – authors don’t get their books for free. Yes, we get a small number of ‘author copies’ when the title is first published (usually around 10, which immediately go to friends and family) but if we want more, we have to buy them just like everyone else. So, what you’re really asking when you email for a free book is for me to buy you a copy, and that’s very unlikely to happen.
Two – writing books is how I make my living. I have a house and a family, both of which cost money – money I earn by writing books. If I then spent that money buying the very books I’ve written to give them away for free – I’d very quickly have a hungry (and angry) family on my hands! Try nipping into your local bakers to ask for a free sandwich – I bet you already know what the answer would be.
Three – Sometimes I DO buy books to give them away for free – as competition prizes. I recently ordered 20 copies of Scream Street 5: Skull of the Skeleton and 20 copies of Scream Street 6: Claw of the Werewolf – and I’ve already handed most of them out as prizes at events or through competitions in the Screamcast or Terror Times. To get your hands on one, simply watch out for the next contest and enter – you might be lucky!
Four – BOOKS ARE FREE at every single library in the world. All you need to do is join once, and then you have literally thousands of books available to you, every day of the week, for absolutely nothing. Plus, of course, joining your local library will help support a valuable local resource which should be protected at all costs.
So, the next time you want a book for free – I recommend you enter a contest, borrow a copy from a friend, or pop your coat on and head down to your local library. Then you’ll have something to read, and I’ll be able to have dinner!
Tommy
18/08/2009 at 2:46 pm Permalink
I think it’s the same in any ‘creative’ career, really. When I was producing videos and designing websites for a living, I must’ve had upwards of 20 to 30 requests for me to do stuff for free. This ranged from “a quick website” to a promotional video, which would have required about 10 hours of filming, plus 25 or so hours of editing.
What’s worse is, people actually seemed annoyed when I refused, as if I was doing them some grave injustice. The person who asked for the free video was a plumber, and when I asked him if he’d happily install a free bathroom for a relative stranger, he said “yeah, but it’s not the same, is it?”
I suppose the best thing to do is refer people to the publisher’s publicity department, and let them try their hand there.