Work every day. No matter what has happened the day or night before, get up and bite on the nail.

~Ernest Hemingway

For months, maybe years, you write on a project. Then you publish it. We won’t get into the pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional, but let’s just say you have some say-so into how much your books are sold to the public. You price it down, in hopes of snaring eager readers for whom that matters.

A few months go by, and you get impatient at your book sales and decide you need to offer something for free. After all, so many blogs out there talk about the catalyst of a bait sale, where you entice someone for free so that they’ll buy your other work. Since you have more than one book for sale, you hope it balances out . . . give away one to sell one, or two, or three if you have a series.

But you have forgotten the impact of a sound first impression.

You started out with a lower priced book. You followed up with a free one. The first impression of a reader, bookstore owner, or librarian is that you are cheap.

Ouch, you might say. That was harsh, Hope.

Tough love, baby. Tough love. Now, to be fair, you might prefer to cater to the market of those readers who only read when they land a deal. Just know that what attracts a reader to you paints you in a certain light.

If you attract people with price or free, that’s the readership you land. Keep in mind that these people will often not pay a higher price for a subsequent book, and since you’ve offered freebies in the past, they wait for you to offer them again in the future, or move to another author who does. After all, there are a zillion writers like you out there.

But if you attract people with story, that’s the readership you land. They’ll usually pay anything for your story, because price isn’t what they care about. They care about entertainment and escapism. Will they appreciate the occasional discount? Maybe. But you can maintain quality by explaining they can read for free at the library.

You spend so much time writing these words. The words matter most. You entered this business, hopefully, because you appreciate storytelling. The words have to matter most for the quality to occur. However, like Stephen King says in his book On Writing, if you are writing solely to make a dollar, you might be in the wrong business.

Charge in relation to the love you poured into the story. You’ll respect yourself more as a writer.