When you don’t have an audience and no marketing budget, giving away your books for free is the only strategy I can think of to get the ball rolling. From day one, I decided that everything I do will be available for free — at least to some degree. If you want to read my work without ever spending a dime, I’ll make that possible.

Of course, I can’t just afford to buy 10,000 copies and hand them out — I’m not rich. But I can use Amazon’s tools to offer the digital versions (Kindle) for free as much as possible. That includes enrolling all my books in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program and taking advantage of the 5-day promotional periods Amazon allows every 90 days for each title.

Three weeks ago, I finished my latest full-length novel Forever. I made it available for free as soon as Amazon processed it. From July 7th to July 13th, both the English and German versions were downloadable for $0.

The German version had 630 downloads — an average of 126 per day, peaking at 273 on July 10th. The English version wasn’t as successful but still reached 44 potential readers.

This is by far the biggest success I’ve had with a title on Amazon.

It didn’t make me a single dollar — so why do I call it a success?

Simple: before I launched my “author in progress” project, I had already published two titles on Amazon. But without an audience or marketing budget, almost no one bought them.

Forever (or Für Immer, the German title) didn’t just get 674 downloads that might leader to future readers — it already has 13 reviews. The high download numbers also gave it a slight ranking boost. Both factors helped attract Kindle Unlimited readers (KENP) and even paying customers after the promo ended.

Right now, I’m averaging one new reader per day on Amazon — either buying the book directly or reading it through Kindle Unlimited. I’m convinced I never would’ve reached those readers without first giving the book away for free.

Free Is the Most Honest Way to Find Readers

People know Stephen King. They know George R. R. Martin. But they don’t know me. When King or Martin release a new book, people check it out because they entertained us before. When I release a new book, no one checks it out — because I haven’t earned that trust yet.

That’s why I need to give people a reason to take a chance on me before I ask them for money. By offering my writing for free, I’m doing exactly that: inviting you to give me a chance at no risk. And if I succeed in entertaining you, you’ll know me — and maybe you’ll come back for more, even if it costs something next time.

I’ll stick to this strategy until reality proves me wrong. But so far, the numbers have clearly convinced me I’m right.

By the way, if you want to check out the book, you can get it here:
US – English | DE – German

As announced, I’ve started releasing one short story per week on Amazon for the next 52 weeks — all available for free. In the spirit of full transparency, here are the download numbers for my first two stories:

STORY52 No. 1 of 52: Black Market Dreams | (US – DE)

STORY52 No. 2 of 52: The Last Portrait | (US – DE)

I write all my stories in German and then translate them into English which is why there are always two version of each book.

Let’s see how things develop — but for someone with no existing audience, it’s a start. And all it cost me was some time and imagination. Hopefully, a few of these free downloads will turn into loyal readers. Hopefully the promo numbers will grow as the project gains momentum.

I think I’ll include these stats in future monthly “Author in Progress” reports.