I'm a little bit of an idiot, guys. I didn't realize authors were not allowed to list books as free on Amazon. Now, I love Amazon, but that's kind of dumb. I told you guys this was going to be a free story, and I meant it.
So I turned to our good friend Smashwords. After fiddling around on Amazon for a good long time, I've come to the conclusion that Smashwords is actually a good thing in this instance. The point of publishing these stories, as I've said before, is to be as available as possible. By using Smashwords, even people who don't have kindles can read the story. People with nooks and iPads can read it. People browsing the web can read it. And that's what we want for this. I'm going to do the "report a cheaper price" thing on Amazon, so I'll let you know if that works. But today, as I promised, this story is free. The entire anthology is on its way.
So without further ado, I give you my short story, "Gabby."
Sarah Allen
14 comments:
I had no idea you couldn't make items free on Amazon either, so don't feel bad.
I picked up your story on Smashwords, and I loved it! It's so sweet, and I adore positivity in any form. I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't read it yet, but I love how you made Gabbie the agent of her own changes, instead of letting her be shaped by outside forces.
Hey Sarah,
Just finished reading Gabby. Loved how you were able to give us a sense of the title character's world, through a third-person perspective. I'm not a huge fan of first-person narratives. All in all, not bad. Not bad at all. You write quite good. Now I'm anxious to read the complete anthology.
About the Amazon thing. I know it sucks that they don't allow us publish our books free (directly) on their platform. The obvious reason for this is that they don't make any money when people download free books. But ever since introducing KDP Select, you can now promote your book as free for a maximum of 5 days during the 90-day enrollment period. Which is hella cool, if you don't mind not being able to publish on other platforms.
Presently, I have scheduled my book, The Mediator, to become free starting tomorrow. This promotion ends on Friday, so you should definitely snag your free copy before then.
Michael Abayomi
International (Self-Proclaimed) Bestselling Author
Thanks for sharing! I just finished reading it. Good story! :-)
My Nook and I thank you for switching to Smashwords.
I have issues trying to get my stuff downloaded from Smashwords. Craptastic! I want to read it.
Oh, it was wonderful! Gabby is definitely a relatable character. I think a lot of people can find pieces of themselves in her. I really loved the way that you described the characters....the descriptions were unique and interesting, and really made the characters come to life. This was a great short story. Thank you for allowing us all to read it!
the-creationofbeauty.blogspot.com
I shall check out this story when I get home :)
How exciting! I clicked the download button for kindle, so I'll see in a second how to get it from the computer to the kindle itself and then read it. Thanks, Sarah.
Congrats on releasing your first story! I'm going to download it to my Kindle. :)
Hi Sarah,
I really enjoyed "Gabby", good job!
Now... as much as I love unusual names, I have never come across a Princessa before. Did you invent it or are there parents out there who would actually give their daughter such a name?
I just finished reading "Gabby" and can I just say, you summed up my childhood exsistance in about 9 pages. You also did very well in setting up your character and backstory. Oh, and I love your choice of name for the leader of the group of girls on the bus. Princessa! I read that and thought "Wow! That's fantastic!" Also, I loved your bits of subtle humor. Well done, really.
Hope you post more of your writing in the future.
-Gabby, www.gabbynesiba.com
You guys are the greatest, thanks for the support and kind words. I'm excited for the full collection, we'll see how that goes.
Sarah
Oh, and about the name Princessa--I didn't make it up. One of my roommates had a high school friend with that name, pronounced with a 'ch', like Princhessa. Crazy, eh? I thought it was such a good name I had to write it in my notebook and use it later for something.
Just read 'Gabby' and loved it, too. I also wondered about Princessa-- and was so thrilled that your character was helped by George:) I am definitely an animal lover, and know first hand that they make us better humans. Cannot wait for the collection...
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