Kindle have caused an outcry at their announcement that the free samples will henceforth be reduced to the first six letters of a work. Janine Carapace, Kindle Marketing Director, said earlier today: ‘We have reached this decision based on extensive consumer feedback. People are just too busy to wade through an entire Kindle free sample. They need something more efficient. Time is money. We also felt that if a book can’t ‘grab’ you within the first six letters, then it probably won’t grab you at all. Authors will have to up their games.’
Examples:
A Tale of Two Cities
It was t
1984
It was a
Pride and Prejudice
It is a t
Paul Clifford (Edward Bulwer-Lytton)
It was a
Whitehawk
‘Jamie?’
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Funny, but isn’t the Twitter 150-character limit more apt?
Sorry, I liked your first six letters but after that I thought it tailed off a bit.
Hey Simon
What a ridiculous move – 6 letters? Pah.
Samples are limited anyway to a percentage of the book, and just because a potential buyer has access to a decent sized sample, it doesn’t mean they have to read it all. In fact, if they can’t find the time to read a sample, how will they find the time to read the whole book?
Here’s a six letter word for you, Ms Carapace, NUMPTY!
Only first six letters!!! This is not justified.