The right price for an eBook is a commonly debated topic with publishers thinking that the perfect price for an eBook is anywhere from $.99-$12.99, depending on the title. Some writers and publishers make eBooks available for free for limited time periods to stimulate interest and encourage downloads.

Author Donna R. Wood examines this free eBook marketing strategy on her blog and argues against it. She writes:

To the avid reader, free equates to of lesser quality. The general thought behind it seems to be the author has to give their books away to get anyone to read them. That’s not necessarily the case, but in many instances it is the perception. The author’s persona is now in line with Wal-Mart’s low, low prices marketing campaign. If they do this long enough, readers will equate the author name with low quality based on promotion of the price.

What do you think? Should authors give away eBooks for a short period of time? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

To explore authors that do give away their books for free, check out our Free eBook of the Day archive.