Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

It's a little worrying to hear so many bestsellers are 99 cents. I think $2.99 is a good price for a novel by a new/indie author (which is why I'm selling We, The Watched for that price). I've paid up to $12.99 for books by established authors.

I mean, these are all prices that are less than what it costs to buy coffee at Starbucks. And 99 cents is what it costs to buy a single 3-4 minute song!

That said, if 99 cents becomes a kind of "norm" for eBooks, authors will have no choice but to sell for that price.

At the under 5.00 price point, I'm pretty price insensitive. So, .99 v. 1.99 v. 2.99 and I really don't care. Nor at those levels do I expect much in the way of major quality differences.

Now, I will say that if I buy a book for over 20.00 I expect it to be phenomenal. Granted, the last book I paid more than 20 for was Deathly Hallows the day it came out, and while it wasn't as good as I was hoping, getting it right away was worth the premium.

I don't have any ebooks yet, but will probably charge $0.99 at first. I see it as a marketing tool. I've been posting free articles on 3 sites - Ezinearticles, Article_Niche, and scribd. to let people know who I am and what and how I write (grief, loss, recovery). Last time I checked the stats, the hits were higher than I expected - over 9,000. Staying out there is really a +.

Hi. I agree that to some degree it's all to do with marketing or exposure. For instance, my book is regularly $2.99, it has sold for as much as $4.64 and sold pretty well for a debut novel in Time Travel/ Gothic Romance Categories which are smaller than some romance categories. I have a Historical Romantic Suspense coming out soon, so it was decided that a price drop on the current book would be a good way to celebrate the upcoming release. At .99, it was then picked up by lots of the bargain websites and threads and kind of went a bit viral. Am I selling more? Yes, a lot more, but you have to in order to break even or make more than at the higher price. Since this is new to me and for a limited time, I'm not sure whether getting it out to that many new readers will turn out to be a profitable thing or not. I think the cheaper price just gets you more exposure and it helps being higher up in the lists so that readers can find you. It really doesn't matter how good a book is if noone can find it. It's kind of like word of mouth...it can be very effective, but slow...

Hi,
It's well to remember that a 99c book will cost $2.99 to many readers outside the US because of the Whispernet charge that Amazon adds. That is why I price my books at 99c so that it would be a reasonable price ($2.99 = R21)to readers in South Africa. I can buy a small McDonald's burger for R18.

People with e readers are getting a TON of free books and then a lot are paying only the 99 cent books. I think this hurts everyone, there is no way around it. I did drop HOOKED to $4.99, and it was at $9.99. All the research I have done shows that 99- six bucks is the price point that sells.

99cent ebooks are here to stay, which makes it a little harder to show why a quality book is worth paying a little more for.

We are doing that by valadating HOOKED with reviews from newspapers and known authors. We have been lucky so far to have done well in that area. But for a new book like HOOKED, it still is going to take a while. People are to busy filling up wth the 99cent bin.

Authors should consider that once you are in that bin, it could make things a little tougher down the road with differant pub contracts.

AS I SAY THIS, I must remind myself that if someone guarnteed me 30-40 thousand e book sales a month, but at 99 cents, hell I probebly would do it.

The book market is not changing by the month, but by the day.
Just ride the wave and try to stay on top of it if you can.

Great topic, and have enjoyed the responses.

Jim Baugh
JBO TV
author, "HOOKED"

Jim wrote: "People with e readers are getting a TON of free books and then a lot are paying only the 99 cent books. I think this hurts everyone, there is no way around it. I did drop HOOKED to $4.99, and it wa..."

Well, 30k sales a month at .99 is about nine thousand dollars a month if you're selling them on amazon. I don't know about you, but I consider that a damn good living.

What do you mean by .99 effecting future publishing contracts?

Oh, I agree! That many ebooks would convince me to change my mind I am sure!.

What I meant was the entire 99 cent, "Image" you know, the 99 cent bin, or the old records that used to be at the album store on the way out of the door. LOL

I understand legacy stuff, and I certainly understand package books for promotions, buy one, get the other free, whatever.

Plus, I understand and agree that some people who self publish their books, do a bunch of them and actually do a good job of promoting the books, can do very well with the 99 cent price tag.

However, IMHO, a new book, that is good, that is getting good reviews, feedback, etc, I think the author or publisher kills a lot of potential for the book down the line by selling out to cheap.

If you can give me a long list of film rights sold on any recent 99 cent books out there, love to see them. I am sure they are out there, but very, very, few would be my guess.

Also, publishing contracts and companies change. You may be with a pub now, and lets say a bit down the road, your wonderful book actually gets a brief looksy from one of the top floors in NY????

It won’t go very far. Just the image these guys have of that price point, is most likely going to stop the deal, or any furthur look.

So, I really don’t mean to be to negative about the 99 cent thing. The market will balance itself out.

And for the authors who are getting a high royalty by self publishing, several books, marketing them and doing darn well and making good money, my hat is off to them.

But again, in the long run, I don't think it is that good for everyone in the industry.

Amazon of course LOVES low price points, it means more sales, but remember, they have what, 8 million books???
They are making a total killing either way.

Anyway, this market is changing everyday. For today, that is how I see it based on the research I have been doing.

It's all good, the more info out there the better. For my “2 cents” I would stay above the 99cent price break unless the product is on some sort of short term promotion and packaged with another product.

Thanks for you reply

Jim Baugh

As a reader, I only buy $2.99 or under. There is just too much available, and I read too fast, to spend more. I expect $2.99 books to be good quality, well editted self-pub works. I think $0.99 is great for short stories, or any books authors want a lot of publicity on. Otherwise, I don't really care if it is 0.99 or 1.99.

I buy ebooks no matter the price. They are still cheaper than having to buy the hardcover or paperback. That being said I am will at the under $5.00 range to try an author I have never read before. I have come across a number of books for that price range that have been excellent books which I may have not purchased had then been more expensive but will now try another of that authors books.

Maybe it is just me, but I think 3-6 bucks for a good buck is dirt cheap. If you can get a reputable published book with great reviews from the media and online customers, and solid well edit story for that price range, it is a steal.
The paperback is 20 bucks, so to me, that 3-6 dollar range is a good bargin for the buyer.

I personally am not a speed demon reader at all, I savor a book lke a good glass of wine and take my time. If a book does not hook me at first and prove to be a great read quick, I move on, don't have the time because I am not a speed reader! LOL Funny but true.

Jim Baugh

I think you've really got to compare it to other digital goods. Standard price for an MP3 album is $9.99. A "good deal" on Amazon for an MP3 album is $5.99.

Is a book worth more or less than a music album? How much more or less?

Meanwhile DC Comics and Marvel Comics are selling digital comic books for $2.99.

I tend to think of it as a price per hour of entertainment.

So, I'll usually read a book once. Most 150k word books take me about 15 hours to read. (Give or take depending on the nature of the book.) So, we can all do the math.

An album I really love (the only sort where I'll buy the whole album) I'll listen to over and over and over. I've been on an Airborne Toxic Event kick and I've probably listened to a good hundred hours of their music. That's money well spent.

Meanwhile I just saw Harry Potter 7/2, and with ticket, popcorn, and soda, that worked out to about ten dollars an hour for entertainment.

Netflix runs me about a dollar an hour for entertainment.

So if Price of Book/Time to read book=< $2 an hour, and I'm a happy shopper.

Amanda Hocking is a great example of the .99 cent discussion. I think it could go either way. It's the total package. If an author has a good book, priced at .99 and it gets tons of exposure and likewise tons of readers they can become a valuable commodity to Legacy publishers because they already have a readership and people that will buy future books. Other publishing companies may look at it differently.

It's kind of like the genie is already out of the lamp and I don't think the .99 books are going away any time soon. If Amazon removed the option there would be an outcry from readers. Times they are changing and attitudes toward book buying are changing too.

I read so many books, that price is an issue sometimes. But I don't mind paying for a good book. The $2.99 and lower are great for the budget!

I am not seemingly using film rights sold to measure books.

The Industry does that. For the most part.

And no! Great works of art does not mean it ends up in a movie?? I know that.

My post was reffering to more of a marketing discussion.

I will stand by my statement.

You got a great work of art, awesome book that is new, don't go down the 99 cent bin. Just makes no sense.

There are MANY books out there, good and bad, that fit the 99cent bin, I only suggest is that your such prized piece of work worth going down that path.

If you feel strongly about it, keep selling at 99 cents.

It is what it is worth. Like everything.

Jim Baugh
PS: I loved your post \ response! Just awesome. Thank you. Made my evening! JB

Pia wrote: "Also, does a book's price (e or print or hard) affect the value or quality you attach to a read? Like if you only paid $0.99 for a book--or even if you paid nothing--were your expectations lower, so giving out a higher rating when reviewing or recommending it it winds up easier for you?..."

I am an avid e-book reader and yes I absolutely have a lower expectation of quality with the 99c books, and I still really enjoy them for what they are.

When I say lower quality, I do not mean the concepts or overall writing style I just mean it is pretty clear that these books have not had an editing hand. I am a little finicky when it comes to writing and reading, however I excuse bad english/spelling/natural language with the cheap books.

In fact I have learnt to correct the writing as I read and when it's for 99c I'm not against the author for making me do that. I admit I am still surprised they haven't thoughtfully read it back themselves but it's cheap right..?

There is a significant difference in the quality of writing when you go to the $4.99 plus price range. I can just read without having to change simple sentences to make sense and flow. I expect a book over this price range to have been edited properly, whereas the cheapies I figure are people with good ideas who love story telling but maybe don't have personal strengths with editing or funds to use an editor (or good reading friends!)

Tammie mentioned Amanda Hocking as a success story in the 99c book range, and she totally is. In fact her success story inspired me to aim to self-publish. That having been said I bought and read her 99c books (before I knew who she was or heard her journey) and they needed correction while reading, they definitely did not have good editing applied. I still enjoyed them and read the series, because the concepts and story lines were good - and at 99c the need to 'reader-edit' was acceptable.

I do tend to keep my e-book purchases in the $10 and less range (I think I have splurged up to about $12). I tend to think any book above that price range is probably of a quality I want to have a physical copy of. Although since going 'e' it is hard to go back!

Maybe it's just my taste in books, but I'm not seeing scads of best seller knock offs in the self published pile, at .99 or higher.

Or maybe, more precisely, I'm not seeing a larger percentage of knock offs than I do in the traditionally published bucket.

But, if there is a change, I'd assume it has something to do with what a lot of agents/agents assistants say, they get rewarmed versions of the same plots over and over and over. They toss them out.

Now, with no barrier to entry to the book market, anyone who wrote Twilight ReVamped, can put it up for sale.

Keryl, that is a very good point. I was wondering the same type of thing.

All great post.

JIm Baugh

Thank you Pia for such wonderful insight and such a great post.
Jim Baugh

Hey Pia, I totally agree with you. No kidding.

I think, in the "BIG" picture, the market will take care of a lot of what we are talking about.

We will see.
Thanks again for such wonderfull post!
Jim Baugh

The general consensus here is that the 99c book is here to stay, and all my titles are currently priced at 99c. This hurts when Amazon's royalty is so much less than that provided by, say, Smashbooks - and Amazon have the lion's share of the market.
But it may not stay this way forever. The Nook or some other device may overtake the Kindle one day - or Amazon may suddenly decide to be more generous to the writing community - if the writer of a 99c title is rewarded at the same percentage as the writer of a $2.99 title, for instance, would the climate here change pretty quickly?
(Having said that, I'm not expecting any overnight changes to this scenario).

As Jim says, the market will take care of much of this in the longer term.

And we will see!
Rachel

I like the idea, unfortunatley cannot perticipate. Our book is a new release, just out with a publisher in July. Also, once we drop price, Amazon matches almost instantly. We will have to stay at our price point for now through the fall. eBook is $4.99.
But I think the idea is good! Anything to test the market.

Just passing this on. Our publisher tell us this about pricing, no matter what the price if the book is not makreted, no one will know about it.

They feel the 99 cent thing is a marketing tool, that will work if it is marketed well. But the price is mostly suited for self publishers for a lot of reasons.And at 99 cent, you got to sell a HELL of a lot of books, plus the "bin" stigma. Is it worth it???
Sure it is, if you are selling a mile high pile of books.

Overall, six bucks and under for a quality proven well rated product is a bargin.

That is as long as there is any room left on peoples kindle from downloading free books! LOL

JUST SO NO ONE GETS THE WRONG IDEA
I do think self publishing is a good thing, even though I am signed with a traditional publisher, I easily can see where doing some short stories, and a variety of things and do them the self publishing route is a good idea. Especially for testing the market for the product.

Just imagine, write your short story, sell a pile of it on line, get reviews, THEN sell the idea to a traditional publisher and get paid then to write the entire book! Rename the orig. short story, and make them buy that to!
ALL SORTS of ways to use self publishing in great ways.
So, I am all for it, however do wonder what the onslaught of 99 cent and free books wil do to the market.

Again, overall, the market will level things out. Readers will in the future realize that downloading 100 free books, that 99% are not readable, is a waste of time. But, that will take the market some time to figure out.

Cream will rise to the top, just like everything else, just takes time.

All good!

Have a great holiday!
Jim Baugh

at $.99, you can witness impulsive buying from potential readers. Hence, people price the book at that price. However from author's point of view, it is just not financially viable. Infact its financially disastrous since at $0.99, you just get around 30% to 40% royalty. However at $2.99 and up, u get more than 60% royalty.

To promote my book - "A Calm Whisper: Art Unseen, Stories Untold", i am using Google Adwords which is bloody expensive. I am selling my book at $4.99 and yet i am under pressure.

$0.99 is a price to stay only for first time authors. Even the authors who priced the book at $0.99 will move up in their subsequent release. $0.99 is a treat for readers but a disaster for authors.

In a crowded eBook market, bulk selling of books is difficult and hence again $0.99 price becomes ineffective.

good post!
Jim Baugh

Jim wrote: "good post!
Jim Baugh"

your reply is in reference to which post?

Yours, I have enjoyed all the post very much and very informative.
Jim Baugh

Jim, i liked your post too but i have an objection to one thing that you have pointed out.

You said, self publish short stories and if it does well then sell it to traditional publisher. But the fact is that the moment you self publish, your work is termed Published and no publisher will then touch it. There maybe an exception but on the whole, they wont touch it.

This is something i learnt after interactions with various publishers since i am myself planning to launch my own publishing business.

Akshat Singhal

Understand. Thanks for theinfo! Best of luck with the new biz!
Jim Baugh

I think the key to keep in mind is that the short story market is a lot different than the novel business.

Short stories are often published multiple times by different houses. Mags, anthologies, and so on. So, if a short story has been published before that isn't necessarily an issue.

With novels it's also not necessarily an issue. If on your own you've got a property that's selling gangbusters, publishers are likely to be interested. But if you self publish and sell modestly, you've probably got something no one will be interested in.

I see price as a mutual agreement between me and my readers--therefore, I don't care what anyone else thinks a price ought to be, nor what I think I am "worth." I am only "worth" what someone is willing to pay, and the time spent reading the book is much more valuable than the buck or three to purchase it. So I am grateful to anyone that reads me, whether it's free or expensive.

This is the most incredible time in history to be a reader and/or writer--and it will be fleeting. So I don't worry about long-term effects on the market, because this isn't necessarily a long-term market.

Hi. I'm kinda new here, but I don't think I make too much of a distinction between the three prices. I sell at 99 cents, but my books are for kids. When I see a book I want, I will pay $2.99 for it or more. Buying books is a priority hobby at our house.

This is an unanswerable question because there are too many variables.

Good Day,

I've priced my Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook eBooks at 99 cents since many readers use Kindle, Nook and other readers. If you like, you can read the 1st chapter at:

http://www.lightmasters13.com/links/cent...

Enjoy the Journey!

MG Wells
LightMasters: Number 13

M.G. ... Your amazon and B&N links to your book are dead. It shows error 404.

This is a very interesting discussion. I'm published with small e-presses, but decided to write a short story I would self-pub. In under a week on Amazon, I'm off and on the bestsellers list for romance anthologies (guess that's where the Kindle Store put shorts, too).

I've priced the short at 99 cents because it's only around 7,500 words. But I do worry about the 99-cent stigma and how it will affect my higher priced works. So far, it's doesn't seem to have affected my other sales either way.

Personally, I think as the ebook format continues its explosion that we will see some market changes from the current trend. Right now plenty of new authors price their novels at 0.99-1.99 and while there are many very good authors self-publishing, there are just as many putting out work that is loaded with errors and, quite frankly, poorly written. I don't mind paying 0.99 cents to try out these novels but I won't pay $5 for poor work. I think its fine for all authors to publish, I think it's a new arena for author development and applaud their effort at the very least.

But what I think will happen is that the 2.99-4.99 pricing will have a market demand for more polished work or will represent demand for recognized indie authors. So in the long run, there will be quality standard expectations in the upper price range which will naturally lead to a market perception that full novels at 99 cents (not short stories, for example) are either sale items or probably "unpolished". People will pay a dollar or two if they can reasonably expect to avoid particular pitfalls.

Just my non-industry opinion, but I agree with some of the other comments that $3-6 is a price range the market bears well so as this new industry settles in, the trends and market standards and expectations will establish themselves.

Hi Julie...

Your non-industry opinion holds very true as per principles of economics. Your statement - "a market perception that full novels at 99 cents (not short stories, for example) are either sale items or probably "unpolished"." holds tons of relevance as far as economics in concerned.

Consumers and in our case readers always have a certain something in mind which economics explains well. Its usually a natural habit of a reader to relate the price of the book to its quality.

I am a self published author and simply hate to price my book at $0.99

I have priced my book "A Calm Whisper" at $4.99 and it is slowly gaining attention that it truly deserves irrespective of its price.

As a consumer of books I would like to weigh in here. I buy books no matter the cost if they seem like something I would enjoy reading. If it is a new author or one that I have not read before I think the cheaper the better that way if I really don't like it I don't feel cheated out of my money. I have found many an author who has given the book away or sold it for .99 cents that I have really enjoyed and am now willing to pay or pay more for their books. I have also received books free just for a review and they have been books I would not ever have picked to read and was pleasantly suprised and would now be willing to buy more from this author.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I really don't care the price of a book that I want to read it can be .99 cents but if it is not something I want to read I won't pay even that amount.

Marla, it's great to hear a reader's opinion on this matter. What you've said makes sense. I know I don't buy every .99 cent book out there just because of its cheap price. I don't think I've bought more than a couple, to be truthful. And even then, the premise of the story has to capture my attention and the story has to seem fairly well-written.

Personally, as an author who has sold paperback books in double digit prices as well as e-books at $1.99. It seems to be a choice. I have a background of thirty years in the writing business and it is a business.

Pricing a novel, for me, depends on the length of the novel and what the delivery system is. I have no qualms about selling an e-book for $1.99- $3.99, while the same novel will sell for $7.99 or more in paperback. My percentage of profit is higher.

IMHO, finding a breakout novel in e-version from an unknown novelist is extremely rare. Almost all self-published authors fall in this category. Even Amanda Hockings, if you read her earlier works, sucks big time. While she could write prolifically and had an interesting twist, her grammar and errors were horrendous! She is not alone. On average it takes several novels to get it right. Most first novels should stay in the box under the bed and not published!

I haven't sold novels at $.99, other than on sale, and do not plan to. While most readers will buy a novel at $.99, do they feel value? Most times there's a... well it's only a buck feeling by the reader. Is that what an author really wants? Yes, they may sell a lot, but in this business one-hit wonders (like musicians of the 1960's)the questions are will the reader buy again by the same author and will they spend more?

Writing like any other job in the world is just that...a job. It's about longevity and what have you done lately. While a large number of the Big Six, are scrambling to jump on the e-book bandwagon, it is only good business. Do I foresee e-books eliminating paper books, no.

J.L. .... A wonderful post with so much knowledge. Thanks for sharing it here. And i personally agree with each and every word said by you.

Hi Pia!

The way you are putting up things literally say that write abt 5 novels and then throw them in the bin. Then write the 6th novel and it will get you millions!!!

Numbers dont decide whether a novel is a success or not. There are many who enjoy chamber of secrets more than deathly hallows though the latter was a later work by Rowling.

My first novel is my hardwork over which i have spent nights and it dosent deserve to be placed along side junk. I have the right to test it in the market.

People write to gain recognition and to spread their thoughts and views and NOT merely for money. Yes everyone wants money but that is NOT the sole motive.

You say writers have attacked you for saying that first work should always be unpublished, then add me to that list as well because my work is MINE irrespective of the order i created it. I have spent my energy, my time on that work and it deserves to see the light of the day.

Whether it becomes a success or not, its upto the content,promotional techniques and luck. But simply keeping it unpublished just because its your first work is absolute nonsense.

Don't take me wrong. No grudge against you but i love my first work and will defend it no matter what.

Akshat

Well. to recap and get on point.
I don't think 99 cent is good for the reader or seller, in the long run.
A million people, anybody really weather they can write or not, is self pubing and throughing it up on line.
So, no, I don't think is good.
It floods the market \ e readers with mostly garbage, and lowers expectations of what the value is of an e book.
Although I realize that is JMHO, and will not stop the Zillions of people selling at a buck.

Just wait, the next trend will be a 25cents, then all free! Woooopie!

One of my short stories is .99 and my Novella was 2.99. I noticed I sold much with my .99 book. I just lowered the price of my Novella to 1.99 and noticed a big difference.

Pia... i would not answer back to your post but rather stick to the thread's topic... However you have got me wrong at several instance in your post. But ya, seems like you found me really offensive so i wish to apologize for that.

@Elle... price drop may never really increase sales. My book was sold at $1.99 and now at $4.99 but it got all the attention when it was priced at $4.99

Price is not the only thing that attracts readers. Its more to do with promotional techniques and luck...

I'm glad this discussion came up. I published my novel in paperback and Kindle back in May. I've sold only a handful of Kindle copies, while selling quite a few more paperbacks, which are three times the price. I started out selling on Kindle at 5.99 and have since dropped the price to 3.99. It kills me to think about lowering it further, but I have been wondering if the price is an issue, or if I'm just not getting word out to the right places.

I took seven years to complete this book. (Not writing constantly. It was off and on for a while.) I paid a lot of money to have it professionally edited. I've gotten almost universally good reviews, from bloggers as well as professional book reviewers.

So, I agree with other posters that a well written, carefully constructed novel is and should be worth more to readers than .99 cents. The market should be paid attention to, it would be foolish to ignore it. But, there is also the matter of pride in what you've created. I didn't write a knock off of someone elses best seller. I'm already selling it for the price of a sandwich. I think dropping the price again is going to be a last resort for me.

Thanks for your opinions.

Jeffery Anderson
http://www.theephemera.com

IMHO, in a perfect world, I would LOVE to see only the garbage at 99 cents or free. That would mean that in order to get a quality read, you would have to pay more.
But, that is not the case. Most of the free stuff, of 99 cent is trash. But NOT all of it, there are GOOD books being sold in this price range, and that what gets me.

I have been in marketing for over 30 years, and it still does not make sense to me.

A range of 1.99 to six bucks should be the low and marketable end of the scale.

I challange ALL authors of quality products--- Don't sell to cheap. Hang on and let the market slowly rebound.
Of course,that is just me.
Don't mean to piss off anyone. I am sure the guy out there selling 2000 books a month at a price of 99 cents each, is laughing his but off.

But anyway, I try.
Have a good one!
Jim Baugh

BTW-We just got another great five star review today. Checked our hooked website.

Jim wrote: "IMHO, in a perfect world, I would LOVE to see only the garbage at 99 cents or free. That would mean that in order to get a quality read, you would have to pay more.
But, that is not the case. Most..."

I think you said it before. If I was clairvoyant and knew I'd sell a hundred thousand copies by dropping the price, I'd probably do it.

It gets frustrating to see so much great stuff being written about your book, but the sales don't reflect it. You start to become more willing to lower your own standards. For now I'm putting faith in the idea that I just haven't reached the right people.

Congratulations on your success!

@Jeffery...
In your words, you have described the plight of every serious author who has taken the self publishing route.

I have experimented all price levels from $0.99 to $4.99 and i feel my book is getting recognized at $4.99 because it deserves it.

I too had sold a handful copies like you had though sales picked up only because of intelligent marketing. So i say, content is the King but its the marketing of the book that will get the king its crown.