Robin Spano's Blog - Posts Tagged "amazon"

I think ebook prices are too high. It's not that I think a great read isn't worth $10-$15 -- it's worth way more. But I think lower prices will get books into readers' hands quicker. I think $4.99 is the right price -- the price that sells books and pays the people who work on them.

My publisher, ECW Press, begs to differ - they think the current industry standard is about right. But they've been cool enough to run experiments with me to see if the marketplace says differently.

We ran an experiment in December -- results are here -- that we both interpreted differently. (To me, it was clear that people would buy more ebooks if they were cheaper; ECW felt the success of the experiment lay more in the promotion.)

But ECW is an open-minded press. They publish books with an edge, and they watch the industry with an edge. They want to know what consumers want, and (unlike any other publisher I've ever heard of) they listen to ideas from writers, too.

So they're trying this new experiment -- a slower, less dramatic one. For the month of October, Dead Politician Society will be $2.99 across several platforms.

This doubles as a promotion for Death Plays Poker, the second book in the series that was released a few days ago. (The wicked plan is to get people hooked on the series by giving them a cheap first taste, ha ha.)

But -- like with the first experiment -- my excitement lies in waiting for and interpreting the results. I'm just so curious to find that sweet spot, pricewise.

It's up on Kobo, Nook, Sony Reader Store, iTunes & Kindle.


I'll post the experiment results as soon as they're in.

If you enjoyed reading Death Plays Poker, I'd love to mail you a souvenir pack of playing cards.

If you share your thoughts about the book - on your blog, Goodreads, Chapters, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Shelfari, Library Thing - or anywhere else online, let me know and we'll send cards.

Doesn't have to be a good review - I'm interested in honest reader feedback. (Though naturally I hope you love the book and Clare!)

This offer is good until the end of 2011 - or until supplies last, but we have lots - so no rush if you haven't started reading.

Just shoot me an email - robin@robinspano.com - with your mailing address and links to your online reviews.

BONUS: If you post your review on a poker blog or poker forum, we'll also send you a free copy of Ryan Wiseman's Earn $30,000 per Month Playing Online Poker: A Step-By-Step Guide to Single Table Tournaments. We have five copies of this book to give away, generously donated by ECW Press

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What should an ebook cost? Opinions are floating around everywhere. Some say $0.99, others say $12.99. There's a big school of thought that says $2.99. My gut says $4.99 is a reasonable price - it both pays the people who work on the book and acknowledges that an ebook is indeed worth less money than a print book. My publisher likes the price around $10.

It's my publisher's call how they price my books. And I'm fine with that - they're smart people with an eye on the changing industry. Like most traditional publishers, they like higher ebook prices than I do. But unlike most traditional publishers, they're entertaining the discussion - they're willing to play with the pricing of my books so we can do market research together.

The next step in the ongoing ebook price experiment with ECW Press and the Clare Vengel series: a 2-in-1 bundle from Kindle.

I'm excited about this one - it satisfies both my thinking that the price of an ebook should be approximately half of a print book, and it satisfies my publisher's position that to sell a book too cheaply devalues the book, makes it appear to be worth less. So for $9.99, both Dead Politician Society and Death Plays Poker are being bundled into one ebook - Clare Vengel Undercover Mysteries

This isn't a deep enough discount that people who aren't excited about the books themselves will buy it (like the $1.99 or even $2.99 experiments were), but it's what I'd call a reasonable price for a book you can't pass on to a friend or leave in your guest room.

I'll post results when they begin to make themselves clear. Still waiting on stats from the $2.99 experiment, but (IMO) the $1.99 results ring loud and clear in favor of lower pricing.