To charge or not to charge
So I had a dilemma. I had written the short story for Life Lessons 1 1/2, mainly for fun, and to show Mac and Tony experiencing some of the things that didn't fit into the first book (like closure for Marty.) And I put it out there as a free read. And then I got a comment from someone about looking for my books on Amazon and they'd heard there was a short story and didn't see it, etc...
So I went to see about self-pubbing the short story on Amazon. And it's easy to do. But...they won't let you post it for free. The lowest price you can choose is .99 which is pretty cheap, but not free.
I spent too many hours waffling over whether people would want to pay to read these stories in order. If it was me (and I used to be one of those people who never looked for books outside the big-name sites) would I rather pay .99 for a short that was free elsewhere, or would I rather not know it existed? In the end, I went for the .99 and so I published And to All a Good Night on Amazon.
I decided to get some good out of this, by donating any royalties I get to a local HIV/AIDS charity. That way if readers find the story for free later after they've already paid for it, at least they know the money went to a good cause. And The Aliveness Project is already going to get over $50 out of it (at .34 per copy, it adds up slowly).
However I've had people weighing in on it being unethical to charge for something that is otherwise free. So I don't know...maybe I should pull it off again. In the meantime, if you're on Amazon and have the time, click the little "Tell us about a lower price" link on And to All a Good Night and send the URL for Smashwords. Maybe Amazon will drop the price to free too. Or don't, if you think the Aliveness Project should get a few bucks and no harm done. Never figured throwing an extra story out there would get this complicated.
So I went to see about self-pubbing the short story on Amazon. And it's easy to do. But...they won't let you post it for free. The lowest price you can choose is .99 which is pretty cheap, but not free.
I spent too many hours waffling over whether people would want to pay to read these stories in order. If it was me (and I used to be one of those people who never looked for books outside the big-name sites) would I rather pay .99 for a short that was free elsewhere, or would I rather not know it existed? In the end, I went for the .99 and so I published And to All a Good Night on Amazon.
I decided to get some good out of this, by donating any royalties I get to a local HIV/AIDS charity. That way if readers find the story for free later after they've already paid for it, at least they know the money went to a good cause. And The Aliveness Project is already going to get over $50 out of it (at .34 per copy, it adds up slowly).
However I've had people weighing in on it being unethical to charge for something that is otherwise free. So I don't know...maybe I should pull it off again. In the meantime, if you're on Amazon and have the time, click the little "Tell us about a lower price" link on And to All a Good Night and send the URL for Smashwords. Maybe Amazon will drop the price to free too. Or don't, if you think the Aliveness Project should get a few bucks and no harm done. Never figured throwing an extra story out there would get this complicated.
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Mandapanda
(new)
Aug 17, 2011 12:20PM
As a kindle owner I have no problem paying .99 cents for the convenience of having a story sent directly to my kindle. I prefer to buy the product than download it have to go to the trouble of converting it. And the converted book never looks as good. The situation you describe has come up plenty of times with other authors who've done the same as you. I think if you just mention on your website that the book is free at Smashwords and .99 cents at Amazon then nobody should complain. Really I think some people will whine about anything!
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MandyM wrote: "As a kindle owner I have no problem paying .99 cents for the convenience of having a story sent directly to my kindle. I prefer to buy the product than download it have to go to the trouble of conv..."Thanks. I'll try not to get too hung up on it. (It is just half a cup of coffee, money-wise)
