Ebook Pricing Update – 2012 Q1

 
For the first quarter of 2012, I'm using the following ebook pricing schedule:

$0.99        Short story (or a small collection of flash fiction,
$1.99        (10K – 20K words)
$3.99        Small collection, short novels (20K – 50K words)
$6.99        Novels, collections (>50K words)

 
I put these prices into effect last week. So this is sort of a retro-announcement.
 
As I've said before, I like to put as much distance as I can between my work and the Discount Bin. I think these prices reflect that nicely. You want bargain-basement knock-offs, you're shopping in the wrong part of the store.
 
Back in the late 1990′s when I first started selling The Journal, I went through a similar process as I looked for the right price. The Journal was first available for $15. Then, after a handful of updates, I raised the price to $20 (and sales went up). Then I raised the price to $25 (and sales went up). Then to $28.95 and $34.95 (and sales went up). The last price bump for a long time, because it seemed to work, was $39.95. The Journal held that price point from 2001 through 2009, when I adjusted it for inflation to $49.95. That makes The Journal one of the most expensive programs of its type (personal journal). But I also think it's the best, and the price has worked very well. And there are even bundles of The Journal priced as high as $99.95.
 
That process of finding the right price for The Journal took about 5 years. I've only been indie publishing for about 15 months, and the industry standards are still being sussed out, so I feel there is still a lot of run for experimenting.
 
Come April, I'll re-evaluate and see what changes seem useful.
 
-David
 
Related Posts:
9 Months of Indie Publishing – Ebook Pricing AddendumYeah, What Dean SaidThe Journal on Bits du Jour