My $.02 on $.99
I see a ton of indie writers throwing their books on the midden heap that is Kindle Unlimited under the vainglorious hope that by basically giving a book (or books) away for $.99 that they'll somehow garner an audience.
I've never found that compelling. And, sure, someone could sniff that few people buy my books because they're too pricey.
But let's be honest, here -- nobody's reading those $.99 books, either. And worse, there's a mountain of them, because everybody's throwing their books on that literary landfill and hoping to gull readers into picking up their book and reading it.
How does one stand out in a landfill?
Looking at my books and their Kindle price points, here's how they stack up:
SAAMAANTHAA ($1.99)
THE HAPPENING ($1.99)
NORM ($2.99)
SUCKAGE ($3.99)
CHOSEN ($1.99)
THE CURSED EARTH ($5.99)
RELICT ($1.99)
SUMMERVILLE ($1.99)
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH ($2.99)
THE THING IN YELLOW ($5.99)
And there it is. Are they expensively priced? Nah. They're just not on Kindle Unlimited.
I refuse to undersell myself -- each of those books represents many months of effort on my part (in the case of some of them, longer, if you track the distance from concept to execution).
Anybody thinking that I'm going to just lob them to the landfill for $.99 is dreaming (and/or a prick). People who're drawn to Kindle Unlimited aren't actually looking for quality; they're looking for bargain basement books.
Kindle Unlimited is effectively preying on writers' desperation to get seen, which is why there are so many books in there.
Writers shouldn't sell themselves cheaply. Either readers will pay for the privilege of reading you, or they won't. And, yes, people could make counter-arguments that my complaining about lack of audience could be tied to my refusal to wade into the Kindle Unlimited dump.
However, I don't think so. Once you go rock bottom with your work, it's impossible to climb out of there.
This is the same mindset that's driving the WGA writers striking against the studios -- either you stand up for your work, or you don't. Kindle Unlimited is not writer-friendly; it's writer-abusive. Either you believe in the value of your work, or you don't.
If you enjoy my writing, support my writing, and here's how:
1) Buy my books
2) Read my books
3) Rate and review my books
4) If you like my books, tell others about them
That's how it works. Thanks in advance, but don't go looking for me at the bookdump, because I'll never be there.
I've never found that compelling. And, sure, someone could sniff that few people buy my books because they're too pricey.
But let's be honest, here -- nobody's reading those $.99 books, either. And worse, there's a mountain of them, because everybody's throwing their books on that literary landfill and hoping to gull readers into picking up their book and reading it.
How does one stand out in a landfill?
Looking at my books and their Kindle price points, here's how they stack up:
SAAMAANTHAA ($1.99)
THE HAPPENING ($1.99)
NORM ($2.99)
SUCKAGE ($3.99)
CHOSEN ($1.99)
THE CURSED EARTH ($5.99)
RELICT ($1.99)
SUMMERVILLE ($1.99)
THE DAY OF THE NIGHTFISH ($2.99)
THE THING IN YELLOW ($5.99)
And there it is. Are they expensively priced? Nah. They're just not on Kindle Unlimited.
I refuse to undersell myself -- each of those books represents many months of effort on my part (in the case of some of them, longer, if you track the distance from concept to execution).
Anybody thinking that I'm going to just lob them to the landfill for $.99 is dreaming (and/or a prick). People who're drawn to Kindle Unlimited aren't actually looking for quality; they're looking for bargain basement books.
Kindle Unlimited is effectively preying on writers' desperation to get seen, which is why there are so many books in there.
Writers shouldn't sell themselves cheaply. Either readers will pay for the privilege of reading you, or they won't. And, yes, people could make counter-arguments that my complaining about lack of audience could be tied to my refusal to wade into the Kindle Unlimited dump.
However, I don't think so. Once you go rock bottom with your work, it's impossible to climb out of there.
This is the same mindset that's driving the WGA writers striking against the studios -- either you stand up for your work, or you don't. Kindle Unlimited is not writer-friendly; it's writer-abusive. Either you believe in the value of your work, or you don't.
If you enjoy my writing, support my writing, and here's how:
1) Buy my books
2) Read my books
3) Rate and review my books
4) If you like my books, tell others about them
That's how it works. Thanks in advance, but don't go looking for me at the bookdump, because I'll never be there.
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