A Reluctant Announcement
This past December I announced that I was dropping the price of my books to $0.99 to make the books more affordable for everyone. At the time, I had a small following of readers and didn't really anticipate a need to raise the prices again. I promised that I would keep the prices low as long as I could afford it. Unfortunately, I never thought my books becoming popular would actually make everything more expensive.
When I started publishing, I did it on my own with absolutely no help from anyone. I edited my books, answered my own emails, handled Facebook, designed my own website, etc. Sometime later I started to receive help from Lieve with editing and the website. Maura came on board sometime after that and they helped me for free. Thanks to their help and a few other things that I figured out for myself, I was able to keep the price of the books down.
As word spread about my books, things started to skyrocket to the point where I needed a lot more help and I can't possibly accept help for free anymore. It's not right. I had to hire a Personal Assistant to help free up my time and she does a wonderful job. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be able to get more than a half an hour of work in a day. There have been a lot of unexpected costs that came along with the sales increasing that I have to cover.
For the last couple of days I've sat at my computer, looking everything over and trying to figure out what I could do to keep the price at $0.99 without risking financial problems for my family and doubling my workload. There's just no way. Without the backing of a publishing house I have to handle everything on my own. Right now the help that I have allows me to work. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't be able to write. It would be impossible.
I'm in the unhappy position of now needing to raise the prices to keep up with expenses and have enough time to actually continue to write. I will be raising the cost of each book to $2.99 to cover the cost of publishing, editing, help and the charitable acts that we do that I absolutely refuse to stop. This change will happen gradually over the next couple of weeks as each book is edited.
There are several of you out there that wrote to me, thanking me for the low price because otherwise they would not have been able to afford my books. I apologize for having to raise the price, but once again I have kept the price set as low as possible. This is not about getting rich, but meeting my financial responsibilities that allow me to write. For those of you who absolutely cannot afford the new price, email me or Christi and we'll see what we can do for you. I will periodically give out a book for free to make up for this price increase.
I apologize for the need to raise the prices. It's not something that I wanted to do or truly anticipated, but it is a necessity. I hope you understand.
Sincerely,
R.L. Mathewson
When I started publishing, I did it on my own with absolutely no help from anyone. I edited my books, answered my own emails, handled Facebook, designed my own website, etc. Sometime later I started to receive help from Lieve with editing and the website. Maura came on board sometime after that and they helped me for free. Thanks to their help and a few other things that I figured out for myself, I was able to keep the price of the books down.
As word spread about my books, things started to skyrocket to the point where I needed a lot more help and I can't possibly accept help for free anymore. It's not right. I had to hire a Personal Assistant to help free up my time and she does a wonderful job. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be able to get more than a half an hour of work in a day. There have been a lot of unexpected costs that came along with the sales increasing that I have to cover.
For the last couple of days I've sat at my computer, looking everything over and trying to figure out what I could do to keep the price at $0.99 without risking financial problems for my family and doubling my workload. There's just no way. Without the backing of a publishing house I have to handle everything on my own. Right now the help that I have allows me to work. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't be able to write. It would be impossible.
I'm in the unhappy position of now needing to raise the prices to keep up with expenses and have enough time to actually continue to write. I will be raising the cost of each book to $2.99 to cover the cost of publishing, editing, help and the charitable acts that we do that I absolutely refuse to stop. This change will happen gradually over the next couple of weeks as each book is edited.
There are several of you out there that wrote to me, thanking me for the low price because otherwise they would not have been able to afford my books. I apologize for having to raise the price, but once again I have kept the price set as low as possible. This is not about getting rich, but meeting my financial responsibilities that allow me to write. For those of you who absolutely cannot afford the new price, email me or Christi and we'll see what we can do for you. I will periodically give out a book for free to make up for this price increase.
I apologize for the need to raise the prices. It's not something that I wanted to do or truly anticipated, but it is a necessity. I hope you understand.
Sincerely,
R.L. Mathewson
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YOU GO GIRL! Keep them coming, I will come over and tidy up your house if you promise to hurry up with Neighbor from Hell #3 ;)
that's still a cheap book for iTunes. I bought the first NFH book because it was .99 and I was willing to part with it if it wasn't good. But I love the Bradfords, I can't get enough. I will continue to buy this series and the Hollywood Hearts series even at the higher price point. Just keep writing them, I can't put them down! :)
I would happily pay 2.99 for your books, they're awesome!
I purchased the first NFH book in mid July as the price of 99 cents was a bargain - how could anyone refuse! After that I hardly noticed the price of your other books I just NEED to read them - much like pringles once you pop you can't stop!! Thank you for all your hardwork and sharing to us your stories. can't wait to read the rest of the NFH and Pyte/Sentinel series!
I've paid more for a cup of coffee.Honestly, when I pay one a buck for a book, I feel guilty. You should be rewarded for your hard work.
Congrats on your success. You deserve every minute of it.
I have no problem paying more money for your books. They are fabulous!!! I was actually shocked when I saw that they were only 99 cents on iBooks when I downloaded them in August.
You are considerate and sweet to explain yourself. You are also a talented writer and writing a book and getting it published goes through a lot of time effort and cost so 2.99 or 3.99 it's just. Thankyou for the great books we have the pleasure of reading. Cant wait to read more from you. my favorite is the neighbors from hell series. Keep it up :)
Your writing is great and $2.99 is well worth the price! Thank you for having your work at $.99 as long as you could because that is how i discovered you:) But you totally need a living wage, no worries you have a loyal fan here!
"R.L. MATHEWSON'S CHECKMATE HITS #1 AT APPLE" Congratulations, just read the news from smashwords. Clearly no one feels your work is priced too high, and you are well due this success. :)
I love your books!! Keep up the great work as for the the 2.99 - it's still a complete bargain, your integrity and openness just makes your work all the more likeable!From a UK fan ... Recommending your books to all my fellow book reading friends.
Lisa x
I have spent a lot more for books that I ended up not enjoying or even finishing. Paperbacks in Australia are really expensive, so getting a Kindle has helped me a lot. 2.99 for a book is a bargain for me. I used to have to pay a minimum of $15 for a book.
I am a big fan of your books... I don't mind at all to pay more for your books..
Maybe if financially possibly do the first book cheaper so people have the chance to find out what a great author you are. Either way I'll be buying the next book at whatever price you put it up for and £2.99 is really not a lot of money.