Is it too Much?
This will be short and sweet.
Earlier this morning, I was part of a thread on Facebook where a reader was lamenting about the cost of an e-book that had under seventy pages. Don't blink. You read that correctly.
Seven. Zero.
Less than 70. Of course, readers chimed in and offered their opinion and outrage. I mean the author wanted over ten dollars for this less than seventy page product. Yes, that too you read correctly.
Ten. Zero. Zero.
More aptly, $10.99 and that is before the lovely Amazon charges the tax. $10.99 for a book with less than 70 pages. *insert side eye here*. Excuse me while I take a moment to myself. Go on ahead and do the same.
At first I shared my views how a Word document re-formatted via CreateSpace condenses an author's page count and encouraged those on the thread to look at word count. But as I drove to work I got riled up. Everywhere we go, our budgets are being squeezed. Gas price is up ... too damn high if you ask me. The cost of food is way up. Have you seen how much even the supposedly cheapest chain store wants for milk?
This is how my piggy bank feels.
On all sides and by everything, the few dollars earned at my 9-to-5 is being sucker punched by this thing called life. It's to be expected because I need gas to drive to go to work and hell, I sure do need to eat.
I read for pleasure, to get away from my daily life. When the cost of my hobbies start to make me wonder at my continued support, something is wrong. As a budding author, I know that the price of our books are out of our hands especially when one is signed to a publishing house. But what about those self-publishing authors who price their books so high a reader, unfamiliar with the author's work, wonders what he or she is really getting?
Granted an author can choose to do whatsoever he or she pleases. They wrote the book. They poured, hopefully, hours and hours over the correct word choice. They've developed a riveting story with plot twists that'll have readers guessing. At the end, the author should know the quality of their work and the potential enjoyment a reader may get at the very end. However, I encourage all authors this one thing: remember the day when you were just a reader ... when you were excited it was pay day and you got the chance to visit the local bookstore. Remember that day? Remember how you knew beforehand you could only spend a certain dollar amount on books?
For the love of all that is good, and the fact that authors need readers, please don't price yourself out of being included on a reader's e-reader. Be smart. Don't overcharge yet don't undersell your product either. It's a balance. It's probably a hard decision to price your creativity. But please charge me and the other readers what your book is realistically worth and if an author is considering to charge an extraordinary price, ensure the end (the cost) is justified.
Just my two cents. What's yours?
Earlier this morning, I was part of a thread on Facebook where a reader was lamenting about the cost of an e-book that had under seventy pages. Don't blink. You read that correctly.
Seven. Zero.
Less than 70. Of course, readers chimed in and offered their opinion and outrage. I mean the author wanted over ten dollars for this less than seventy page product. Yes, that too you read correctly.
Ten. Zero. Zero.
More aptly, $10.99 and that is before the lovely Amazon charges the tax. $10.99 for a book with less than 70 pages. *insert side eye here*. Excuse me while I take a moment to myself. Go on ahead and do the same.
At first I shared my views how a Word document re-formatted via CreateSpace condenses an author's page count and encouraged those on the thread to look at word count. But as I drove to work I got riled up. Everywhere we go, our budgets are being squeezed. Gas price is up ... too damn high if you ask me. The cost of food is way up. Have you seen how much even the supposedly cheapest chain store wants for milk?
This is how my piggy bank feels.
On all sides and by everything, the few dollars earned at my 9-to-5 is being sucker punched by this thing called life. It's to be expected because I need gas to drive to go to work and hell, I sure do need to eat.
I read for pleasure, to get away from my daily life. When the cost of my hobbies start to make me wonder at my continued support, something is wrong. As a budding author, I know that the price of our books are out of our hands especially when one is signed to a publishing house. But what about those self-publishing authors who price their books so high a reader, unfamiliar with the author's work, wonders what he or she is really getting?
Granted an author can choose to do whatsoever he or she pleases. They wrote the book. They poured, hopefully, hours and hours over the correct word choice. They've developed a riveting story with plot twists that'll have readers guessing. At the end, the author should know the quality of their work and the potential enjoyment a reader may get at the very end. However, I encourage all authors this one thing: remember the day when you were just a reader ... when you were excited it was pay day and you got the chance to visit the local bookstore. Remember that day? Remember how you knew beforehand you could only spend a certain dollar amount on books?
For the love of all that is good, and the fact that authors need readers, please don't price yourself out of being included on a reader's e-reader. Be smart. Don't overcharge yet don't undersell your product either. It's a balance. It's probably a hard decision to price your creativity. But please charge me and the other readers what your book is realistically worth and if an author is considering to charge an extraordinary price, ensure the end (the cost) is justified.
Just my two cents. What's yours?
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