Pay What You Want For Everything I Make
Effective immediately, you can pay what you want for books, short stories, non-fiction works, and everything else I make available for sale on my site.
Additionally, 10% of any amount over the suggested price of an item will be donated every month to 826 National, the child literacy non-profit organization co-founded by David Eggers that helps under-resourced kids become the next generation of writers.
Welcome to my new paradigm!
How Does “Pay What You Want” Work?
Simply put, you set the price you’re willing and able to pay for any of my creative works.
Minimum and Suggested Amounts
None of my works are available for free. Each item has a minimum price attached to it:
For digital / non-tangible items, the minumum price is $1.00.
For print / tangible items, the minimum price is just enough to cover production costs.
The suggested price associated with each item is there to give you an idea of what you’d pay for it in other marketplaces. For example, the suggested price for my ebooks is about the same as the retail price those same items are sold for at Amazon.com.
Why Pay More Than The Minimum Amount?
In a pay-what-you-want marketplace, there are lots of reasons to chose to pay more than the minimum:
Patronage: As I’ve mentioned, I’m committed to earning a living from my creative endeavors and related sources. When you pay more than the minimum or suggested amount for my novels, short stories, non-fiction, and, soon, music and other goodies, you’re doing nothing less than adding to the pool of time and energy I have available to make more stuff. And it’s worth saying: paying a generous amount above the suggested price feels like a vote for me, and for what I do. That’s like putting soul-coal in my creative engines; no kidding.
Altruism: Paying more than the minimum amount is a way to subsidize those folks who would like to experience my creations, but truly can’t afford more than the minimum. Your generosity helps offset others’ smaller payments.
Social Good: 10% of every amount above the suggested price of an item goes to support 826 National and their eight tutoring centers in the United States. Thank you for helping me provide for a cause that may have far-reaching, positive consequences for our future culture!
So there are a few reasons to pay more than the minimum amount.
But! There’s nothing wrong with paying the minimum amount if that’s all you’re truly willing and able to pay.
I want as many people as possible to join my community of friends and fans. I don’t want money to be a barrier of entry.
Please Tell Everyone You Know: You Can Pay What You Want For Matt Selznick’s Creative Endeavors!
As always, I’d love to hear what you think about my new pay-what-you-want model.
I also need a favor:
Please spread this post around. Link to it, talk about it, share it… tell everyone you know!
It might be my own excitement at having stepped into this new world, but I feel like an indie author letting folks pay what they want for his entire catalog (and then some) is kind of a big deal. If anyone else is doing this, they’re really good at not making a big noise about it.
I need to make a big noise.
The more people who know… the better.
So. Will you help out with the word of mouth? If you have a platform (magazine, blog, podcast, and so on) for which this would be newsworthy, will you report it?
Perhaps I could be an interview guest?
Thanks, very much, for your help in spreading the word!
Next: The Road To Pay-What-You-Want
The decision to put pricing in the hands of my patrons was not one I made lightly.
Nor was it one that I came to quickly.
In my next post, I’ll trace the path that brought me here. You can subscribe to Scribtotum so you don’t miss it!
This post, Pay What You Want For Everything I Make appeared first on the website of author and creator Matthew Wayne Selznick. If you liked it, please click through and comment, and don't forget to join the mailing list community -- I'll send you a 22,000 word sampler of my fiction and non-fiction! Thanks!
