(Almost) free vs. (somewhat) pricey: What do you think?

[Bill]

Hey, let me ask you guys a question.

For reasons that I explained at length in a recent post at Boing Boing, and also in a post at my own website, I initially made my novel THANKS FOR KILLING ME available as close to free as the sellers would allow. The idea was to jumpstart the early sales. It worked. Now, two weeks in, the trend has started to flatten a little and I'm thinking about raising the sales prices to something more traditional. But I'm torn. So I've created a quick instapoll at the book's Facebook page and am, in effect, opening the question up to the room. The page also explains, briefly, the arguments on both sides. Would you consider popping over there and voting? It'd be really useful to hear what Goodreads readers think. Thanks!

[Alan]

I set mine at 99c after looking through blogs and seeing that this was the best price for my debut novel, Gray Justice. Even after 8 five-star reviews on Amazon at this price I am struggling for sales, so setting the price at anything higher isn't going to work.

Honestly, I have had my book on the market for over 3 months and have had less than 35 sales, even with reviews like this: at Goodreads

As an indie publisher, you either get the following from the start, or you flounder in the sea of wannabe authors.

Me? I'm going down for the third time...

[Rachel]

Since reducing my price to 99c, I get one or two sales per day. It's not life-changing but it's significantly more than I got when I had priced it at the same price as equivalent-length books from trad publishers.

I may put the sequels a little higher; people will "take a risk" on the cheapest books, but for later books in the same series, it feels to me that there's less risk to overcome.

[I.]

We are experiencing a time of change, from the printed versions to ebooks. People are adapting to such devices, and there are also much free stuff to download.
My book has more sales in ebook format than paperback. About the Alan's feeling, I'm beginning in this market and all I can say is: "New books from new authors need a lot of time to reach the readers, no matter the price."

[Sherri]

I'm with a small publisher and my ebooks are $7.99 - $9.99 depending on where you purchase them. There has only been a handful of people complain about the price, and it hasn't been devastating to my sales. Yes, being a new author puts you at a disadvantage, but it's all about the marketing. If you aren't out there selling your book, spreading the word, then it isn't going to matter what price it is.

[Bill]

Thanks for your perspectives so far.

What do you all think about the argument that there are some readers who are just skeptical of low-priced titles (I guess on the theory that low price must equal low quality) and won't buy 'em at all, but might at a higher price point?

[Maranda]

I sold my first ebook In Memory of Dad for 99 cents but only because it is really more of a short story/novella and I wanted it to be readily available to the kids and teens it is meant to help. My second ebook, Weezie, the Elephant with Allergies was priced at $1.99 because it is pretty short being a children's story, but it does have some illustrations I worked hard on, so I felt it should be a little more. My latest ebook, Ode to Icky is available for $3.99 which I think is more than reasonable since it was professionally published, edited and illustrated. I do think that often dirt cheap books are seen as less professional, even if that isn't really the case.

[[deleted user]]

I really think it depends on the group your targeting. If you write for adults, then you could make it a little more "expensive" (I'd still stay under five dollars, since it's digital). But I personally write for teens, and teens don't generally have as much to spend as an adult might, so I try and lower the price for them. My Christmas novel Clara Claus is set at 99 cents, where the first in my science fiction/horror series The Foxfire Chronicles: Shadows of Past Memories is set at $2.99. I'd take a look at your audience, the length of the book, and then think about how much you think your novel is worth.

[Brenna]

My suggestion was to leave the first book at .99 to hook curious readers and then raise the price on the second to $5 or so. It has worked for many authors. You might be one of them.

[[deleted user]]

Pricing for Indies is difficult. My first 2 novels are very long so I priced them accordingly.

My crime novel is only 80,000 words so I priced it at 99c.

The Doll Collection

[Lee]

Joanna wrote: "Pricing for Indies is difficult. My first 2 novels are very long so I priced them accordingly.

My crime novel is only 80,000 words so I priced it at 99c.

The Doll Collection"

80,000 words works out to about 380 pages in a standard 5.25 x 8 paperback. I don't call that short. I'm into crime fiction and will check out yours.

[[deleted user]]

Lee wrote: "Joanna wrote: "Pricing for Indies is difficult. My first 2 novels are very long so I priced them accordingly.

My crime novel is only 80,000 words so I priced it at 99c.

[book:The Doll Collection|..."

Thanks, Lee.

[Sherri]

I wouldn't call 80,000 words short either. I get that we are trying to make our books accessible to readers, but I think pricing your work too low is not only selling yourself short but also hurting the whole. My husband is a cabinetmaker and we see the same thing in the woodworking industry. It takes hours and hours to make a good quality piece of furniture, but people want it for pennies on the dollar. If the whole group of woodworkers, and in this case indie writers would stand up and say 'we put a lot of work into this and deserve to charge a fair price for it' I doubt that after the initial hoopla, people would blink an eye. Readers are readers. They are going to buy books if they are going to buy books.

[Lee]

Sherri wrote: "I wouldn't call 80,000 words short either. I get that we are trying to make our books accessible to readers, but I think pricing your work too low is not only selling yourself short but also hurtin..."

I agree, Sherri, but we have a problem in indie publishing, namely quality. Some ebook formatting gltiches are forgivable given that not all of us can afford to hire (questionable) experts to do the formatting for us. However, too many other editing gaffs get into many of our works (I have been guilty of this and have taken drastic steps to clean up my act.) Worse than editing errors, there are books out there (I've bought and read some wanting to support indie authors) that are illiterate or barely literate. As to the quality of the stories being told, I guess that's for the reader to decide. Just saying, we have a problem.

[Sherri]

I do agree with that Lee. It seems that many indie writers are more about quantity than quality. I'm not sure how to fix the problem, but when I talk about under pricing your work I am specifically talking to those authors who take the time to do their research and have their work professional edited. If they've written a book that could stand up next to one of those published by the big six, then why are they being priced at 99 cents? Why are you short changing yourself? I will be completely honest when I say that I would be more likely to buy an ebook in the $2.99-$7.99 price range than I would one for 99 cents or even free.

[Lee]

Sherri wrote: "I do agree with that Lee. It seems that many indie writers are more about quantity than quality. I'm not sure how to fix the problem, but when I talk about under pricing your work I am specifically..."

It seems we are on the same page, Sherri. My books are professionally edited and proofread and I think they are as good as those from the big six. My compromise is to price the ebook editions at $3.99 and to hope that there are readers out there who think as you do.

[Kat]

As a reader, and a big fan of Indie authors and e-books alike, I have pretty firm ideas on what I think is a reasonable price.

Now, a .99c Kindle book means as long as the story sounds interesting, I'm in. However, I also have the same feeling when it comes to $1.99 and even $2.99 books. Kindle samples also help me make up my mind, along with reviews on Amazon and Goodreads (and personal recommendations of course!).

As has already been mentioned, pricing a series in a rising scale also helps. I may only think the book sounds worth .99c for the first book, but if I like it and want to read the rest of the series, I'll pay anything up to about $8 for the subsequent books.

The size of the book also makes a difference to me, I want bang for my buck - so I will pay far more for a longer book.

As Sherri says, a well-edited book also gives me the confidence to spend more, although I'm learning to overlook typos and stop being such a grammar nazi :)