Is $0.99 Too Cheap?

[Jp]

I've seen some people suggest temporary drops to the $.99 price point just to drum up sales, but I really feel like if I'm going to spend months of my life pouring my heart out onto the page and then hiring a graphic designer and copy editor to make sure it has the best presentation possible, I'm going to make sure its normal price is higher than a dollar.

Experimental works and short stories, I think, would work better at that price point, though.

[Nora aka Diva]

Sarah, the Webbiegrrl Writer wrote: "The $x.99 isn't a Smashwords "trick" nor is it "old market thought" so much as it is a reality about human psychology. It's scientific fact--being used to the advantage of people who sell things--that people respond to "savings" and "getting a deal."..."

Technically it was started by business owners so their clerks would have to make change by opening the til & not just pocket the money. History ftw. but people got used it & prefer what they are used to.

[Tony]

I bumped the prices back up to $2.99 for my novels; I'll get back here in a month or two and let everyone know how it goes.

[Gayle]

I price my books based on the word count. So far, my longest book is just under 14,000 words so I've priced it at £0.99. However, the next book to be released is almost double the word length and I was going to price it at £2.99 but am unsure whether that is too much.

It's quite a complex issue! Has anyone any views about paying £2.99 for a book that's around 27000 words? Too much? Too little? Just right?

[Jack]

Sarah, the Webbiegrrl Writer wrote: "Jack, by the way, I went to your book page just now (to see your cover and blurb for myself) and tried out the links. None of them work. Your book page here on Goodreads links to 404's which is nev..."

Actually, I am in the KDP select program because in the history of selling on other sites, I sold exactly none on all other formats. We made best seller status one week after joining KDP select and doing our 5 days free all in one shot. Gave away over 10k in books and have never looked back. I checked the links just now, and the amazon link is working fine. Loads of authors, even the highest on the best seller lists, are exclusive to amazon so I don't really see an issue with that.

We have notice a slight dip in sales since it was raised, but I am sure that will even back out after a while. We are still in the top 20 in the Dragon category, and 20 is the lowest we have been in that slot. Even though we are dropping in overall rank, it appears that all in that category are dropping at the same rate, so it is not just our book. I think It is a successful test for now :-)

[Jack]

Lynxie wrote: "Good luck Jack. Osric's wand is definitely worth $2.99!"

Thank you Lynxie, it is always a pleasure to have readers like you :-)

[Sarah]

Gayle wrote: "I price my books based on the word count. So far, my longest book is just under 14,000 words so I've priced it at £0.99. However, the next book to be released is almost double the word length and I was going to price it at £2.99 but am unsure whether that is too much.

It's quite a complex issue! Has anyone any views about paying £2.99 for a book that's around 27000 words? Too much? Too little? Just right? "

Gayle, are you dropping a zero there or did you really mean 14k words and 27k words? Those two lengths are generally regarded as a "long short story" (7.5k-14k words) and a novella (14k-50k words) and NOT a full-length book. As such the 99c (or 99£ if you can do that through Amazon UK) market is for you. The $2.99 (not £2.99 but US dollars) is typically regarded appropriate for a full-length book--at least 50k words--or for non-fiction (like a how-to book).

If you meant 140k words, not 14k, then you're talking about an average length for a full-length novel (120k-140k) Over 140k is regarded a "long" novel and 270k is definitely long (my first was 230k) Longer novels are a difficult pricing challenge, one that Smashwords founder, Mark Coker, recently addressed and concluded depended more on genre than anything else.

Forex, he found that SciFi and Fantasy genre fans would pay $5.99 to $8.99 for a long novel but only $2.99 to $3.99 for an average one. He found that romance genre fans would pay even less than SF/F fans but romance fans bought in much higher volume. Romance novel readers love the 99c (or 99£) "short novel" (50k to 80k words) both because it's low-priced AND because it's short enough they can read it in one sitting.

Your pricing really has to consider your audience, their reading habits and preferences and not just your page/word count. If only we could charge by the word! I'm prolific and have never once in 30+ years of writing had writer's block. I would be RICH if I could charge even one penny per word ;-) My first novel, at 230k+ words, would have let me retire!!

-sry
@webbiegrrl

[Sarah]

Jack wrote: "Actually, I am in the KDP select program because in the history of selling on other sites, I sold exactly none on all other formats. We made best seller status one week after joining KDP select and doing our 5 days free all in one shot. Gave away over 10k in books and have never looked back. I checked the links just now, and the amazon link is working fine. Loads of authors, even the highest on the best seller lists, are exclusive to amazon so I don't really see an issue with that.

We have notice a slight dip in sales since it was raised, but I am sure that will even back out after a while. We are still in the top 20 in the Dragon category, and 20 is the lowest we have been in that slot. Even though we are dropping in overall rank, it appears that all in that category are dropping at the same rate, so it is not just our book. I think It is a successful test for now :-)"

Congratulations, Jack! Glad to hear your price change didn't impact your sales rank substantially (or not yet)

As to not selling any books anywhere else, sorry to hear you never sold anything outside of Amazon. There are some books that do exceedingly well in other markets and some that, like yours, never actually sell at all. I think the different markets have very different clientele and you have to match your genre to your market -- that is, sell it where your customers are buying.

I write Romantic Suspense which is selling pretty much everywhere but Fantasy genre (Dragons, as you say) definitely is not as popular in some of the romance-centric markets ((grin - NSS huh?)) If you tried to sell to Nook customers or even on iTunes, you might not find a market base as easily as I would. Given Amazon seems to be working for you, "don't fix what ain't broke" as they say, eh?

I still will never like the exclusivity clause. It's entirely unecessary and goes against my principles to purposefully support an attempt to monopolize or price-fix (which battle has been waging in Justice Dept with the 5 of the Big 6 going down - loved Joe Konrath's "Simon Says" update on that!)

-sry
@webbiegrrl

[Gayle]

Hi Sarah,

No, didn't drop any zeros, there. They are 14,000 and around 27,000 respectively. I know they aren't full-length novels that's why I'm charging a low amount. :)

I really do have to look into the reading habits of my audience (not that I really have many to start with). You've given me food for thought, there. Thanks for your comments. :-)

[Sarah]

You're welcome, and the 27k word story could go higher but not all that much. Is there a 1.99 option on the UK side or does the 70% royalty not kick in there until you get to the 2.99 level like over here on the US side? I don't know why they need to pay different royalty rates. It's meant to discourage 99c books I guess but it sure doesn't seem to work (LOL)

[Gayle]

The 70% royalty is the same in the UK as it is for the US. You have to go choose £2.99 or over to receive it, otherwise you just get the 35%.

[Jack]

Sarah, the Webbiegrrl Writer wrote: "Jack wrote: "Actually, I am in the KDP select program because in the history of selling on other sites, I sold exactly none on all other formats. We made best seller status one week after joining K..."

Thank you :-)

I don't see it as "exclusive" when you are only dealing with 3 months. If I had to sign a lifelong contract, then I would hesitate to sign. I am just thankful that we made it, in one form or another, to any best seller list. These markets are becoming very competitive, and I have read a ton of great indie books. I am thankful to be counted as one of them.

We may choose to rejoin the other sites once we have a few more novels in this series published, but for now, this is working. I agree, don't fix what ain't broken. You are a wonderful fountain of knowledge and kindness :-)

[Tony]

Jack wrote: I don't see it as "exclusive" when you are only dealing with 3 months..."

If you study the small print on KDP, you're only allowed to take it out of the KDP exclusive content twice, and then it's not allowed back in.

[Sarah]

Tony wrote: "Jack wrote: I don't see it as "exclusive" when you are only dealing with 3 months..."

If you study the small print on KDP, you're only allowed to take it out of the KDP exclusive content twice, an..."

Wow, Tony, I knew there was an issue of timing to get the darned thing extracted again (if you miss the narrow window, you "automatically renew," don't you?) but I had no clue it cannot go in and out of the program -- not that anyone would/should/could extract it from the entire internet TWICE or *choke* more?!

I think for a new book, a launch, and for just the initial 3 mos of release, it sounds like a great opportunity, but to have to restrict myself to Amazon's KDP and ONLY to Amazon, is just too much for me to reconcile after a book's already been distributed.

It takes so much damned effort to get a book fully-distributed everywhere possible, removing it just seems stupid (not silly, but stupid, like you're cutting off your foot and then wondering why you can't run a marathon easily anymore)

Jack, I'm not calling you stupid, btw, I don't want to risk not saying that but I'm saying the concept of the KDP Select program's restrictive clause is stupid. Big difference.

Thanks again for the tip, Tony! Wow.

-sry

[Jack]

Tony wrote: "Jack wrote: I don't see it as "exclusive" when you are only dealing with 3 months..."

If you study the small print on KDP, you're only allowed to take it out of the KDP exclusive content twice, an..."

Right now, I have no plans of taking it out of KDP. Only because we sell so well on amazon, and get no action anywhere else. But that bit of information is eye opening, for sure! I guess we will just have to stay in it as long as we need, or until fans start screaming for the book to be put in other formats. After all, this is really just about being read, and KDP is doing that like nobody else right now. :-)

[Jack]

Sarah, the Webbiegrrl Writer wrote: "Tony wrote: "Jack wrote: I don't see it as "exclusive" when you are only dealing with 3 months..."

If you study the small print on KDP, you're only allowed to take it out of the KDP exclusive cont..."

Oh, I would have had to read something into your comments that wasn't there, if I wanted to think you called me stupid.

If you had, you would find out that I have a very thick skin, and would have respected you anyway. I love different opinions about as much as I love writing. Nothing fills me with excitement as much as learning what makes people who they are, and passion revels a great deal about a person. I would still value your opinion if you had called me stupid, but I would have learned something about you as well. ;-)

[Tony]

@Sarah,
Luckily, I didn't have to pull the book from the internet, just the KDP Free!

Here's the quote from my KDP. I put the book in KDP, then read the print where it said exclusive...so I took it back out again. Now, when I go back into KDP for that book, it says this:

"
Note: As this book's enrollment in KDP Select was cancelled once before, you do not have the option to cancel again if you re-enroll.
"

Since I'm selling the book through other outlets like Smashwords (It's the only way UK authors can get into B&N), out of KDP it will stay!

[Rachel]

I am a little confused by the discussion of "extracting" a book from the KDP select program. Are we talking about un-publishing it from the kindle website completely? Or just opting out of the select program? My plan for my next novel was to use KDP select for the first ninety days and then switching to the regular KDP program, which is non-exclusive and putting the book on Smashwords as well so other formats are available. Is this not possible?

[Rachel]

I am a little confused by the discussion of "extracting" a book from the KDP select program. Are we talking about un-publishing it from the kindle website completely? Or just opting out of the select program? My plan for my next novel was to use KDP select for the first ninety days and then switching to the regular KDP program, which is non-exclusive and putting the book on Smashwords as well so other formats are available. Is this not possible?

[Tony]

Rachel - What I'm talking about is the KDP Free option - where you can list your book as a 'giveaway' for 5 days every 90 days. It's a separate thing from the normal KDP. Optional extra, I guess :-)

[Jack]

The important thing to remember is that somethings will work for one person, and not work for another. Different fan bases will tolerate difference much better than others. We all have to find out what works for us, and work it. I was lucky to stumble on mine so early in my writing career.

[Rachel]

Thanks Tony, I read the fine print on the KDP select program and I see what you are saying. I think it will work for me, but thanks for the forewarning.

[Christine]

Rachel wrote: "I am a little confused by the discussion of "extracting" a book from the KDP select program. Are we talking about un-publishing it from the kindle website completely? Or just opting out of the sele..."

Rachel - what you are planning to do is fine. I am doing the same with my latest book. I just put it into the select program and will stop after 90 days and offer it elsewhere.
But thanks Tony. I had heard about the free thing and wasn't sure what that was.
Christine

[Rachel]

Thanks for the clarification. I don't want to get started and then find myself in trouble later. The kindle is the lion's share of the market right now and can not be ignored, but not so big that you should ignore other markets.

[Christine]

I agree. And I like to give Amazon some competition from other vendors. Competition will only help us authors and readers!

[[deleted user]]

Thank you to all of your who posted. I'm a screenwriter, I'm used to handing my work over to my managers and waiting. I wrote my first novel, HONEYMOON WITH HARRY, and have found that the real work begins after the writing. And this resource has been extrodinarily helpful.

I'm doing the KDP but not sure what to expect. My book has been out now three weeks and I haven't seen any huge jump day to day in sales being exclusive to Amazon. All I've seen is Barnes and Noble cut the price of the paper version of the book so Amazon had to follow suit.

Any more 'in the trenches' experiences will be helpful. This is the brave new world for me. I'm enjoying this ride and learning a great deal. Thank you so much for any more information.

[Tony]

I'm gearing up for a free giveaway through KDP in about a month. Some folks have seen a good bump afterwards so I'm looking forward to seeing how things go. There's some good discussion on the Kindle Boards about it, but this link here is the best summary to utilizing a free giveaway:

http://ruthnestvold.wordpress.com/201...

[[deleted user]]

Tony wrote: "I'm gearing up for a free giveaway through KDP in about a month. Some folks have seen a good bump afterwards so I'm looking forward to seeing how things go. There's some good discussion on the Kind..."

Thanks Tony! Much appreciated!

[[deleted user]]

A writer's blog I read a while ago said that their rule of thumb has been $1 (or .99, rather) for every 10K words, but not exceeding a certain amount for straight narrative fiction ($5? $10? Not sure). Might have been terribleminds but my mind is a great big blank right now. I like this idea, in part because it's fairly easy to calculate.

The danger in just pricing your books low across the board is that there are plenty of people who will buy a book on a whim when it costs .99 and never read it/review it. And the reviews are very important, especially when you are self-publishing/e-publishing, since you aren't getting the same exposure from big-name book reviewers to drive people to you.

Obviously, you have to adjust your expectations as far as price goes when you're brand new, since with so much stuff out there, few people will take a risk on something they've never heard of that's also more expensive than all the other things they've never heard of.

[Marina]

At least at .99 no one will say your book is "not worth the money." I'm seeing a LOT of reviews out there, of established authors, saying how much they spent and how it wasn't worth it. That of course is a very unfair way to review because either the book is good or it isn't, no matter what you happened to pay for it. But, it happens a lot.

If you want to get more reviews, make it a freebie for a short period of time. People getting it for free will feel obligated to review in "payment" for being able to read it.

[[deleted user]]

Tony wrote: "I'm gearing up for a free giveaway through KDP in about a month. Some folks have seen a good bump afterwards so I'm looking forward to seeing how things go. There's some good discussion on the Kind..."

Thank you, Tony!

[[deleted user]]

Posts I've done regarding this topic of 99cent, KDP and free days. These are to help readers and authors understand what Amazon is doing to the industry and how such moves effect ALL authors. What is good for a few in the short term is detrimental to the industry in the long term

http://allonbooks-thekingdomofallon.b...

http://allonbooks-thekingdomofallon.b...

http://allonbooks-thekingdomofallon.b...

[Andrew]

Chris wrote: "I've got a short story collection priced at 99p. This was done to try to get my name out to as many people as possible (not too successfully as short stories don't sell that well even as ebooks). ..."

Yes, that's pretty much exactly what I've done, although Amazon.com has raised the price to $1.13, while Amazon.co.uk has dropped it to 72p... no idea.

I priced my collection to sell, and at 23,000 words I think it's a pretty fair price point. I have a day job, and while I'd love to give it up and become a full-time writer, simply bumping up my price to $2.99 isn't going to replace my salary any time soon, no matter how many people buy it.

[David P]

This is my first year as an author and I'd like to share my learning experience with pricing my books. I wanted to get something out before Christmas, but wasn't ready to release my whole first book. So I started with a 30,000 word cliff-hanging teaser for 99 cents. I also gave it away for free on Amazon over Christmas weekend. I released the full 100,000 word book for $2.99 in mid-January and followed that up with a $2.99 sequel in April, accompanied by free promotions of the entire first book. This strategy seems to be working, but I've noticed a few interesting things.

First, the 99 cent teaser sells the least. It is currently ranked over 100,000 on Amazon, whereas both of the $2.99 books hover near 10,000 and sometimes break into the top 5,000. The $2.99 titles have combined paid sales of over 1,000 copies per month since April. The 99 cent teaser only sells a few dozen.

Secondly, I credit many of my sales to the FREE promotions through KDP Select. Thousands of people have downloaded the teaser for free and many went on to buy the whole first book. Then thousands downloaded the freebies of the full first book and went on to buy the sequel. I know this because the sequel is selling about 25% more copies than the first book for two months in a row.

Therefore, I can say with confidence that there is a place for 99 cent eBooks and free promotions, if they are employed to promote a series or introduce readers to a new author. 99 cent short stories novellas also make sense. I don't recommend too many free promos for stand alone works unless an author simply wants their books to be read.

I would agree that underpricing a book is generally detrimental to the book and author. So is overpricing. As an unknown author, I'm comfortable with the $2.99 bracket (although I think they are worth more). I also think that self-published eBooks are the biggest revolution in writing since the printing press. It's opened a whole new market and made writing books possible for people like me who would never have gone through the traditional publishing route.

[John]

I've priced my first book at Free, 0.99, 2.99, 5.99, and finally $3.99. I might go back down to $2.99 but I think that's as low as I'll go.

I'm troubled by what 99-cent novels might do to the sales of short stories. E-books have caused a renaissance of novels, bringing back forms that publishers had been dismissing as "dead" (i.e., westerns). Why shouldn't short stories experience similar growth? Especially when the main limitation of what readers will read now is time, not money?

People are already giving poor reviews to short stories that were plainly advertised as such, on the grounds that they expected novels. Once everyone is used to good novels (let alone great ones!) selling at 99 cents, selling short stories will be much harder.

[Ferguson]

The length of a book can also be a decider, I think.
Mine is sitting under 8000 words, and 0.99c sounds about right to me.

That price point can work for full-length novels, but in the end, an author won't last too long selling books for that amount, as it's too enough return to bother. So in the end, both authors and readers lose.

[Andrew]

I sat down the other day and worked out that at the current rate of return from a £0.72 ebook, I could sell a million copies and still not afford to buy a flat in my part of London?

[David P]

John wrote: "I've priced my first book at Free, 0.99, 2.99, 5.99, and finally $3.99. I might go back down to $2.99 but I think that's as low as I'll go.

I'm troubled by what 99-cent novels might do to the sal..."

I agree with you. Good novels (over 250 pages), even by an unknown author like me, should cost at least $2.99. Bad ones, not so much. :)

Short stories, novellas, and introductory teasers to longer works fit into an appropriate niche for 99 cent "books". Free promotions also work well to promote a series or introduce a new author. Giving away a stand-alone novel for pennies or for free seems more like vanity publishing to me. However, I know how powerful the urge might be, especially for those whose book is buried in the rankings.

All I can say for sure is that my $2.99 titles sell much better than my 99 cent one -- especially since I warn readers to save a buck and buy the full book, if they aren't getting the 30,000 word teaser for free.

[David]

Andrew wrote: "I sat down the other day and worked out that at the current rate of return from a £0.72 ebook, I could sell a million copies and still not afford to buy a flat in my part of London?"

Best excuse for selling TWO million I ever heard! ;)

[David P]

Speaking of free books... Extinction Point by Paul Jones (regularly $2.99) is in the Top 100 free books on Amazon Kindle today. I gave it a 5 star review and he included part of it in the featured reviews:

Think "Day of the Triffids" meets "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" meets "I am Legend" and you still won't have grasped the full scope of the apocalypse in Paul Jones' artfully crafted tale of extinction and survival. ~ David P. Forsyth - Author of the Voyage of the Dead series ~

Grab it for FREE today at http://www.amazon.com/Extinction-Poin...

[Tony]

David wrote: "Andrew wrote: "I sat down the other day and worked out that at the current rate of return from a £0.72 ebook, I could sell a million copies and still not afford to buy a flat in my part of London?"..."

LOL :-)

[David]

Just snagged a copy of Extinction Point. Sounds great! Thanks.

[Kat]

Offering up my opinion as a reader and blogger, for better or worse!

Personally, there a couple of factors that influence whether I buy an ebook:

- I don't think I've ever checked if a book is self-published or traditionally published. Honestly the thought has never occurred to me.

- I pick up a lot of 'free' ebooks, but do I read them? Not often. If I've paid for something I want to get my moneys worth, so I'm more likely to read it than if it's just 'given' to me. Sounds harsh I know, but that's my reality.

- I buy pretty much any book under 3 bucks that interests me. And by interests me I mean that it's well presented. One of the biggest comments I see in the blogging world is that covers count! Professional-looking covers have people at least checking out the book synopsis. Covers that look like they were knocked up in 5 minutes with stock photos and standard font just get scrolled past. The synopsis also has to be punchy - and one of my pet peeves is having part of the book 'sold' as the synopsis - that's what the sample is for!

- I've never seen a blogger/reader complain about the ebook price of a book they really want. I see things like this:

Author John has just released his new book 'Better Than the Last One'. I really enjoyed his first book 'The Best Book Ever', so I'm really excited to read this one - just picked it up for Kindle!

Not like this:

Author John has released a new book 'Better Than the Last One', but it's 5.99 on Amazon! I'm going to wait until the price drops.

I guess the whole point here is that it's about the complete package, not so much the price. If the book looks professional and gets me interested, I'm going to pay for it whether its $0.99 or $6.99.

[Tony]

On May 14th, I bumped one of my books up from 0.99 to 2.99 to see how it went. For the record, it's a YA, 50k words; historical fiction.

I've suffered no real loss of sales over the time I raised the price, and I'm leaving it at 2.99 for good now, except for special offers.

I do tbink that 50k is probably the shortest you could get away with that pricing though.

It's technically a novella at 50k, but certainly for 60k+ books, I'd go for 2.99 pricing.

[Nora aka Diva]

Kat wrote: "- I pick up a lot of 'free' ebooks, but do I read them? Not often..."

I'm the opposite, I have paid for two out of the 198 books I have on my kindle. I'll get to them Eventually, I suppose since I did pay for them. I have been reading the free ones instead. Why? I feel like I at least owe them a review since I got it free.

[Jaye]

Kat wrote: "Offering up my opinion as a reader and blogger, for better or worse!

Personally, there a couple of factors that influence whether I buy an ebook:

- I don't think I've ever checked if a book is se..."

Great comments, Kat. I really appreciate the insight on how you evaluate a potential read, and the key issues that draw you to a book, as both a reader and blogger. (I especially enjoyed your reader/bloggere example at the end . . .)