I'm at war with my publisher. It's not a real war - as in, we both like each other a lot. But we disagree about how to price an ebook.
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I've learned 2 things after posting this: 1: There's already a
discussion thread about this same promotion/challenge that someone started several days ago. I'm thrilled that they did this, but I wouldn't have posted again if I'd known. I'll participate in both threads going forward.
2. This post probably belongs in the author promotion forum, rather than discussion threads. To me it's a discussion (I'm passionate about lowering ebook prices in general), but it's also surrounding the promotion of my book - so if I could go back in time, I'd post in the other forum. (And in lieu of time travel, I'll post this acknowledgement at the top of the post so you can discreetly click away if you'd like to!)
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Anyway, the challenge:
My publisher has priced the electronic versions of mystery novel at $10.99 - which is the industry standard for new releases.
I think the industry should lower that standard. It costs less to produce and distribute ebooks, they don't sit around warehouses until they get sold or returned, and they can't be loaned out (you're effectively buying one read, not several). I think a fair price is $4.99. I think that's fair to the publisher, writer, and book-buyer.
So we've been running a challenge this week - it's a short experiment to see if a lower price leads to more sales - where the book has been $1.99 at Kobo, Kindle, and iTunes.
My publisher thinks there will be no effect on sales. They think if someone wants a book, they'll buy it as long as it's reasonably priced (you know, industry standard). They've run similar promotions with other books, and have seen zero increase in sales.
The idea is that if they're right - if sales stay static - I'll concede at the end of the week, and agree that their original pricing was fine. But if sales jump, they'll analyse it. Their eyes are open - they're a cool, small Canadian press who wants to hear what readers have to say. If sales jump enough, they might lower the permanent price - at least for a longer experiment time - to around that $5 mark.
My big lofty goal is to help reshape the industry toward lower ebook pricing. One person can't do this, but in times like this, where the industry is in flux, smaller voices like mine - when put together in chorus with readers and other writers - can be heard, and can effect change.
It's been interesting so far. Sales have jumped, but not skyrocketed. I don't have access to specific sales statistics, but I know the rankings have increased a lot - enough that I consider the point proven, but not so much that I'm sure my publisher will agree!
I've been guesting on book blogs - I learned about this forum in one of those comment sections - and a lot of readers are jumping into the discussion.
So why am I posting? Two reasons:
1. To spread the word about the challenge in its final hour (it ends at midnight tomorrow).
2. To hear feedback. I've heard that this is a great forum for discussion, and I'd love to hear other people's opinions about the question in the post's title: What is a fair price for a new release ebook?
RS