03-11-2012, 03:20 PM | #16 |
Guru
Posts: 775
Karma: 1043626
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: York, Pa
Device: Kindle Fire 10", Honor 8 Android Phone
|
$.99 is a price that will allow people to give unknown writers a try. Start asking higher prices and they want more a sure thing.
|
03-11-2012, 05:47 PM | #17 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,099
Karma: 11315768
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: UK
Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch
|
How do major publishers arrive at their price? Why is £5 / $8 any less arbitrary? Why do you think the price has such a direct relationship to the value? What are you trying to achieve? Do you want to sell 8 copies and have some nebulous self-worth, or do you want to sell 800 copies and actually reach a wider audience? Why not give it away?
Why is every sentence in this post a question? |
03-12-2012, 12:12 AM | #18 | |
occasional author
Posts: 2,314
Karma: 2064403292
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Wandering God's glorious hills, valleys and plains.
Device: A Franklin BI (before Internet) was the first. I still have it.
|
Quote:
In fact, I think besides being rude, you are being ridiculous as well. You think 99 cents is ridiculous as a cost for your book and further you say right above that this book might have taken "days" to produce. Let us assume it took you a year to produce this book which you sell for 99 cents. You make a pitch that this wonderful book for 99 cents is your way to introduce yourself to readers. You let anyone that wants, browse extensively in your book. You offer critiques and interesting lead ins into the story, the characters, the relationships that are discussed in the book in as many places as you can find. Readers see all this, browse the book, buy it, or borrow it, and like it. You sell a 100,000 of them. Not a great number on the high end, but a very good number. Book sales total = (.99)x(100,000) 99 thousand dollars. Let us say your cut is 70%= 69,300 dollars. Now Justin I don't expect you to tell us here, but think about how much money you made last year. During the whole year. Was it above $69,300 dollars? But wait, that book might have only taken "days to produce" according to what you said above. We will be generous and consider that you worked hard during those "days" and really need a whole month to produce a book. Let's give you a month off during the cold season so you can enjoy the warm waters somewhere. That is 11 months of productive time for 11 books. Let me see. (11)x(69,300)= $762,300 dollars. Most the people here would be happy with that model, or even something considerably less. Now you want to charge $25.00 for each book because you think it is worth it. O.K., no one is going to stop you. Let us hear how that works out. |
|
03-12-2012, 01:21 AM | #19 |
Guru
Posts: 915
Karma: 3537194
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite
|
The value of my work is not quantifiable on a monetary scale. To even discuss it in those terms is to demean it.
I'm going to sell my next book for $10,000,000 to one single person who must promise to destroy it after he reads it. I am now accepting names (and deposits) from all those who are interested. PM me. |
03-12-2012, 04:34 AM | #20 |
Stercus accidit
Posts: 330
Karma: 513878
Join Date: Mar 2012
Device: Nookpadle 6
|
Are you an editor by any chance Harry?
|
03-12-2012, 04:39 AM | #21 |
Stercus accidit
Posts: 330
Karma: 513878
Join Date: Mar 2012
Device: Nookpadle 6
|
Frahse you've entirely missed the point. I'm sorry if you find that rude and I apologise to anyone who is offended by my comments.
All I am saying is....................... |
03-12-2012, 04:44 AM | #22 |
Stercus accidit
Posts: 330
Karma: 513878
Join Date: Mar 2012
Device: Nookpadle 6
|
Well what I'm not saying Frahse is that I want to sell a book for $25. Where did you get that from? Did you really sell 100,000 copies of your book?
|
03-12-2012, 04:50 AM | #23 |
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
|
03-12-2012, 04:54 AM | #24 |
Stercus accidit
Posts: 330
Karma: 513878
Join Date: Mar 2012
Device: Nookpadle 6
|
and typos?
|
03-12-2012, 04:58 AM | #25 |
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
Yes, and typos. I know that I'm not capable of writing something that's fit for publication without editing, and I don't think that many other authors are, either. I write non-fiction (textbooks), where it's perhaps even more important than it is for novels.
|
03-12-2012, 05:11 AM | #26 |
Stercus accidit
Posts: 330
Karma: 513878
Join Date: Mar 2012
Device: Nookpadle 6
|
I totally agree, editing is a major part of the process. Sorry Harry, I was being facetious. As you picked me up on my grammar earlier on in this discussion, I was pointing out your typo of using 'an' instead of 'at' in your last post.
Last edited by Justin Nemo; 03-12-2012 at 05:17 AM. |
03-12-2012, 05:49 AM | #27 | |
Zealot
Posts: 126
Karma: 415116
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Frederick MD
Device: Nook
|
Quote:
I also have a theory that selling fiction is much harder than selling non-fiction. My memoir on Vietnam is easy enough for readers interested in that topic to find. They may or may not buy it, but at least they see it. Novels are tear drops in the ocean, and unless you are a well-known author, it is hard for readers to find you, much less decide to invest their time in reading your work. Which brings me back to the cover and the blurb. Bottom line, writing a book is very hard. Getting readers to buy it is even harder. Pricing is an important factor, but not the only one. |
|
03-12-2012, 06:34 AM | #28 |
Stercus accidit
Posts: 330
Karma: 513878
Join Date: Mar 2012
Device: Nookpadle 6
|
I think Harry is saying that authors shouldn't self publish (forgive me Harry if I got this wrong), but for some authors that is the only option. As you rightly say G J once you go down the self publishing route, you have to be a graphic designer and marketer.
I think you are right about it being harder to sell fiction. What I am trying to say (obviously not very intelligibly) is that the next year or two will see a lot more epublishing websites, which will in turn make the finding, buying, selling process a lot easier. Therefore we shouldn't under sell ourselves. I think I need to qualify an earlier statement of mine, reading back through this thread. I thought it might have been obvious when I was talking about it taking days to write a story, that I was talking about a short story. 10,000 words should only take days to write. I didn't imagine that some people were selling works that had taken them a whole year to write for 99 cents. |
03-12-2012, 07:01 AM | #29 | |
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
Quote:
|
|
03-12-2012, 07:11 AM | #30 |
Stercus accidit
Posts: 330
Karma: 513878
Join Date: Mar 2012
Device: Nookpadle 6
|
Thanks for clearing that up Harry. That really is sound advice.
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
What's A Fair Price For a New Release Ebook? | Robin Spano | General Discussions | 48 | 02-13-2011 09:18 AM |
The fair price of entertainment | Hadel | General Discussions | 79 | 02-11-2011 05:36 AM |
What is a Fair Price For E-books | desertgrandma | Lounge | 42 | 02-13-2010 01:39 PM |
Fair price for ebook? | jasonb57 | Lounge | 15 | 02-06-2009 03:19 AM |
eBook price vs pBook price--is that fair?? | rlparker | Amazon Kindle | 11 | 10-06-2008 11:55 AM |