Episodic books with price increase: is this possible?

splinters · 12-22-2010, 06:50 PM

I have an idea for publishing my latest childrens book. It is quite an undertaking having been in the works for almost 10 years (from concept). The concept is getting so big now that it could take me years to write and illustrate it before publishing. So I had an idea:

Publish the book with just the Prologue that I just completed. I have several 'episodes' written and many illustrations ready.
I plan to publish what I have at a low price, say £0.59 and promise that early subscribers will get updates free of charge. Now, when I add a new episode the price goes up to £1.49, £2.49 etc. but owners of the original can download at no extra cost; a bonus for having faith early on.

Will this work however? Lulu (my publisher) are quoting 30 days before the first episode appears on the ibookstore, but in the past when I have made a revision it has appeared within a day. Also I used to change price on Lulu and it would appear on the ibookstore within a few hours. The last few books I changed price on Lulu are still priced the same on the ibookstore even weeks later.

Am I gonna run into trouble here or is my idea viable? Are you able to re-download a new revision at extra cost?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

HarryT · 12-23-2010, 03:20 AM

Do you really think that people are going to be willing to wait years for the conclusion of a children's book? I can't imagine reading a story to a child and telling him or her "you're going to have to wait a year to find out how the story ends".

splinters · 12-23-2010, 06:48 AM

I take your point, but you are being a but literal. I meant that to write the whole thing (which could have many, many episodes as there is no real end to it) could take years. Each one would be a self contained story, I just wanted it to build into a larger collection.
However, I just realised that the prologue is 2.5 mb (I could make it smaller) so in, say, 10 episodes time, it would be getting to the 30-40mb mark which is a bit big.

My question was about the validity of it but I think i just answered it. My plan was to give the prologue away as a taster but Lulu will no longer add zero price books to the ibookstore.

12-22-2010, 06:50 PM	#1
splinters Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: iPad	Episodic books with price increase: is this possible? I have an idea for publishing my latest childrens book. It is quite an undertaking having been in the works for almost 10 years (from concept). The concept is getting so big now that it could take me years to write and illustrate it before publishing. So I had an idea: Publish the book with just the Prologue that I just completed. I have several 'episodes' written and many illustrations ready. I plan to publish what I have at a low price, say £0.59 and promise that early subscribers will get updates free of charge. Now, when I add a new episode the price goes up to £1.49, £2.49 etc. but owners of the original can download at no extra cost; a bonus for having faith early on. Will this work however? Lulu (my publisher) are quoting 30 days before the first episode appears on the ibookstore, but in the past when I have made a revision it has appeared within a day. Also I used to change price on Lulu and it would appear on the ibookstore within a few hours. The last few books I changed price on Lulu are still priced the same on the ibookstore even weeks later. Am I gonna run into trouble here or is my idea viable? Are you able to re-download a new revision at extra cost? Many thanks in advance for your help.

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12-23-2010, 03:20 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Do you really think that people are going to be willing to wait years for the conclusion of a children's book? I can't imagine reading a story to a child and telling him or her "you're going to have to wait a year to find out how the story ends".

12-23-2010, 06:48 AM	#3
splinters Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: iPad	I take your point, but you are being a but literal. I meant that to write the whole thing (which could have many, many episodes as there is no real end to it) could take years. Each one would be a self contained story, I just wanted it to build into a larger collection. However, I just realised that the prologue is 2.5 mb (I could make it smaller) so in, say, 10 episodes time, it would be getting to the 30-40mb mark which is a bit big. My question was about the validity of it but I think i just answered it. My plan was to give the prologue away as a taster but Lulu will no longer add zero price books to the ibookstore.

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