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Originally Posted by DMSmillie
I'm interested to know what people think about authors having a direct say in the price their books sell for, and whether or not their books are discounted by retailers (note: I'm talking here about indie authors who publish independently, not those who publish via a "mainstream" publishing house).
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I'm all in favor of authors having control. If they have an exaggerated opinion of the value of their work, they won't sell. The challenge for any author is producing work people will value enough to pay a decent amount for it.
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The thread in the "News" forum about Smashwords switching to an agency pricing model indicates that even when it's the authors themselves seeking greater control over the price of their own books, not everyone here is in favour. I'm interested to know why that is?
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Two reasons I can think of:
1) The words "agency pricing" produce a gut level negative response that precludes further rational thought.
2) Lots of folks simply want their ebooks
cheap, and are deaf to any explanations of why that may not be possible (like, authors who would like to make at least minimum wage for the hours they put into the work, never mind publishers that would like to stay in business.)
Yes, some indie and self-published authors price very cheap. For many, writing appears to be a hobby, and if they can get their work out there and make enough to cover their expenses, they're happy. Other folks would like to make some actual money writing, and you don't do that with low ball prices.
As a rule, you get what you're willing to pay for. If what you can get for really low prices satisfies you, fine. Personally, the stuff I prefer to read is by authors trying to make part or all of their living doing it. That costs more, but I pay it because it's worth it to me. The authors are providing value I'm willing to pay for.
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Dennis