I originally priced my first DTP release as low as possible, thinking price point would be a major factor in convincing Kindle owners to take a chance on a new author. As it turns out, within reasonable limits they don't seem terribly concerned about price, provided they are given access to a try-before-you-buy excerpt, so I made excerpts available.
I still would've been OK virtually giving copies of my ebooks away, but there was growing suspicion in some quarters that my books were *only* selling due to the bargain price. Since I'm at the forefront of the new and growing indie author movement, anything that can detract from the perceived legitimacy of my work is to be avoided. Therefore, I repriced that first novel at $4.99 and set the original list price for my second DTP release at $5.99---but these prices are still a bit lower than the going rate for Kindle editions from well-known authors.
As to that discussion group...I prefer not to name them, since whatever you post on the internet can come back to bite you when it's least expected and most inconvenient. Moreover, since the great majority of group members had no involvement whatsoever in what happened, it seems unfair to expose the entire group to closer scrutiny on account of the actions of just a few members.
