Quote:
Originally Posted by Pajamaman
So it's a combo of things. K. I appreciate KU has hit actual sales.
Has KU, in general, been a net benefit or loss to indie authors? And has it been net benefit or loss to Amazon?
So Big 6 book prices have gone up? How much were they before? And why have they all gone up? Is this purely a Big 6 decision, or is Amazon involved?
But I don't quite see how the increased prices of Big 6 books would mean buyers are willing to pay less for an indie. If anything, I would expect buyers to see more value in existing indie-prices. I don't see how a hike in Big 6 book prices would impact indie-sales negatively. To me, it does not seem to follow. Again, perhaps I'm missing something.
Anyway, excuse my ignorance, and thanks for your response.
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The price of authors for cozies (this is from books I post on my blog) was and still is 7.99 for a lot of them. HOWEVER, for any popular author (Joan Hess -- some of her early books just came out in Kindle this week-- is 9.99
https://www.amazon.com/Malice-Maggod...ords=joan+hess) That's high for a cozy AND it's an old book now in kindle.
The JD Robb new release is 14.99 Hers have been steadily testing higher prices as they were published because the series is very popular. This is true of any genre, anything that is pretty popular.
A Death in the Dales -- new cozy release 12.99
https://www.amazon.com/Death-Dales-K...h+in+the+dales) That's VERY high for a cozy release.
Cozy mysteries are sort of like romance back in the days when readers went through them a book or more a day. They are lighter fare for the most part and readers go through them so quickly, that a high price can be a real turnoff.
Queen of the Cookbooks 9.99 --there isn't even a hardback book for this cozy--this is just the paperback/Kindle release by Penguin.
Last week I went through TWO pages of new releases and it was the same as above. 9.99 to 14.99.
The average price of a new release was 5.99 to 7.99 (Kindle or mass market) until recently. I noticed in early this year, but it was probably earlier than that.
There are multiple types of readers/customers. Some sort purchases by:
1. I'll pay this much for a book
2. I'll pay this much for an indie and this much for a trad publisher
3. I'll pay this much for my favorite author
So while the lower prices of indies do attract some readers, as you can see from this thread, some readers won't buy indie at all or only on a strong rec from someone else--even then they will often demand a very low price BECAUSE it is indie. I have had readers tell me that 3.99 is too much for an indie book EVEN if they get the first for free or 99 cents. That's fine; everyone is entitled to set their own shopping rules.
KU has helped some authors and hurt others. Many authors gave KU a try and then pulled their books out. Amazon changed the rules to offer bonuses to the highest/most read books specifically to attract authors who have higher earning power. Essentially authors who can price above 2.99 and sell are typically going to make more by being OUT of KU. KU, on the other hand, can help some authors get discovered. They will make more by being in KU because they get page reads (and without those they might be entirely invisible).
What I typically see of KU subscribers is a hunt for "Can you rec a KU book so I don't have to read 10 to find 1?" They want to make sure to get their monies worth from their subscription, so they stick to reading KU selections. They will specifically look for recs that are in KU. I used to mention whether a book was in KU or not on my blog when posting, but 1. I make no money from affiliate referrals for KU 2. The author may not stay in KU so my note is meaningless.
I tried KU and made less with the books in there than out. I make more money being "wide" than just on Amazon. KU did me no favors, but in fairness, I didn't take advantage of it early (I was selling far too many books at that time to even consider it seriously). It has proven more popular with readers than I expected.
Amazon (and all companies) love subscriptions. They may not make money on all readers, but many readers will forget they have it, tire of searching for books and just buy the ones they want...and Amazon still collects 10 dollars a month.
Just my 2 cents.