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Originally Posted by ZodWallop
I'm not sure which of those are indie and which are traditional and am not inclined to look. I know of very few indie authors that regularly price new releases at $15. For new Stephen King, that's the norm.
Honestly, I'd think most indies that reach a stage where they can price new releases at $15 would likely be snapped up by a traditional publisher.
I'm not making an argument that books should be $1. I couldn't say what prices for books *should* be. I'm just saying that indie books are overall less expensive than traditional publisher books and I do think traditional publishers would be better off charging less for ebooks. At least backlist ones. I do think they would sell more if they did so. I think backlist books aren't priced per any special secret recipe. They are priced so as not to undercut their own paperback prices.
In western fiction, one of the biggest living authors is a guy named Peter Brandvold. The state of westerns being what it is, his books aren't released as hardcovers. But he releases new books both via traditional publishers and indies. The traditional books are priced at mass market paperback prices ($8 or $9) indies are always cheaper.
He has released much of his backlist for $1. In fact, I've picked up several omnibuses of his for $1 each. I think that is too cheap. But hopefully he knows what he is doing.
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Very few Indies come out with hardback books. Indies tend to publish as ebooks, then have print on demand at hardback prices for people who want paper. It can be difficult to tell what's indie and what isn't. Many indies use boutique publishers or even create their own publishing companies.
Michael J Sullivan is one of those indie guys who has a mix of traditional publisher (Hachette, Random House) and indie (i.e. Amazon). All his books save one are $10, that one is $8.50. Sullivan is interesting, not just because I like his books or that he's extremely successful, but because he writes a lot about the business side of things.
There are a number of business models out there. You have to be careful to make apples to apples comparisons. You see different pricing strategies based on the genre as well. It's not just what you want to charge, it's also what people will pay. In general, if you see a pricing model that has been consistent over a period of time, it's pretty solid evidence that the pricing model works, otherwise they would change it.