MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - How do you choose which self-published works to read?

neilmarr · 11-01-2009, 04:55 AM

***Can I ask a question of you Neil? As a publisher, how can you offer books so inexpensively?***

Hi, Michael. We started to offer digital versions of our paperbacks when we launched in 2002. At the time, ebook reading was so rare -- and mostly on PC or laptop screens -- that we looked upon them as promotional tools. Invariably, a reader would get tired of reading at the desk, unable to take his PC to bed, and come back for the paperback. Low prices and freebies made sense.

Also, those low prices apply only to our own store, other retailers charge much more for our ebooks; so our prices might encourage people to opt for the BeWrite Books shop for ebooks and paperbacks. We don't charge ourselves sales commission, of course, so all royalties (author/editor/artist/designer) remain at optimum when books are bought direct from us.

We only offer PDF so far, but we plan to convert all titles to other formats next year. We might well have to hire in extra tech help for this, so there might be an increase in ebook cover price at our store ... but we're determined that any hike will be a small one.

What profit we make so far comes from paperback sales. All the expensive editorial, design, technical and promotional work goes into those treebooks. The ebook is almost a by-product. So, until ebook sales look set to heavily impact treebook sales, we see no excuse for high prices. Right from the start, we've wanted to promote the idea of ereading rather than cash in on it: which is why anyone here can email me for freebies.

Cheers. Neil

11-01-2009, 04:55 AM	#30
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,215 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	*Can I ask a question of you Neil? As a publisher, how can you offer books so inexpensively?* Hi, Michael. We started to offer digital versions of our paperbacks when we launched in 2002. At the time, ebook reading was so rare -- and mostly on PC or laptop screens -- that we looked upon them as promotional tools. Invariably, a reader would get tired of reading at the desk, unable to take his PC to bed, and come back for the paperback. Low prices and freebies made sense. Also, those low prices apply only to our own store, other retailers charge much more for our ebooks; so our prices might encourage people to opt for the BeWrite Books shop for ebooks and paperbacks. We don't charge ourselves sales commission, of course, so all royalties (author/editor/artist/designer) remain at optimum when books are bought direct from us. We only offer PDF so far, but we plan to convert all titles to other formats next year. We might well have to hire in extra tech help for this, so there might be an increase in ebook cover price at our store ... but we're determined that any hike will be a small one. What profit we make so far comes from paperback sales. All the expensive editorial, design, technical and promotional work goes into those treebooks. The ebook is almost a by-product. So, until ebook sales look set to heavily impact treebook sales, we see no excuse for high prices. Right from the start, we've wanted to promote the idea of ereading rather than cash in on it: which is why anyone here can email me for freebies. Cheers. Neil Last edited by neilmarr; 11-01-2009 at 04:57 AM.