|
OK, so I'm too late to this party but, what the heck!
I can't imagine the marketing contortions one goes through trying to equate charging paying customers to cover the costs of the free chapters to everyone else: at least, the sounds like the proposition to me.
One of the best things about Amazon's Kindle is that virtually every title has a sample that can be sent via 3G directly to the reader. So, browse around on the website bookstore and click here and there. If you try the sample, and enjoy it, a couple of clicks from the reader itself let's you carry on without interruption.
Should we place a price on that? Well, maybe in a broader sense of choosing Kindle or Kobo: but certainly not at the individual title level. Or relative to the size of the sample. If the author makes free samples that are 20%, does s/he add $2 to the cost of the book? If the free samples are 50% of the book, does s/he add $4 to the cost of the book?
My feeling is that if an author can't grab my attention with story line or style or characterization in a chapter or two, I am grateful not having bought the thing. Surely every author (and publisher) is willing to stand behind their work at least that far. It's the equivalent of a deep browse at the local bookshop -- and last time I checked there's no "added value fee" attached to those books tied to the privilege.
As for pricing the work of indie authors: I see no reason to detour from the path of established authors. New works command higher prices than back-list; and e-books for $4.99 or $7.99 potentially sell more volume than e-books at $12.99 or $15.99. You command the highest prices by being in demand which is driven being known and talked about. If a new author creates barriers to being read, that buzz is unlikely to appear.
|