Q: When Is $9.99 the Perfect Price for an E-Book?

[Paul Levine]

A: When It’s Yours.

Wait. Don’t hit me with brickbats or rotten tomatoes. I have a story to tell.

"LASSITER," my newest novel from Random House is just out. It’s $25 in hardcover ($15.51 on Amazon; $15.35 on B&N).

It’s the eighth in the Jake Lassiter series of legal thrillers that achieved some notoriety in the 1990's when they were published in 21 countries and made into an NBC television movie.

So what’s a fair price for the e-book edition? Random House thought $12.99 should do it, and if you pre-ordered in the Spring, that’s what Kindle and Nookbooks were charging. I argued that the Lassiter backlist, which I control, was priced at $2.99 for most books, including “Flesh & Bones,” to $4.99 for “To Speak for the Dead,” the bestseller of the group.

It’s a balancing act, company reps explained. Publishers have an interest in keeping brick and mortar stores alive. (I know; I know; they’re not doing a very good job). Low priced e-books are the last thing those stores need.

We compromised. Random House dropped the e-book edition to $9.99. Would I have preferred $6.99? Yes! But $9.99 is a 60% discount from the sticker price and 40% off the discounted hardcover. So, I’ll take it. And I hope you will, too!

Questions:

1. What’s a fair price for the e-book edition of a new hardcover?

2. Would you pay more for the digital edition of a new book, as opposed to a backlist title?

3. What’s the breaking point, the dollar amount you’d never go above in buying an e-book?

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR LASSITER

“Engaging…a standout job. ” – Publishers Weekly

“LASSITER is the courtroom drama of the year.” – Harlan Coben

“He’s the lawyer we all want on our side – and on the page.” – Lee Child

“Highly competent work by Levine with the usual cascade of surprises at the end.”--Kirkus

“Jake Lassiter is one of my favorite characters of all time.”—Lisa Scottoline

[Paul Levine]

interim Report on Sales viz a vis price:

Four days into publication, price does not seem to have been object in sales.

LASSITER ($9.99) has bounced betwen 1,100 and 2,800 on Kindle and, had it been in the "legal category" family, wouldn have been in the top ten for much of that time. It's also the number one or two best seller of my Jake Lassiter series, swapping places with the debut novel, TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD ($4.99).

Some good things have happened, too. The Palm Beach Post named LASSITER a "Top Fall Pick" in fiction. The venerable Harriet Klausner gave the book 5 stars in Mystery Gazette, and the Miami Herald endorsed the book with an outright rave.

So what is the sweet spot in pricing for a NEW digital book that accompanies a Big Six published hardcover? I'm not sure there's one answer. And maybe it doesn't matter. The publisher will set the price -- here $9.99 -- and we live with it, for better or worse.

Your thoughts?

Paul Levine

[miguel1626]

I think that $9.99 is very reasonable for a currently hardcover book.

Too bad a lot of publishers think that $12.99 or $14.99(!) is the right price. They lose a customer (but I do realize that it can make sense economically - it all depends on how much the demand curve shifts to the left).

On some books, the ebook pricing is truly atrocious... The hardcover is $16.43 and they're charging $14.79 for the ebook?

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by Paul Levine

interim Report on Sales viz a vis price:

Four days into publication, price does not seem to have been object in sales.

LASSITER ($9.99) has bounced betwen 1,100 and 2,800 on Kindle and, had it been in the "legal category" family, wouldn have been in the top ten for much of that time. It's also the number one or two best seller of my Jake Lassiter series, swapping places with the debut novel, TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD ($4.99).

Some good things have happened, too. The Palm Beach Post named LASSITER a "Top Fall Pick" in fiction. The venerable Harriet Klausner gave the book 5 stars in Mystery Gazette, and the Miami Herald endorsed the book with an outright rave.

So what is the sweet spot in pricing for a NEW digital book that accompanies a Big Six published hardcover? I'm not sure there's one answer. And maybe it doesn't matter. The publisher will set the price -- here $9.99 -- and we live with it, for better or worse.

Your thoughts?

Paul Levine

Nobody knows!

Inasmuch as every book has it's own audienence, which can change with time and advertizing, there is no hard and fast rule.

All that can be said is that the higher the price, the less likely you are to get first-time buyers. You'll also triage your poorer readers. On the other hand, you'll make more per book.

That's the problem with all monopoly pricing, finding the profit maximizing price...