How much would you pay?

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by RHWright

3) Except for promotions, steer clear of selling yourself short. My eye tends to glance over the $0.99 and less titles; experience has just shown me too many non-professionals at that end of the pool.

You may be interested to hear that I was slated in a post in the writers section for saying that .99c was a rediculous price to charge for a book you had sweated blood over. I was told that they have to compete with established authors. Sounds like a crock to me and you've just confirmed it.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Justin Nemo

You may be interested to hear that I was slated in a post in the writers section for saying that .99c was a rediculous price to charge for a book you had sweated blood over. I was told that they have to compete with established authors. Sounds like a crock to me and you've just confirmed it.

That sort of sounds like you are just looking for reinforcement of what you already believe.
If lots of people say that 99c pricing is a good idea, and one says it isn't, that confirms that the idea is a crock?

[Blossom]

I am more incline to buy a book at 99 cents because it's less of a risk. Alot of published authors who are self publishing their blacklist will mark the first of a series to 99 cents and the rest to 2.99-3.99. This is a good strategy IMO. Some will even give away the first in the series free and then you have to buy the rest.

[spindlegirl]

If a book is not available to me at the library to read first, any price is too much.

If I wanted to gamble, I'd play the lottery.

It may be different for people who never read a book twice, but I grow attached to favorites, and re-read them. Authors just have to trust that there are a bunch of people who, like me, after having courted and dated a book, will pay $$ to marry it.

[BearMountainBooks]

x=8, minus typos, stereotypical villains, carry the one for gremlins, plus two for brownies, subtract out formatting problems, times the number of times a word is overused, square root of a bad cover...*sticks tongue out, does rough calculation on the back of a napkin*...no wait! The author would be paying me...erases. Napkin tears. "Dang it!" Start over. Carry the one...plus two...minus 10, must have pi somewhere in here...okay, multiply by kindness and give an extra point for good use of animals and a decent storyline...divide by size/number of pages...

Got it!!!!

One Dollar and thirty one cents.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Justin Nemo

You may be interested to hear that I was slated in a post in the writers section for saying that .99c was a rediculous price to charge for a book you had sweated blood over. I was told that they have to compete with established authors. Sounds like a crock to me and you've just confirmed it.

Ummm, I purchased the entire Morcyth Saga (7 books) by new/indie author Brian Pratt because the first one was free and kept my interest, even though there were typographical errors.

I bought and will continue to buy the The Guild of the Cowry Catchers by newish/indie author Abigail Hilton becuase she gifted the first book to me, and I really like the series. I also bought her The Prophet of Panamindorah trilogy based solely on the strength of the Cowry Catchers series.

Introducing readers to your work for a low or no price just makes good business sense when you know people are usually weary of new/new-ish authors.

[BeccaPrice]

I'm pretty cheap, but come July (or thereabouts), I'll gladly pay Baen $15 for an eArc of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, by Lois Bujold. First, it's Bujold. Second, it's probably the last of the Vorkosigan books. And Last, it's Bujold.

but I can't think of another single author (even my beloved Nora Roberts) for whom I would pay such a price.

[gweeks]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

I'm pretty cheap, but come July (or thereabouts), I'll gladly pay Baen $15 for an eArc of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, by Lois Bujold. First, it's Bujold. Second, it's probably the last of the Vorkosigan books. And Last, it's Bujold.

but I can't think of another single author (even my beloved Nora Roberts) for whom I would pay such a price.

I agree, it is Bujold. I've been suckered into buying eArcs by the free crack on the bar before, but I try really hard not pay over $10 for fiction any more. Sometimes I'm weak. I don't really mind paying $7 or $8 for fiction, but it pretty much has to be something I'm sure I'll like. I'm willing to spend $1 or $2 to try something. I refuse to buy anything with DRM on it. It's bad enough on freebies.

Greg Weeks

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

That sort of sounds like you are just looking for reinforcement of what you already believe.
If lots of people say that 99c pricing is a good idea, and one says it isn't, that confirms that the idea is a crock?

Er.. no, not looking for any agreement with my opinions, but sort of pleased by what the majority have said.

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

x=8, minus typos, stereotypical villains, carry the one for gremlins, plus two for brownies, subtract out formatting problems, times the number of times a word is overused, square root of a bad cover...*sticks tongue out, does rough calculation on the back of a napkin*...no wait! The author would be paying me...erases. Napkin tears. "Dang it!" Start over. Carry the one...plus two...minus 10, must have pi somewhere in here...okay, multiply by kindness and give an extra point for good use of animals and a decent storyline...divide by size/number of pages...

Got it!!!!

One Dollar and thirty one cents.

I think you left out the square root of grammar.

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

Introducing readers to your work for a low or no price just makes good business sense when you know people are usually weary of new/new-ish authors.

But that's my point. If you weeded out the crap, readers would have more confidence in new authors.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Justin Nemo

Yes there is a lot of crap around, so maybe it's time for something new. How about next time you pay for a book and don't like it, you complain to wherever you bought it from. Don't expect to get your money back, but if enough people complain, maybe they'll take the book down. If you do this enough maybe the decent independent writers will get found.
?

Why should I read a book that is just decent when I can read a good book instead?

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by tompe

Why should I read a book that is just decent when I can read a good book instead?

For decent see good!

[RHWright]

While I see the promotional potential in pricing at $0.99 or free, I see it as just that: promotional. Sales and promotions, IMO, are more effective if they are periodic or for a limited time. Put book 1 on sale around the time the latest in a series comes out, for example.

But to have that be the regular price of a book seems to make a statement about its value. I think a price of, say, $3.99 makes a stronger statement about how the author/publisher sees the value of the work.

It says, to me, "Yes, we deserve to get paid for our work. We don't need to make ridiculous profits. But we want a reasonable shot at making a profit. We feel readers deserve a good product at a fair price."

I'm not saying <$1 means no quality; but it is a perceived slush pile in some quarters.
People can find good values there. And, theoretically, it would be possible to make a living there. But you would need to sell 10s of thousands of units. Which I have no idea if the average self-publisher is doing.

And no one makes a profit giving it away, unless they are otherwise monetizing it.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Justin Nemo

But that's my point. If you weeded out the crap, readers would have more confidence in new authors.

I'll say it again--the major publishing houses do exactly this: weed out the crap. That's why I buy from them, that's why I pay their prices.