How much would you pay?

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

But books are not "interchangeable units"; the fact that a book is free doesn't imply that it's good. Probably the opposite - if it was any good, the author wouldn't be giving it away free!

Books by people I've never heard of are interchangable units, and that's what this thread is about. They give them away for a few days to massage the "sales" figures and get onto random "also bought this" lists and hopefully attract buyers when it goes back to normal price.

It isn't just amateur writers who do it though, I picked up a Dougie Brimson ebook last week that I would have paid for if it wasn't free. Plus a few Blake Crouch ebooks that I already have in hardback that I probably wouldn't have bothered with but can now use to fix the typos in the hardbacks.

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by Synamon

On Thursday I downloaded a promising looking promotional freebie, clicked on and liked the author's Amazon bio, and on the strength of that bought his debut novel for $2.99. That's probably my limit for someone I've never heard of. I've bought second books in series or other books for a couple of bucks by authors who offer promotions, to reward them for the promotional freebie, since the freebie averages down the price of the books.

So how did that work out? Have you read it yet, was it any good? I'd be interested to hear how that went.

[Kumabjorn]

I don't care if the author is independently published, could care less if it is Random House or Smashwords. What I do care about is plot, character, story, cadence and on top of that spelling, grammer and formatting. All are equally important.
I have bought 20 indie books so far, I have begun to read 12 of those, I haven't finished one of them. They all come up short of what I'm willing to spend my time on, so even though I've only paid a total of $30 for those books, so far I feel I have completely wasted $18. I'm at the point where I'm very sceptical to books priced under $5. Seems you really get what you pay for. If an indie author writes and publishes a book that is equal in all parts to what a big publishing house produces I am fine with being charged $6 to $9 for that (over that and it is Big 6 overpricing) knowing that most of that money goes to support the authors future endeavors.
The problem today is finding that quality. My most important source of information are members here on MR whose views and values I respect (I probably don't share them, but I do respect them). If someone like that says; "Read XX's new YY novel" I will take their word for it and gladly part with some funds from my PayPal account.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Same here. I'd much rather spend $10 for a book that I know I'll enjoy than get a free book of unknown quality. Time is more valuable than money to me, I have a lifetime's worth of reading of books which I know that I will enjoy.

Exactly.

You'd have to pay me to read the unknown indie book.

[JoeD]

edit.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by Justin Nemo

That would infer that authors who don't charge, may get a download, but their book may not get read. That seems pretty pointless from an authors point of view.

It would imply that, perhaps, yes , but a download is part of the way to a read. I have read a few freebies this year. None of them have so far been by indies, but there are a couple (by MR members*) that I hope to get to soon.

*I think that's another way you can make me aware of your work. Post in here. Contribute. Be helpful.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

a dance of cloaks is awesome. its a little confusing at first as all the characters are introduced but its a great series. david dalglish is one of the indies that i'd pay top dollar for. if you like action packed sword&sorcery he's definitely an author to support.

Actually, I thought from the sample that it was kind of run-of-the-mill, but I decided I wanted to know what happened, and it was cheap.

I've also got a couple of freebies from two of his other series.

I think when I bought the David Dalglish, it didn't look like an indie. The covers are high enough quality that it just looked like a bargain.

[Pomtroll]

If the author is new to me, I'm willing to pay up to $3.99. If I like the author, up to $9. Of course if the book is a novella then an unknown author $.99 & a known up to $2.99.

[BeccaPrice]

for an unknown-to-me but with good recommendations from a source I trust (Courtney Milan, reviewed in Dear Author), I still got the first book of hers free, and then bought up all her backlist (mostly around $4.99) and I'll happily get her next book as soon as it's out.

for an unknown author without the recommendation, you won't even get my time. I've got plenty to read, and I don't have the time to determine whether you're worth my time, energy, or money. I did once try a $0.99 book that sounded interesting, but it was dull and boring, and I never finished it.

Non-fiction: $20 - $100.
Fiction: $1.

There are the rare cases when I am willing to pay more for fiction, but that is very rare. When it comes to fiction, I'm cheap because it is entertainment and entertainment is easily interchangeable. I will happily read a cheaper book from a competing author or even choose other forms of entertainment. It should also be noted that I'll pay those prices for print books. Fiction ebooks tend to be worth less in my mind since they are ready for the trash bin after being read once.

I will pay dearly for non-fiction though, since I actually get something from it. I am willing to pay $20 to pursue a personal interest at an amateur level and $100 for professional level books.

[Rick G]

For the most part I could care less about the status of the author. I've either heard of them or not. What I'm looking for is a story that's interesting. I'm looking for genre, title, cover, and blurb. Maybe reviews too. 99% of the time that either sells or doesn't sell me. If I'm in doubt I'll grab a sample first.

I like my eBooks under $5, and at the upper end of that price spectrum they'd better be novels not novellas or short stories. I've paid >$10 for eBooks by authors I know, but I've been doing that less and less. It's just a value thing. As much as I may like an author, I don't find ANY eBook to really hold up well at that price.

Generally speaking I've been fairly pleased by most of the books I've picked up at the $2.99 price point. Not saying that particular price = quality, just most of the books I've read at that price I've wound up enjoying.

[Blossom]

Unknown Indie author I've gotten burned by buying so I wouldn't buy it.
Indie author with a well known published author endorsement or blog site I trust. $0.99 to $1.99

Published Author Backlist title up to $3.99 depending on length of novel but more prone to buy at $2.99 and below due to formatting issues I usually have to fix myself.
Published Author Self published new title up to $5 depending on length and quality.

I will pay up to $8 for a professional published Book from an author that is mainstream.

The problem with Indie books is there usually is no editor, horrible formatting and overpriced. This is a tough market. If you want me to read your book you are going to have to impress me somehow. I have read indie books with endorsements that were overpriced. I once bought an indie book for $4 never again even with a author who I trusted endorsement. Too many errors in the book and needed an editor badly.

[odiakkoh]

I can't get myself to pay more than $0.99 for a random author at Smashwords. If I see something that looks interesting that's more than $0.99 I stick it on my wishlist and check back every so often hoping the author has a sale going on. Once I like the author though I'm willing to pay up to $5.

[ernesto50]

I'd say

- up to 15 USD for non-fiction book with reviews.
- up to 10 USD for a fiction book with reviews
- around 5 USD (but usually more like 2-3 USD) for a fiction book with no reviews (if the description captures my attention)
- around 5-7 USD for a non-fiction book if it's career or hobby-related.

Edit: I'd go with the upper limit if I know that the author gets the majority of the money

[Justin Nemo]

Originally Posted by ernesto50

Edit: I'd go with the upper limit if I know that the author gets the majority of the money

There's only one place I know at the moment where the author gets 100% of sales price.