# What's the most you think is fair for an unknown novel?



## jhanel (Dec 22, 2010)

So, you've got your kindle. You're flipping through the myriad of options now at your fingertips. There are so many new authors being paraded in front of you that you've never seen until now...

If you knew nothing about the author, and the reviews/cover/description piqued your interest (knowing that the book is at least novel length of 40,000 words, and not some pamphlet-sized piece)... what would you realistically be willing to pay for it?

I'm a notorious cheap-skate (just ask my wife!) so I don't think I am a fair candidate to ask, so I'm posing the question to all of you.


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## Iwritelotsofbooks (Nov 17, 2010)

Most of the successful indie authors are going with $.99-$2.99.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

lacymarankevinmichael said:


> Most of the successful indie authors are going with $.99-$2.99.


I'm fine with $2.99 for an unknown novel. I'll be a bit miffed if it's short, though. Under 50K words should be under $2.


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## Guest (Dec 23, 2010)

Basilius said:


> I'm fine with $2.99 for an unknown novel. I'll be a bit miffed if it's short, though. Under 50K words should be under $2.


I agree with this too. I find length of the novel makes me more hesitant to pay more than any other factor.

There are so many great books out there to discover!


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## Learnmegood (Jun 20, 2009)

I do find it a bit disconcerting when I see an ebook priced at $9.99 or $12.99...


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

Paid $8.99 last week for a book by an author I've never heard of. Turned out to be one of the best books I read all year. For me it has nothing to do with how "known" an author or a novel is, but how well it is written. If it's crap writing, I'm going to feel cheated at $0.99, but if it's well written and I enjoy it, I'll be happy with having paid a great deal more, even for a novella.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

jhanel said:


> So, you've got your kindle. You're flipping through the myriad of options now at your fingertips. There are so many new authors being paraded in front of you that you've never seen until now...
> 
> If you knew nothing about the author, and the reviews/cover/description piqued your interest (knowing that the book is at least novel length of 40,000 words, and not some pamphlet-sized piece)... what would you realistically be willing to pay for it?
> 
> I'm a notorious cheap-skate (just ask my wife!) so I don't think I am a fair candidate to ask, so I'm posing the question to all of you.


40k is a long novella and a VERY short novel unless it's YA. Standards vary, but 65k is usually where you'll see most "novels" listed. Some go as low as 50k.

Anyway, I think these surveys have yielded the answer in the past of "Under 5 bucks" but the last time one was done, I think it came in at about 3.


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## terrireid (Aug 19, 2010)

I agree that between 99 cents and $2.99 is where most beginning e-book authors price their book.  And I agree that under 40 - 50K ought to go for a lesser amount.  Although, you have to understand that Amazon sets their percentages so authors who sell for under $2.99 get a substantially smaller percentage than authors at $2.99 or above.


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

I agree with StacyHH.  It's not about how long or short or known or unknown a book is.  It's about how well-written it is and how much I enjoy it.  Positive reviews from readers on Amazon or the Kindle boards is good enough for me.  Of course, if it's a writer I haven't tried before, a low price is often just the enticement I need to push the "purchase" button.  I think selling your first book for .99 is a brilliant idea.


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## Anne Bradshaw (Jul 22, 2010)

There are lots of excellent Kindle books for free, and I always check them out first, then I go up to $2.99 for a book that sounds really interesting. I've not yet paid more than that, although am not saying I _never_ would. Highly improbable though.


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## sal (Aug 4, 2009)

Well, as an author, I've got to say "ouch!"

While I probably will sell my current novel at $2.99 [if I don't release it traditionally],
and I am selling a collection now at .99; just thinking of the amount of time I spent
writing the novel (95,000 words or so) makes me not want to sell it for SO much less
than other authors do.

It's not poorly written or worth less because I'm not well known.

I understand people think novels should be cheap, but less than the price of a MOCHA?
Yikes.

I have paid up to $9.99 for a Kindle novel. And I'm ok with that. Someone worked very hard
to write it.

It's pretty easy to tell from a free sample if a novel is REALLY badly written. 
(Not as easy to tell if you will hate it for other reasons)

Sal


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Learnmegood said:


> I do find it a bit disconcerting when I see an ebook priced at $9.99 or $12.99...


I stopped buying those overpriced books more than a year ago. With all the marvelous indie ebooks for $2.99 or less, I don't miss them a bit.

JimC


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## patrickt (Aug 28, 2010)

There is no fair sale price. It's a matter of what people are willing to pay.

What is over-priced for some cheapskate might be a bargain for someone else.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

sal said:


> Well, as an author, I've got to say "ouch!"
> 
> While I probably will sell my current novel at $2.99 [if I don't release it traditionally],
> and I am selling a collection now at .99; just thinking of the amount of time I spent
> ...


We all worked hard on our novels, but the bottom line is that there is a whole HOST of readers who are reading more because prices are lower. There are readers who used to be only library goers and used book store junkies--who are now willing to spend $2.99 on new novels. There are tons of readers scouring the bargain bins of the internet, searching for gems that cost 99 cents. These prices have taken what had become an expensive habit and made it...affordable. We can buy books on a whim. We can sample, read new genres, buy for the sheer fun of adding to our collections.

I know this. I am one of them...


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## Will Write for Gruel (Oct 16, 2010)

Pricing is neutral. It's not a value judgement. Price your book at the point that maximizes the revenue you will make. Easy to say, hard to figure out that price, though. 

There are some indie writers going above the $2.99 price. Zoe Winters is selling her novel at $3.99 and it's doing well. R.L. Sullivan is pricing his fantasy books at $4.99 and they are selling very well. The hard part is getting people to pay attention to you. If you can figure out how to do that, I don't think $3.99 vs. $2.99 is a deal-breaker, though there are people who will exhaust the cheaper priced books first.


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## farrellclaire (Mar 5, 2010)

MariaESchneider said:


> We all worked hard on our novels, but the bottom line is that there is a whole HOST of readers who are reading more because prices are lower. There are readers who used to be only library goers and used book store junkies--who are now willing to spend $2.99 on new novels. There are tons of readers scouring the bargain bins of the internet, searching for gems that cost 99 cents. These prices have taken what had become an expensive habit and made it...affordable. We can buy books on a whim. We can sample, read new genres, buy for the sheer fun of adding to our collections.
> 
> I know this. I am one of them...


Completely agree with this.


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## sal (Aug 4, 2009)

MariaESchneider said:


> We all worked hard on our novels, but the bottom line is that there is a whole HOST of readers who are reading more because prices are lower. There are readers who used to be only library goers and used book store junkies--who are now willing to spend $2.99 on new novels. There are tons of readers scouring the bargain bins of the internet, searching for gems that cost 99 cents. These prices have taken what had become an expensive habit and made it...affordable. We can buy books on a whim. We can sample, read new genres, buy for the sheer fun of adding to our collections.
> 
> I know this. I am one of them...


Good words. I agree with what you say. 
(I am currently selling a collection for 99 cents myself)

But I just want people to think for a moment how much they "value" what they are reading.

Great books are worth more than $3. [I think]
I understand the economy and value. But if you are enjoying a book for hours and hours, return some of that value to the author.

It probably took that author a minimum of 3 months to write it.

If you can only afford 99 cents, by all means buy 99 cent books.

But--speaking for myself--if I can afford $8 to see a movie for 2 hours, I can afford more than $2.99 for a novel that I will enjoy for days.

To answer the original question, I think the value of an "unknown novel" depends entirely on how good it is.
If it's crap, then $2.99 is too much. If it's incredible than it's worth more. It's a gamble I suppose, but you can return it if you think it 
was a waste of money.

Sal


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## robins777 (Aug 10, 2010)

I would never pay more than £2 ($3) for an ebook of any description especially when I can buy almost any of the latest released books in paperback format for £4 or under in the UK. I have purchased 20 or so ebook from Indie authors in the last few months and most have been priced at under £1.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Part of the equation is an evaluation of how likely you are to get what you expect. For example, if it's a book by an author I have read and know to write well and whose stories I enjoy, I'm much more likely to be willing to spend a bit more. Less risk that I won't like the book. If it's an author I've never read before, I'm not going to want to pay as much, though if it has good reviews and is in a genre I generally enjoy, I may pick it up for a mid range price. If it's a genre I don't generally read -- so am very unsure about whether I'll like it -- I'm going to be unwilling to fork over much money at all.

This is where the 'sales' some of the indies run are good. For example, I heard lots of good things about David MacAfee's _33 A.D._ . . .but it's billed as a vampire novel. Totally not my thing. So I wasn't going to go for it for the $2.99 at which it was priced. Then he put it on sale for 99¢ for a week or so. So, having a positive opinion of the guy from his posts here, I thought, "for 99¢ I can give it a try." And I found out I really liked it! Now, none of his other titles appeal to me particularly, but I can unreservedly recommend him to anyone who likes horror -- he's a good writer -- and if he does a sequel I'll be willing to buy it at the more usual (for indies) $2.99 price.

Of course, the above is my opinion only.


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## GreenThumb (Mar 29, 2009)

> What's the most you think is fair for an unknown novel?


I will give many things a try for $.99. If the reviews are really good, and it's a genre I especially enjoy, I might pay $2.99, but I'd definitely buy it at $.99. I recently tried Idenglish's (Linda Welch) "Along Came a Demon" for $.99. Loved it and bought the sequel immediately for $2.99. I don't care what she prices the next book at, I'm buying it as soon as it's released.

But the $.99 price tag got me to try her books out.


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## terrireid (Aug 19, 2010)

GreenThumb said:


> I will give many things a try for $.99. If the reviews are really good, and it's a genre I especially enjoy, I might pay $2.99, but I'd definitely buy it at $.99. I recently tried Idenglish's (Linda Welch) "Along Came a Demon" for $.99. Loved it and bought the sequel immediately for $2.99. I don't care what she prices the next book at, I'm buying it as soon as it's released.
> 
> But the $.99 price tag got me to try her books out.


GreenThumb - I've heard that's what many people are doing and it makes sense. Currently, my books are at $2.99 - when I release my third book in the series - I'm going to drop the price of my first one, just to encourage readers like you to try my work.


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## sal (Aug 4, 2009)

Thanks everyone! 
It's really great to hear everyone's opinion on this!

I have learned so many great things here.
(like what people are willing to pay, and that WAY more people want novels than short stories)

Y'all are great! Merry X-mas.  

Sal


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

If I read the sample and I like it, I'd rather spend more on an unknown author/novel... I don't think Stephen King needs much more of my cash really; some poor struggling first-timer probably does.

Good stories (whatever length & format) are one of life's pleasures and worth paying for. Even allowing for the fact there are some stinkers out there, the fact that some people are seemingly prepated to pay less than they would for a M'donalds meal is pretty depressing.

cheers
James
p.s. hello


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## katy32 (Dec 20, 2010)

I am willing to pay up to $4.99, though to be honest, I usually shop the free listings.  

I find that if I start a series from the free list, I tend to pay more to finish it.  I get hooked, and then I don't mind spending extra on it.  Of course I do compare what the paperback costs vs the ebook.  Sometimes the paperback is cheaper, in that case I usually just go check it out from the library.


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## pierceminor (Dec 25, 2010)

I would have to agree with Sal. Although, as an author, I've been struggling with this same question lately. I definitely want my work to be as accessible as possible to readers, but why should we discount our good work. A lot of passion and editing was put in. Not to mention some projects are good AND long. My newest novel is currently 110k words.

Pierce



sal said:


> Well, as an author, I've got to say "ouch!"
> 
> While I probably will sell my current novel at $2.99 [if I don't release it traditionally],
> and I am selling a collection now at .99; just thinking of the amount of time I spent
> ...


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## Lambert (Nov 12, 2010)

Usually 2.99 but if it really resonated with me and sounded genuinely interesting, I think up to 9.99 in some rare circumstances.

$5 would still be a bargain for a great book.  I can't believe how cheap these Kindle books are. It's amazing!  At least there's some good deals in our times.

Lambert


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## Jim Thomsen (Jul 25, 2010)

I'm getting set to independently publish my first novel, both on Kindle and in a limited print run. On Kindle, I'll price it at 99 cents. 

My reasoning boils down to:

1. Like it or not, it's what the market will bear. 

2. It's better to sell more units for a lower price than to sell fewer units for a higher price. One, ultimately, you'll make more money. And two, you'll ABSOLUTELY have more readers. And more readers means more sales down the road ... assuming your stuff is any good. But most of all, it means more readers ... and that's ultimately what we want, right? Love over money, right?

Think long. When you build an audience and create a bit of a buzz, you can probably hop up to $2.99, get in the Amazon 70% royalty program, and most of the people who liked you at 99 cents will probably make the leap with you.


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## Luke King (Nov 4, 2010)

I've paid up to $8.99 or $9.99 if the reviews and so on look interesting. I'd be more likely to go for the five or six dollar range. A lower price doesn't necessarily get me in. It says to me, this book is cheap for a reason (though in my own case, and most others, it is because I want to sell more).

Something 40k should definitely be priced under $2.99 though. 50k is a novel - just.


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## Saffina Desforges (Dec 8, 2010)

This is an interesting thread. I personally think that with there being so little cost (other than the author's time and hard work) involved in getting it published onto Amazon, that it is unfair to the reader for them to pay 'average' price.
As an author, obviously, you want to earn from your book and I think that anywhere between 0.99c and 2.99 is fair for a new writer, but when Steig Larsson is selling for under £3.00, how can new/unheard of writers expect to sell for more than that?

As a reader, I will pay for a book by a known author that I would have bought the hardback for, but I still expect it to be cheaper than the book.


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## sal (Aug 4, 2009)

Saffina said:


> This is an interesting thread. I personally think that with there being so little cost (other than the author's time and hard work) involved in getting it published onto Amazon, that it is unfair to the reader for them to pay 'average' price.
> As an author, obviously, you want to earn from your book and I think that anywhere between 0.99c and 2.99 is fair for a new writer, but when Steig Larsson is selling for under £3.00, how can new/unheard of writers expect to sell for more than that?
> 
> As a reader, I will pay for a book by a known author that I would have bought the hardback for, but I still expect it to be cheaper than the book.


Well, Steig Larsson is dead, so yeah I think I need the money more than he does....  

Another way to look at it is: if I publish my novel traditionally, what will it sell for? [way more than $2.99.]
So what is my incentive to publish it for 99 cents as an eBook?
(yeah I know: don't have to deal with a publisher, get to keep a higher percent of the profit,....)

Readers seem to think that since there is no physical book the cost should be 80% less. 
But there's a lot more to it than that. I will probably pay a Copy Editor to go over the manuscript (which a traditional
publisher would do for me). And I will have to pay for my own promotion (which a traditional publisher would help with).

(I know that most authors publishing eBooks *probably don't* pay for Copy Editing)

But, as a reader, I do see the need to keep the costs low [for the reader] as well.

Sal


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

There are so many books available.  Some great, some poor, and either one of those could be expensive or cheap.

"What's fair" is subjective because it's what you're willing to pay.  Is it the idea of the book, the reviews, the cover, that strike you?  What we're willing to pay depends on how hard those things hit us.

Speaking from the other side of that coin - authors want readers more than money.  Authors write books to be read, because in one way or another, we feel like we have something useful to say.  We feel fulfilled when it's heard, and unfulfilled when it's not.  So the question for me is, how low am I willing to sell my work to get more people to try it?  And the answer is, "whats the lowest number allowed?"


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

I'm good with anywhere from free to $2.99 when I'm first trying out an Indie author. Once I have found such an author and have become a fan, I might pay more than $2.99. I'd never go more than $9.99, and can't really imagine spending that much at this point on an Indie author. (I don't spend more than that on established authors who have been favorites of mine for years, if that puts my comment in perspective.)


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## sal (Aug 4, 2009)

Cindy416 said:


> I'm good with anywhere from free to $2.99 when I'm first trying out an Indie author. Once I have found such an author and have become a fan, I might pay more than $2.99. I'd never go more than $9.99, and can't really imagine spending that much at this point on an Indie author. (I don't spend more than that on established authors who have been favorites of mine for years, if that puts my comment in perspective.)


I totally agree with this. 
(I gave away over 1600 copies and now I charge 99 cents for my collection)

Sal


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

sal said:


> I totally agree with this.
> (I gave away over 1600 copies and now I charge 99 cents for my collection)
> 
> Sal


Good for you, Sal! Now that you've hooked a lot of readers, they will be more than happy to pay you for your efforts.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

What is a fair price, and what will get you a lot of sales are two different things.  

I priced my book at $1.99 at first, following Konrath's thinking back in April.  That worked well for me.  Then in July I raised my price to $2.99, following Konrath's thinking again.  Sales didn't hold out over time.  I then lowered my price to $.99 following the example of several other indie authors who were kicking butt with sales, getting recognition, getting foreign deals and literary agents.

I'm very happy with how it's turned out.  Am I getting paid what I think is "fair" for the four years I worked on my book?  Right now I would have to say yes, most definitely.

Vicki


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## jhanel (Dec 22, 2010)

(* whispers *) and Vicki's is an awesome book.

Like Vicki said... it's all in your goals. If you want to squeeze as much profit from one book as possible, then yes. Charge more. If your goal is to use that book to garner other things (recognition, and the attention of agents, for example), then what ever works. If $0.99 works for your ebooks, then go for it. If not, then change the price back. =)


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

jhanel said:


> If you knew nothing about the author, and the reviews/cover/description piqued your interest (knowing that the book is at least novel length of 40,000 words, and not some pamphlet-sized piece)... what would you realistically be willing to pay for it?


First, I do judge on a cover. If the cover isn't worht looking at, I'm not gonna bother clicking through. After clicking to the Amazon site, the Blurb is all important.. it had better sell me. Then I look at how many reviews the book has, and where they fall. Two or three 1-star customer reviews mean more to me than "professional reveiws" left in the blurb. I passed on 2 books today for just this reason.

as for Price, I do look at length, and I think $5.99 is the most I have paid for an unknown indie authors book. Now, there have been a couple I got at $.99 that I wish I could have gone back and paid more for, so what I have done is looked to see if those authors have more than 1 book out, and I often will purchase ALL other books by that author and then talk up those books to people I meet when out with my kindle and getting asked Questions.

33AD was the first one that I wished I could have paid more for, but it has not been the last.

I don't sample. I don't.. I download samples when I find a book I want to get but am out of Amazon GC funding at the time. I have only returned 2 books ever, and both of those were for extremely poor fomatting. One was an indie book, and one was a trad pub book. Both of which I repurchased after the formatting was fixed.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

BTackitt said:


> First, I do judge on a cover. If the cover isn't worht looking at, I'm not gonna bother clicking through. After clicking to the Amazon site, the Blurb is all important.. it had better sell me. Then I look at how many reviews the book has, and where they fall. Two or three 1-star customer reviews mean more to me than "professional reveiws" left in the blurb. I passed on 2 books today for just this reason.
> 
> as for Price, I do look at length, and I think $5.99 is the most I have paid for an unknown indie authors book. Now, there have been a couple I got at $.99 that I wish I could have gone back and paid more for, so what I have done is looked to see if those authors have more than 1 book out, and I often will purchase ALL other books by that author and then talk up those books to people I meet when out with my kindle and getting asked Questions.
> 
> 33AD was the first one that I wished I could have paid more for, but it has not been the last.


I felt the same way about 33 AD. I am now a lifelong David McAfee fan, though, so he will get his share of money out of me in the long run.


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## Saffina Desforges (Dec 8, 2010)

sal said:


> Well, Steig Larsson is dead, so yeah I think I need the money more than he does....
> 
> Another way to look at it is: if I publish my novel traditionally, what will it sell for? [way more than $2.99.]
> So what is my incentive to publish it for 99 cents as an eBook?
> ...


HAHA, I like your thinking!


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

If you read the Thread here in Writer's Corner titled "David Dalglish Made Me Do it" you will see that Amanda Hocking sold 99,000 booksIN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER! Yes, she has multiple books out, but she only published the first one back in April or May I think.. so in like 7 or 8 months she has gone from Zero to 99,000. They are all published at $0.99 as far as I know.. (I admit I don't own all of them.)


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## rsullivan9597 (Nov 18, 2009)

My favorite "sweet spot" is $4.95 - $6.95. I "think twice" about a $9.99 and I don't think I've ever done more than $9.99 on principal alone. It seems to me that if a trade paperback is $12.95 then $5 - $6 seems good for one sans paper.

I know all about the $0.99 and $2.99 and I know all my indie friends are going to hate me for saying this -- but it's really how I feel.  I'm turned off by that price.  Only price that's worse is $1.99 which is in some 'wierd' middle area.  I know people are making REALLY good money selling alot of books for $0.99 but as a "reader" (not writer's advocate) I think a writer's efforts are worth more than a candy bar.


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## terrireid (Aug 19, 2010)

rsullivan9597 said:


> My favorite "sweet spot" is $4.95 - $6.95. I "think twice" about a $9.99 and I don't think I've ever done more than $9.99 on principal alone. It seems to me that if a trade paperback is $12.95 then $5 - $6 seems good for one sans paper.
> 
> I know all about the $0.99 and $2.99 and I know all my indie friends are going to hate me for saying this -- but it's really how I feel. I'm turned off by that price. Only price that's worse is $1.99 which is in some 'wierd' middle area. I know people are making REALLY good money selling alot of books for $0.99 but as a "reader" (not writer's advocate) I think a writer's efforts are worth more than a candy bar.


I agree that an author's efforts are worth more than a candy bar  - and when I chose $2.99 it was because I wanted to encourage readers to try a new writer. Also, it may surprise some to note that if I had decided to go the "traditional route" with my books and publish in print - I wouldn't be earning much more per book than I do at the $2.99 e-book price.


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