# Thoughts on eBook pricing



## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Out of curiosity - what are your thoughts on eBook pricing?  

* What's fair?  
* What's the average cost of books you buy?
* Do you think indie books and books published by traditional publishers should be priced the same, or differently?
* Do you care about book length / feel it should be figured into the cost?
* Any other thoughts


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

1) I think $9.99 is okay for new releases that are only available in hardback.  Once a book is available in paperback, I think $5.99 - $6.99 is fair.
2) Lately - $.99 or $2.99.  I've been reading a lot of indies lately 
3) I think priced differently.  Not so much that there's a stigma with indies, but because it helps level the playing field.  At $6.50 a title (average) I can't afford to follow more authors.  Just can't.  At $2.99, though - I can swing that.  I've pretty much gotten to where I don't try new authors unless they're indie.  If indies raise their prices closer to traditional publishing prices - well, it'll go back to not trying new authors.
4) Within reason, I don't care.  I'd be a bit miffed to pay $3 for a single short story, but for an anthology or a novella it wouldn't be too big a deal.


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## miss_fletcher (Oct 25, 2010)

I feel that in the interests of getting younger/more readers involved, eBook prices should remain as low as possible. If you do an eBook only release, sure you can push the price higher, but I feel if someone has already gone and spent X hundreds on an eReader, to then have to fork out MORE than a traditional book is a bit of a kick in the teeth.

I think no more than £5 ($ for a seriously hyped up book, and £10 ($15) for an eBook only release, or if book is out in hardback.

Established Indie writers, with a loyal following, I'd say same amounts (as I expect the  quality of Indie book to rival that of traditionally published).


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Arkali said:


> Out of curiosity - what are your thoughts on eBook pricing?


I don't analyze it that much. Before Kindle, I used to spend $80-100 a month on books. I now spend less than that (probably $70-80 a month). The decision on what book to buy and how much to pay is entirely situation-dependent. I think anybody that arbitrarily decides to not spend more than $9.99 on a book is forcing themselves into a strait-jacket.

Most of the ebooks I buy are less than $9.99, but I'm currently thinking about buying a Robert Heinlein biography that is $14.99. the hard cover version is $19.97 (from Amazon). The only question for me is how well the ebook is formatted.

The only thing that matters is- Am I getting adequate value for money spent? Not whether it's more or less than some number I've arbitrarily set.

Mike


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## monkeyluis (Oct 17, 2010)

Arkali said:


> 1) I think $9.99 is okay for new releases that are only available in hardback. Once a book is available in paperback, I think $5.99 - $6.99 is fair.
> 2) Lately - $.99 or $2.99. I've been reading a lot of indies lately
> 3) I think priced differently. Not so much that there's a stigma with indies, but because it helps level the playing field. At $6.50 a title (average) I can't afford to follow more authors. Just can't. At $2.99, though - I can swing that. I've pretty much gotten to where I don't try new authors unless they're indie. If indies raise their prices closer to traditional publishing prices - well, it'll go back to not trying new authors.
> 4) Within reason, I don't care. I'd be a bit miffed to pay $3 for a single short story, but for an anthology or a novella it wouldn't be too big a deal.


What you said. I agree with it all. I've been reading a lot of indies lately as well.


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

jmiked said:


> I don't analyze it that much.
> 
> The only thing that matters is- Am I getting adequate value for money spent, and not a number picked out of the air?
> 
> Mike


This describes how I feel.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Arkali said:


> Out of curiosity - what are your thoughts on eBook pricing?
> 
> * What's fair?


I'm not as much concerned with the exact price as I am with it not being higher than the cheapest (new) paper version. I'm paying for the content and if the author/publisher thinks the content is worth more than average, so be it. Of course, it might mean I have higher expectations but if it lives up to that, great!



> * What's the average cost of books you buy?


I don't know, I don't really keep track. Most are probably $7.99 to $9.99 but I've bought some indie $2.99 ebooks and I've also bought some $14.99 ebooks. I am considering buying one for $50 which is fine because the paper version is even more expensive (it's an academic textbook I want for my family heritage research).



> * Do you think indie books and books published by traditional publishers should be priced the same, or differently?


If an indie author is as good as a mainstream author, I think they should be priced the same. Of course quality can be objective and some mainstream authors are so bad I don't know how they ever got published. But I firmly believe in pricing your work at what you think it's worth. And no, I'm not an author.



> * Do you care about book length / feel it should be figured into the cost?


I don't mind a longer book costing more but I don't expect it. I expect books which required a lot of research to be more expensive though. Again, this all factors into what an author or publisher thinks the work is worth.



> * Any other thoughts


Like I say, I don't really put a cap on the cost of an individual ebook - I figure it all evens out. Even if I buy that $50 book, considering how many great FREE ebooks I've gotten (that I would not have been able to get for free in paper format), they probably more than make up for the cost of more expensive books.


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

I should add that I actually DO know the average cost of books in my Kindle library.  Not because I care but because I LOVE spreadsheets!  My average cost as of today is $6.26.  My most expensive book is "The Study Series" for $18.43 and it was worth every penny.


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## southerntype (Aug 17, 2010)

I think many of them are grossly overpriced.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Well, part of it goes back to how much I read.  I read about 15 books per month.  Before my Kindle and discovering indie books, I'd buy about 7 books a month.  Most would be paperbacks, with maybe one hardback thrown in.  I'd make up the difference through borrowing books and re-reading.  With indie-authors I can read as much and stay on budget.  While I might pay $10 for an occasional favorite author - it's not the norm.  I'm actually holding off on a few books right now because I'm waiting on the price to fall.  Sure, it's only $2 or $4, but it adds up if you read a lot.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

I imagine there will be a range of prices just like we see today. New indie authors will get $3, journeymen with a following will get $5, and Stephen King will get $9 from millions. Authors will climb up that price curve as they gain popularity.
    And those paperback prices? I have to confess. If I wanted a Stephen King book, and was confronted with a $8 paperback and a $9 Kindle eBook, I'd grumble a bit and buy the $9 eBook because it's just so much better than a paperback. I know the Ebook costs far less to produce and distribute, but the eBook is a superior product and I guess I'd pay for that.


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

I don't base it on what I'm willing to pay, but what I think is fair.

I think it's fair that the author, publisher, etc. make a profit similar to what they make on DTB's.

Therefore, I think it's totally unfair that an ebook costs more than a DTB.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Terrence OBrien said:


> I imagine there will be a range of prices just like we see today. New indie authors will get $3, journeymen with a following will get $5, and Stephen King will get $9 from millions. Authors will climb up that price curve as they gain popularity.
> And those paperback prices? I have to confess. If I wanted a Stephen King book, and was confronted with a $8 paperback and a $9 Kindle eBook, I'd grumble a bit and buy the $9 eBook because it's just so much better than a paperback. I know the Ebook costs far less to produce and distribute, but the eBook is a superior product and I guess I'd pay for that.


I haven't bought a single paper book since I got my Kindle. Don't plan to, either. Getting rid of book clutter is how I managed to get my hubby on board with me getting a Kindle  In the example you pointed out - $8 paper vs. $9 eBook - let's just have to say I'd have to want that book really badly, otherwise I'm taking a pass.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

I try not to think about it too much. I have paid *gasp* $12.99 for a few books but, it was worth it to me and they were still cheaper than buying the hardback, which is what I would have done before I got my Kindle.

Mostly though I usually buy books in the $5.99-7.99 range. I do have quite a few in the $9.99 range but I also have a ton in the $2.99 range. So I guess it evens out over time.

If I bought a book that was 100 pages or less, I wouldn't pay $12.99 or even $9.99 for it more than likely. It would have to be something that I really really wanted and I thought it was worth it, which is really how I judge all the books I buy regardless of price. 

Is it something I will love? Is it worth it? Will I possible tell someone else about it or even re-read it at a future date? If so then I buy it regardless of price.


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## jmkwriter (Sep 14, 2009)

$5.99 or less. I can deal with $9.99, but anything over that is ridiculous. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask that ebooks be priced the same as a cheap paperback novel. We're purchasing a data file, not an actual object. It many ways, ebooks have the same disposable value to them as the old dime store paperbacks.


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## Carolyn A (Jul 25, 2010)

I think of it more in averages. I read a lot of classics, and many of them are free, so they bring down the average price of an ebook. However, I resent being asked to pay significantly more for an e-book than for the same book in paperback, and will not do so. If I REALLY want to read that book and they've overpriced it, I'll get it from the library.

Carolyn


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## Trophywife007 (Aug 31, 2009)

There are a few authors I'll pay $12.99 for a new release but they are few and far between, especially when I have so many other things in my TBR1 group.  The same goes for Kindle editions that are priced more than the paperback and I've used the "tell us about a lower price" link on Amazon a few times.

$7.50ish for a Kindle edition is reasonable, but if they start inching toward $8.50 for a book that's several years old I start to balk.


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## stuartneild (Sep 14, 2010)

Works of 10,000 to 20,000 words fall nicely into the 99 cent to 1.99 USD.
I think 2.99 to 3.60 USD seems a fair price for a novella of 30,000 to 45,000 words. Anything above 60,000 thousand words I think 3.99 to 6.50 seems a good price point. Of course at the end of the day it all depends on how much you want or value the work.


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## runner4546 (Oct 27, 2010)

stuartneild said:


> Works of 10,000 to 20,000 words fall nicely into the 99 cent to 1.99 USD.
> I think 2.99 to 3.60 USD seems a fair price for a novella of 30,000 to 45,000 words. Anything above 60,000 thousand words I think 3.99 to 6.50 seems a good price point. Of course at the end of the day it all depends on how much you want or value the work.


Good summary - I agree. Although I went through a freebie reading frenzy that made me realize it's worth paying for a good book vs. wasting time on a mediocre one. I'm finding a few $2.99 books in my wheelhouse though - just finished The Scent of Jade on another board recommendation and really liked it, totally worth $2.99.


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## Capri142 (Sep 25, 2009)

I really think that the question should be, How much are value are you getting for the price 
you pay for an e-book?

  Like most others I was outraged when the prices started creeping above the 9.99 level. However
I have since then changed my views somewhat. While I still feel that the cost of an e-book should 
be a lot lower than a DTB, I understand that there some Authors out there who are worth more than 
9.99. 

  I have also loaded quite a few free books and low cost books onto my Kindle, the are some pleasantly
surprising gems among them but there are also more books going into my DNF category. 

  So what I'm saying I guess is that, while I don't care for the higher prices, I will pay them to read my
favorite authors and still search for that occasional gem at 2.99 that if the author is prolific enough, will
be selling his or her books someday for 14.99.

    Did that make any sense at all.................


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## stuartneild (Sep 14, 2010)

Actual paperbacks and hardbacks have a resell value that e-books don't. Another factor is people collect things for their rarity and the fact they might go up in value. These are just two points where e-books fall down, in fact they are probably the only two minor points that e-books have against them compared to all the pluses.


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

I buy expensive kindle books if it is something that I really want ( I read a lot of fairly expensive non-fiction).  But I tend to buy the cheapest.  If audiobook is cheaper, I buy audiobook.  If hardback is cheaper, I buy hardback.  There are some exceptions, like the Ultimate Hichhicker's Guide to the Galaxy.  I am ok paying a dollar more for the kindle book to not have to carry around a 1000 page paperback.  (And it was still under $10).  

I also share my account with several people, so if someone else is likely to read it.  I will be more likely to get it in kindle form.


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## ClickNextPage (Oct 15, 2009)

** What's fair?* - I'm aware how much work goes into writing, editing and promoting a book, especially for indie authors, so I don't think it should be too cheap. I prefer paying less than ten bucks a book for pleasure reading, but I think less than five bucks is selling yourself too cheaply.

** What's the average cost of books you buy?* - Probably around $5, not more than $10. I may reluctantly have to go as high as $15 for a couple of books on the civil rights movement that were recently caught up in the e-book publisher price hike. I bought the first one ten years BK (Before Kindle), so I know how good they are. And they're huge, so I don't even want to save money by buying used copies. I want them on Kindle! [email protected], why didn't I buy them when they were $9.99!! 

** Do you think indie books and books published by traditional publishers should be priced the same, or differently? *- It may be harder for unknown authors to compete if they price their initial works at higher prices. But once they've built a following, they should be able to command the same prices as traditional publisher for an electronic book if they produce a quality product. That won't put publishers out of business, it will merely force some of them to open their eyes and change their business model if they want to stay alive. It will also reward authors who write the best books. The value of a traditionally published book isn't greater just because there are more out-of-pocket costs than the indie self-published work, nor does it guarantee a superior product, as we all know.

** Do you care about book length / feel it should be figured into the cost?* - Yes. I think it's fair to charge more for a longer work, just as I would not expect to pay the price of a full-length novel for a short story.


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## mldavis2 (Oct 25, 2010)

Somehow, to my ancient way of thinking, I rebel against paying as much for an eBook as a pBook.  Virtually everything written in the past 20 years has been created on electronic (digital) media via word processing.  The text and formatting are already digitized.  There should be no excuse for 'publishing costs' or 'reformatting.'  eBook readers do much of their own formatting depending upon the type size selected by the end user, and most books are only text.  There is no cost involved in paper, printing, transportation, or brick and mortar distribution and display.  Yes, it does cost a bit to send an image to a web site, but only one time.

If I want a decorative coffee table book of Ansel Adams photographs, I'll pay $50 or more for it depending on quality.  But for a read-it-once novel, $10 or less gives the author as much profit as a $15 paperback when the middleman takes multiple cuts.  $20 and up is reserved in my budget for those books I wish to retain as display items in my bookcase to impress visitors.   

I feel sorry for the big bookstores unless they find a way to distribute books electronically.  Blacksmiths went the way of the dodo bird, too.  There are very few people who actually 'prefer' a pBook once they've handled an eReader.  Publishers must face the changing marketplace.  Not everyone can afford an eBook reader today, but eventually most of the paper books will be found in libraries for use by those with severely limited budgets.

So I am essentially voting against the extra costs of trees, printing, transportation and physical display by putting a lid on my purchase prices, instead putting my trash into electronics and batteries, I guess.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

I buy a lot of indie work and rarely feel ripped-off.  Even if I don't like a particular book, (just not my thing) if I paid 99 cents or 2.99, I'm not going to get hung-up about it.  One of the reasons I do buy indies is because...they are cheap.  They are in the used and library price ranges, but I get to read them instantly on my kindle device.  I recently bought a traditionally published book--it was 8.50 with tax.  It was a decent enough book, but I must admit--spending 8.50 seemed pretty high for what I got. (There was a brutally sudden transition that had to be an editing error and some historical...and character leeway issues that I thought a good editors should have caught).  It started as  4 star book but ended a 3 star book (bordering on a two star because of a single, completely unbelievable scene).  Would I continue the series?  Not at 8.50 a pop.  No way.  If the second were free maybe because the plotting was actually decent and I think once the author got a couple of things taken care of in the first book there is lots of room to grow PLOT and Character.    But they are all 8 bucks and it's not worth me getting it from the library to see if the series improves.


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## K. A. Jordan (Aug 5, 2010)

This is a subject I covered in a blog post - from the author's side.

As a reader - I tend to look for books under $5 first. Then if some thing catches my eye I'll look for it, price it as an e-book and as a DTB. I suppose I should admit now that I have a Nook, and read Kindle on my id10t phone. I also buy books for my mother's Sony, so I see three sides of the market.

Fair to the author could very well be priced by length, and still be fair to the reader. Also it seems fair that older works be priced lower than the new books by established authors.

When I found a pricing list from an e-publishing company I hurried to post it. http://jordanscroft.blogspot.com/2010/10/e-book-pricing.html

I think it is critical that those of us who are new at the Indie game understand what standard pricing is before we throw our books out there for $.99 or free. That way the writer can make an informed choice, opposed to a blind choice.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

$9.99 to 12.99 is fair for most new releases in hardcover, but the price should drop accordingly with the trade or mass market release when applicable, say, $7.99 to 8.99 for trades and $4.99 to $6.99 for mass market.

I’d say less than 1% of my purchases are greater than $9.99 and maybe up to 5% are less than $5.00.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

As a reader, I don't like to pay more than $5 for an ebook.  I think ebooks should be in the $5 or less range.  

I love it when I can find a good book for $.99, or $1.99.  I am on a tight budget right now and I watch each dollar I spend.

Vicki


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## ClickNextPage (Oct 15, 2009)

VHopkins_Author said:


> I just loaded Kindle on my PC and I'm hitting the freebies until I get use to this medium of reading.


Reading them with Kindle for PC is a different experience than reading on an actual Kindle. A Kindle more closely represents a printed page. The computer can't come close.



VHopkins_Author said:


> The first book I downloaded was free from a traditional publisher, so I'm wondering what benefit that brings. Do you see freebies for a short period and then they yank them and up the price to gain interest? The author isn't making any royalties on freebies, so what's the purpose? Exposure?


Yes, exposure. It often leads to reviews and helps build readership which in turn leads to increased sales for other works by the same author. Sometimes they're free for only a day.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

VHopkins_Author said:


> I just loaded Kindle on my PC and I'm hitting the freebies until I get use to this medium of reading. The first book I downloaded was free from a traditional publisher, so I'm wondering what benefit that brings. Do you see freebies for a short period and then they yank them and up the price to gain interest? The author isn't making any royalties on freebies, so what's the purpose? Exposure?


Yep and a lot of limited time promo offers seem to be available right around or just after an author has released a new book and they are making an older book available for free for a certain amount of time to get people interested in them as an author and therefore buy the new book. Particularly if it's the first book in a series - sometimes it's hard to ask someone new to your work to "buy this sequel" when they haven't even read the first one yet. So what better way to get new people interested in a sequel rather than relying on existing fans than to give them the first book for free?

And it does work - with most of the free books I've gotten this way, I have liked them enough to then buy the new book.


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## JMcGhee (Oct 31, 2010)

I agree.  Many times I get a book because it's free and it sounds really interesting--only after I reach the cliffhanger at the end do I realize that there's another book in the series.  So far I haven't bought a sequel yet. but if a book is extraordinarily good, I would definitely pick up more in the series.

I'm also okay with the first book being $.99 while subsequent books are $1.99 or $2.99.  I want to try the series out cheaply and the author wants to a make a little money, so I figure we both win with that.  If he makes a fan out of me then I have little problem paying for his books.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

K. A. Jordan said:


> When I found a pricing list from an e-publishing company I hurried to post it. http://jordanscroft.blogspot.com/2010/10/e-book-pricing.html


That's an interesting list. I debated pricing my second book higher than the first. The first is 111K and the second is 168K. Just couldn't bring myself to price it differently. The novels are $2.99 and the novelettes are $.99. I would price between 25K and 50K at $1.99.

As much as I love certain books and would like to replace them on my K (the paperbacks are worn through), I won't pay $9.99 for them. For old, well-loved favorites, I'll pay about $6.

For new works by new authors, I'll pay up to $2.99.

I don't read NYT bestsellers. Usually overpriced and disappointing.


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## Julie Christensen (Oct 13, 2010)

I think that $10 is overpriced for any book.  Esp an ebook.  As an indie author with a book on Kindle, I'm making 35 cents off every book sale (my book is $1) and I think that that is about what an author with a publisher makes off hardcovers.  An ebook is convenient, and there are aspects I really like (using the built in dictionary) but you can't let the book fall open to your favorite section, or pass it on to a friend or donate it to a homeless shelter.  You can't look at the cover or the author photo, no trees are chopped down, no printers are run, and no trucks are shipping ebooks around so when you buy an ebook, there should be a very big price break.  $10 doesn't cut it for me.  How about $3-6?


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## mathewferguson (Oct 24, 2010)

Anywhere up to $10 is pretty fair.

My average cost is $7.99 or so. It's a lot cheaper than a paper book and means I'm buying roughly twice as many books for the same dollar spend.

People should price their books at whatever the market can bear. If you can make sales at $12.99 and are happy with that, then go for it. I'm a big believer in the free market sorting it all out. Books that cost too much will either not sell or be pirated for zero cost.

I've had some recent ... novella ... purchases where I wasn't aware I was buying a novella and so I felt I overpaid. I'm starting to think word-counts should be mandatory on all titles. It's easy to make a short novella look longer by chucking in chapter samples too, so it's not always possible to guess from file download sizes.


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## kyrin (Dec 28, 2009)

I have a lot of thoughts on eBook pricing. My main one is that a lot of authors (especially relatively new ones) worry too much about what to price their books at instead of writing.

I think any price up to $9.99 is fair especially for very long books and compilations. The higher the book is priced, the more I expect. If I pay more than $6 for a book there shouldn't be any formatting errors.

Most of the books I buy fall in the $2.99 to $5.99 range with a couple of 99 cents and free titles thrown in. I won't pay more than that unless it's for one of my favorite authors or someone recommends a title to me.

As far as pricing goes, I don't care what indies and traditional publishers charge. Some indies already charge the same amount as traditional publishers. I judge books on a case by case basis but I do think any ebook over $9.99 is overpriced.

I think novellas should be priced lower than novels. If someone tried to charge a lot of money for a short story or novella, I would feel like they were trying to rip me off.

As an author, I feel uncomfortable charging more for one of my books than I am willing to spend on an ebook. I don't get anyone who does that sort of thing.


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## K. A. Jordan (Aug 5, 2010)

A related subject - how about a $250 advance?

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/11/read_the_brutal_contract_from.html


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## kyrin (Dec 28, 2009)

K. A. Jordan said:


> A related subject - how about a $250 advance?
> 
> http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/11/read_the_brutal_contract_from.html


There's another thread about this.

The Fiction Factory and James Frey


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

No more than 5 bucks an eBook, with most being at 99 cents. It's just data. And I say that from a publisher/author perspective. When an EMP goes off, it'll all be gone anyway.


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## RobertMarda (Oct 19, 2010)

What's fair?  The main thing that comes to my mind is that I feel an eBook should be priced lower than the same printed book.  It is really difficult though.  You can say that since you only get a file it should be cheaper, but the words are all the same so why should it be cheaper.

What's the average cost of books you buy?  I don't think I've paid more than $2.99 for an eBook so far.  Most of the eBooks I have were free or cost 99 cents.  I still balk at thinking of paying the same price as I would for a paper back and figure if the price is the same I might as well go buy the paper back book.

About the only reason I can think of for an Indie book to cost less than a traditionally published book is if it took less effort/cost to produce.  So far I think I have only purchased Indie books simply because they cost less.  If they cost the same as traditionally published I would still tend to favor the Indie books because I want so much for the self published books to become the way of the future and also because these are authors that I previously never heard of and never had a chance to look at their books in the book store so they are all new too me.  The added possibility of talking with the author and/or possibly becoming friends with authors is another reason I am preferring the Indie books.

I think that some of the pricing of a book should take into consideration how many words are in the book.  More words to me means more effort to create.


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## tecwritr (Oct 28, 2008)

An ebook should not cost any more than a standard paperback.  I will not pay more than $9.99 for even my favorite authors.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Now that I'm reading 60/40 on Kindle, my attitudes have changed a bit. I really resent the high prices set by many publishers, and suspect many authors would agree. It's self-defeating. If I want a book and the Kindle price is much above $7.00 may as well buy it used and have something in hand. But that way both author and publisher lose the sale. The market seems to want the Kindle books to be from free to $6.99, but the old school model is resisting the change, as the recording industry did. We all know how that turned out. I'm setting my own novels at an ebook average of $2.99 if they are older novels, but planning on the new ones (if self published ebooks) being in the range of $7.00, starting with a fourth Mick Callahan next year.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

There is no level at which an eBook should be priced. And there is no level at which an eBook should be purchased.  Those are two different things. One is an action by the author. The other is an action by the consumer. 

An author can choose to price based on anything he wants. He can price it as a function of all the work he put into it. He can price it based on others like it. He can price it based on candy bars and nutmeg lattes. Or he can price it based on the word count. he can do whatever he wants.

Likewise, the purchaser can set any value he chooses on the book. He can base that on whatever he wants. It can be based on candy bars or nutmeg lattes, the price of the last paperback he bought, weight, page count, or his personal interest in the subject.

Now we get to sales. Consider all the above. Sales occur when the price is equal to or less than what a buyer is willing to pay. A sale does not occur when the price is greater than what a buyer is willing to pay.

A seller who wants to maximize his revenue selects a price where (units sold x price) is greater than for any other price. This the price which delivers more revenue than any other price.

The market doesn't care what we think price should be. It delevers different total revenues for different prices. That's allit does.

So, instead of asking what price should be, perhaps we should be asking, "At what price do I get the greatest revenue?"


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## Shelley (Nov 15, 2010)

How to price an ebook. A humble opinion from a non-author member of this community.

Two variables: 
1. Quality of the work
2. The right to expect a fair profit

First I'll address quality of the work.

I recently reached out to the indie author community to introduce and offer my editing and proofreading services. I decided to contact this community because I, too, have purchased the $1.99 and $2.99 books from Amazon, and, though the stories may have been good, the quality of writing suffered from a clear absence of editing and proofreading. A decent story becomes just an okay book when it's full of errors that could so easily be corrected by a good editor and proofreader.  Enter the adage: you get what you pay for.

I repeat: You get what you pay for. This is where I think many indie authors are shortchanging themselves, as well as their own indie community, by pricing their books so low. You are a community of people passionate about your work. You put a tremendous amount of time, research, sweat, and energy into each book, and you deserve to get a fair price for it. But it is your responsibility to ensure your readers receive a quality product for that fair price.

I received numerous – and varied – replies to my services post on Kindle Boards. While authors who have used editors seemed to think my pricing was reasonable, I was told by some (those who charge $1.99 for their books) that I was charging too much. Well, if you are only selling your books for a buck and change, there is no way you can absorb $600 - $1200 for a professional line-by-line edit. But, should you be charging so little? No. And is it fair to presume the low (cheap) price might be a reflection on the book's quality? Yes. 

Speaking as an editor/proofreader (and knowing that reflects a bias), I believe readers appreciate and are willing to pay a bit more for quality. A reader wants to stay engaged and focused on the story. You don't want your reader to stumble over a rough spot in the story line, or have to re-read a sentence because of a missing word or a misused word, or to grow tired of an overused phrase… You want your reader transported, and when you achieve that, it means something. And that something translates into a reader being willing to pay a fair price for quality work. To get what they paid for, and more.

To address your right to a fair profit, I thought I'd approach this mathematically, addressing the costs and margins of traditional vs. e-publishing (pulling pricing information mainly from information I've read on these forums).

As noted in several other posts, a physical book involves many more costs. The publisher pays for professional editing, printing, probably designing the cover art, marketing, and distribution. All of these costs are rolled into the price of the book, of course.  So what is the author's cut of each book? My understanding is it's about 10%. So, maybe in answering the question about what an ebook should cost, we back into it based on the profit for the same book in print.

Let's use a $15.00 paperback as our example (a standard length novel, not a novella, not a tome), and let's presume 10% is right, making the author's cut $1.50. Now that we've determined the profit per book, let's address the costs that will be incurred: creating your own cover art (let's say that's $250); the cost (and in my opinion, value and necessity) of employing the services of a professional editor (let's say $700); and the e-conversion (formatting) of the manuscript and any related art (maybe $250). Now you are $1200 out of pocket just to get the book ready to e-publish. How many do you think you'll sell in the book's first quarter? First year? What's a reasonable period of time in which to recoup your out-of-pocket expenses? What's a fair number of sales to use when determining how many books it will take you to sell to break even in, say one year? I've read many author's posts regarding their sales rates, and I think it would be fair to hope for 600 books per year. That means your costs would be covered in the first year at a per-piece rate of about $2.00. You want to add in your profit of $1.50, so you need to net $3.50 per book. Add in Amazon's 30% royalty and your sales price should be $4.99. So, at the end of the year, your 600 sales have grossed $2,994 and netted $1,794. To simply break even and recover your investment, you'd need to sell 240 books that year. After that, it's pure profit. If my calculations are correct, the math seems to still allow you to charge a reasonable price for quality work. If you can charge more, all the better!

I'm hoping I've made sense with this rationale and haven't taken a weighty topic too lightly (no pun intended). In the end, I hope my thoughts encourage two behaviors:
1.	Use a talented, professional editor. 
2.	Charge a fair price for your work.

Shelley Holloway
[email protected]
hollowayhouse.me


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Shelley makes an interesting point about quality, and it prompts me to ask how a reader knows if he can trust the independent author to have correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting?  I suppose he could read the sample, but why should he have to bother? I'd note the reader doesn't have this specific problem with a traditional publisher. (Yes, he may have others.)

Perhaps that is one thing the 99cent price allows. The reader can find out at a low dollar risk if the author produces a quality product. The folks who read the 99 cent book would then have a level of trust when the author came out with a $5 book. 

Not sure about this. Have to think a bit more.


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## Mark_A_Lopez (Oct 24, 2010)

Terrence OBrien said:


> I suppose he could read the sample, but why should he have to bother?


Reading a sample chapter is no different from perusing a physical book in the bookstore, so it's not a bother so much as it's a litmus test for quality. That said, I've decided to write $.99 shorts to win the trust of my readers, so to speak, thereby giving them good reason to invest the $7.99 on my longer work.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Terrence OBrien said:


> Shelley makes an interesting point about quality, and it prompts me to ask how a reader knows if he can trust the independent author to have correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting? I suppose he could read the sample, but why should he have to bother?


It's not a bother at all, there are tons of people who read the samples for every purchase they make, whether mainstream or indie. I've noticed books from mainstream publishers which have horrible grammar and formatting problems so this is not exclusive to indie authors. As mentioned, sampling is no different from reading the first chapter or few pages of a paper book in a bookstore or library, which many people do. Anyone who doesn't take a few minutes to look into what they're buying before they buy it can only blame themselves if they get something of poor quality control.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

_Gentle reminder, folks: This thread is in the Book CORNER. . .that means no self promotion. . . . .posts which the moderators feel contain self promotion will be modified or deleted. _


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## Shelley (Nov 15, 2010)

I agree with History_Lover. I am one of those who downloads a sample first 99% of the time (even from established authors). The follow up purchase is quick and easy, so why not try before you buy? If the quality is an issue, you'll know. Will it keep you from buying the book? Who's to say.

As for not having the quality issue in traditional publishing (mentioned by Terrence in reply to my post), I cannot agree with that. First of all, it has nothing to do with being an indie author. Though traditional publishers do put the books through what I called in my original post a "professional edit," even they can't catch everything. And, in truth, it's obvious with some books that they put a junior editor on task. Some of the mistakes are quite unforgivable. So, neither type of book, regardless of publishing venue, is free of errors.

I also want to make a note that I'm not speaking simply of the common errors of grammar, spelling, punctuation, missing words, etc. That is the baseline of quality that could (and should) be provided by any good proofreader. In addition to proofreading, an editor can offer that second, fresh set of eyes on the continuity of the story line, readability, possible confusion in certain areas of the story, etc.

In short, ebooks and traditional books – ALL books – benefit from being edited and proofread. As a result, the books are of better quality when they reach your readers. And, back to the main topic of this thread, maybe the author could then command a fair (possibly higher) price.

By the way, I would welcome comments about my mathematical approach to the pricing. If it makes sense, that's great. If I'm off-base, I'd like to hear that feedback from those with more accurate information so I can better understand the challenges of pricing that indie authors are facing.

Note: My apologies for the self-promotion in my original post. I am new to this board and wasn't aware I was stepping outside the bounds. I can understand the need to scrutinize such things, or your wonderful platform would be rife with it.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Terrence OBrien said:


> Shelley makes an interesting point about quality, and it prompts me to ask how a reader knows if he can trust the independent author to have correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting? I suppose he could read the sample, but why should he have to bother? I'd note the reader doesn't have this specific problem with a traditional publisher. (Yes, he may have others.)


Sadly untrue. I just finished a book by a traditional publisher - a small press, but still, there was an editor credited. Sadly, the book had so many punctuation errors that it was hard to read.

ETA: Regarding your original post on pricing - I think your math is sound. One the issues, I think, is that where Kindle readers lose ground, if you will, is that they cannot buy second-hand books. The buying of second-hand books has long been a way for avid readers to get books cheap. Quality is still an issue - who wants to read a bad book? But lets face it, when you read a book a day or every other day, most people can't afford to spend $7 - $10 on every book. That's somewhat mitigated by the promotional free books Amazon offers, but a lot of Kindlers (myself included) that also happen to be avid readers are migrating toward the $2.99 books.

Is that to say indies can't sell books at higher prices? No. It's just that a lot of them are saying that $2.99 is the "sweet spot" - most revenue generated. Victorine Lieske (Not What She Seems) said she actually made more money once she dropped her book to 99 cents (even at the reduced royalty from Amazon) than she did at $2.99. In fairness, authors have reported that different pricing works differently across the board - apparently there is no magic bullet.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

_"It's not a bother at all, there are tons of people who read the samples for every purchase they make, whether mainstream or indie."_

Could be. But authors can't make that decision for the reader. He makes it. There is certainly a segment of readers who read the sample, and there is a segment that doesn't. It all comes down to personal preferences. 
I belong to the group that never reads a sample. I'm just too lazy to do it. In a book store, I'll read the blurb, and flip through the book, but rarely actually read much. Now, I don't justify that behavior, nor do I recommend it for anyone. It's just how I am. Others are different and think I'm nuts. The whole truth is that when I'm grazing in a book store, the first thing that grabs my attention is the cover, even if I can't read the words from where I am. That's just me.
Whipping on my economist hat, I'd observe we are price takers. That means the market determines the number of units it will buy at any given price. We're stuck with whatever that is. We're also stuck with the market's habits and preferences, which can vary greatly from one person to another. 
But even though we are price takers, we can nudge the market to "shift the demand curve to the right" by bringing in a segment of readers who otherwise might not look at us. Shifting the demand curve means doing something so the market will increase the number of units it will buy at any given price.


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## Dee_DeTarsio (Oct 26, 2010)

It's a tough call on pricing for eBooks and obviously the numbers are all over the place. I paid $14.99 for Stephen King's new book, Full Dark, No Stars, yet, I can't get myself to push the buy button for Ken Follett's $19.99 Fall of Giants. Do the .99 - 2.99 devalue or indicate a not-as-good perception of those books? I think eventually the market will find it's price point...


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## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

I've always taken the position that any author who published on Kindle should set a price that ensure he or she will see some measure of appreciable profit...if only as an example to others.


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## K. A. Jordan (Aug 5, 2010)

Food for thought: 
Kris Rusch just released a new book "The Freelancers Survival Guide" for $24.99 as a DTB and $9.99 for a e-book.

http://kriswrites.com/2010/11/22/freelancers-survival-guide-available/


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I can't wait to see how this market looks in 2-3 years and we can look back on how it all developed. Now this might not be fair, but I do make a distinction between indy authors and traditional published authors. Speaking of averages here not exceptions, indy's have to make their mark and they are mostly having to do it on their own.

So because of money, up front cost ect, one finds more issues there. If I try a new Indy, I like the 99 cents offers, but I pay 2.99 too if I like the concept. I wouldn't pay more though for a first time indy, that's just me. I think I would go as much as 3.99 if I know the indy author already. I buy more though for .99-2.99.

I have changed my reading habits a little lately. I been doing the get sample, read and if I like it buy and finish. So I put samples on my Kindle and then go through them. For traditional published authors on the end of the sample, I go to the check book in store just to make sure the prize didn't go up, and then if the prize is right, I buy and finish the book. I have found my sweet spots to be somewhere between 3.96 - 5.49. When I see the book at 7.99 I say nope. Ain't gonna happen, I will find another way to get the book if I need to. At 6.99 I think really really hard and I have to really like the authors writing and the reviews have to be good for it. 

So right now for me indy sweetspots are .99 - 2.99, with potentially 3.99 for known entities. 

For the rest 3.96 - 5.49 sweetspot, with possibly under protest going to 6.99  

I have to mention that lots of the books I read don't come out in hardbacks, they go straight to paperback. I also read full length novels so the prices are for those. I also read almost only fiction. 

And also if any of my authors put a book on sale for under the 3.96 mark, I usually just go and buy it.


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## Debra Purdy Kong (Apr 1, 2009)

Arkali said:


> Out of curiosity - what are your thoughts on eBook pricing?
> 
> * What's fair?
> * What's the average cost of books you buy?
> ...


Very interesting questions!
For me, fair is anything up to $9.99. The average cost of the e-books I've bought is $3.00, but I'll pay more if I want the book. No, I don't think indie books should be priced the same. With over a million books published worldwide every year, unknown indie authors need all the help they can get gaining readers, so if they can price their books at a cheaper rate, readers might be more willing to give them a try. Yes, I think book length should be figured into the cost. I don't see why a 200 page book should be priced the same or more as a 425 page book.

Debra


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

Authors and publishers can price at any point they choose. However, that's only half the equation. Buyers also can choose to set up whatever purchase guidelines they choose.

It's no different than with any other supply/demand situation.  If a buyer doesn't like a particular price, he just scrolls to one he does like. If an author/publisher doesn't like what a buyer will pay, he just tries to find one who will pay.

There is no fair price. There are simply millions of individual decisions made by consumers and suppliers, and the aggregate of all those is what we call the market. Some prices will yield the greatest revenue for an author, some will yield less. 

For consumers here, I have a question. How do you know a given book is by an independent author? What do you look for? What is the give away? I know how I do it. I just glance at the price. low price almost always means independent.

Anyone follow Hyundai Motors? How did they penetrate the US market? They produced quality cars at a price lower than anyone else. One component of that price was a 100,000 mile warranty when everyone else was giving 36,000. Now they still produce quality cars but have raised their prices.

I suspect we are on the verge of a grand supply/demand experiment that will go down in history and will test classical econ like no other ever has. Grab the popcorn.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Terrence OBrien said:


> For consumers here, I have a question. How do you know a given book is by an independent author? What do you look for? What is the give away? I know how I do it. I just glance at the price. low price almost always means independent.


I pretty much pick Indy authors from Kindleboards using either the genre thread or author. Sometimes a indy will be recommended and I'll check them out. I also click on the banner and book of day most days to check out what it is. So I pretty much go with word of mouth and postings here. I can't go by price alone in that as I find lower prized traditional books too. 
If a book is .99 or 2.99, there is a chance its an indy, but not always. Looking at publisher and also the reviews and blurbs tells that story too.

etc, Hyundai still makes great cars, hubby has a Hyundai and I have a lovely Kia hatchback which are hard to find in the US


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## Luke King (Nov 4, 2010)

In Australia, a paper back usually costs $15 to $30.  I don't have any problem with paying $9.99 for an ebook, though I think that it a reasonable limit when you consider the lower costs of producing them.


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

> In Australia, a paper back usually costs $15 to $30. I don't have any problem with paying $9.99 for an ebook, though I think that it a reasonable limit when you consider the lower costs of producing them.


You're being generous Luke, $15 is at the lower end of the scale. Recently most of the books I've picked up to check have been over $30. I haven't seen one less than $25 for a long time ( unless it's in a bargain bin) Don;t get me started on the ridiculous price we pay for hardcover... $45 - $60 each. 

I'll pay whatever seems reasonable for a particular book.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Yeah, I remember books costing more too back in Germany where I am from. But I always said that until they get rid of the restrictions of ebooks and until they make sure formatting on all of them is up to standard, they cannot charge as much as for a paperback. That is just me though and I would think the same if I still lived in Germany. My sister in law would buy a lot of books and would pass them to me and my mom. 

We could read them anywhere. I can only read my ebooks on my Kindle. yes I know it can be read on computers and such, but I don't have any smartphone or other device and I can't read on backlit gadgets so its a moot point. 

I can't put my ebook on a nook, or a sony or any other device. I can't even make a proper backup of my books as they are tied to one specific device. If a company goes belly up, I have to figure out a way to break the code, I might not be able to do that. I shouldn't have to. I bought the book, its mine. 

We need a standard of format and a standard of quality as it pertains to formatting. Publishers can screech all they want, but they aren't putting enough effort into making ebooks a quality item equal to at least a paperback.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

_"In Australia, a paper back usually costs $15 to $30. I don't have any problem with paying $9.99 for an ebook, though I think that it a reasonable limit when you consider the lower costs of producing them."_

Now that is interesting. The AUD = $.978 today. How do they keep the price up? Is there some government control or import restriction? Special taxes? VAT? Do you know where they print most of those paperbacks? Same prices for books from US, UK, Australia?

How about eBooks?


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

Terrence OBrien said:


> _"In Australia, a paper back usually costs $15 to $30. I don't have any problem with paying $9.99 for an ebook, though I think that it a reasonable limit when you consider the lower costs of producing them."_
> 
> Now that is interesting. The AUD = $.978 today. How do they keep the price up? Is there some government control or import restriction? Special taxes? VAT? Do you know where they print most of those paperbacks? Same prices for books from US, UK, Australia?
> 
> How about eBooks?


We have a closed market on DT books. They are unnecessarily more expensive because bookshops cannot buy from overseas if an Australian publisher expresses an interest in publishing it here. It's known as Parallell Importing. Add to that the 10% GST ( goods & services tax) we pay on books and magazines and you see why they are ridiculously overpriced.

E Books are generally the same price, subject to exchange rates. There used to be an extra $2 added on by Amazon which they never really explained properly ( a charge for the 'free' whispernet, lol) That has been removed


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## KBR (Nov 18, 2010)

I think it's misguided to price a book in terms of some theoretical "value" of the work. Before a book is purchased and read by an individual reader, no one is in a good position to know the "value" of the work.

1) Authors (or publishers) want to believe that their work is worth a high dollar value. Any author should think that his or her work is good enough to be worth a lot. If an author doesn't think this, she shouldn't release the book. Keep editing it, please. But, if the author attempts to sell the book at it's "value," she's probably pricing herself right out of the market.

2) Readers have little way to know how valuable a work is until they've finished it. This is because the value of the work changes from reader to reader. I've read Game of Thrones several times. I'd be willing to pay an awful lot for it. I read maybe 5 pages of Twilight. I wouldn't value it at more than a few pennies. Other readers are going to have the exact opposite values for those books. But, as readers, we don't know at the point of purchase.

Some authors try to set a "fair" price for their books. I think that's just an offshoot of the value issue. You might thing that $5.99 is a fair price for your book. However, if I buy it at that price and find it horrible, I'm more likely to think I wasted $5.99 than to think I paid a fair price for it.

Pricing works based on length is fair up to a point. A single short story should not be as much as a novel. That's only reasonable. Novellas are more of a case by case basis, in my mind. The real issue is with novels. Should a 200,000 word novel be more than a 100,000 word novel? I say, probably not. There is no guarantee to the reader that the longer work is actually better and worth more. The reader does not care that one took longer to produce than the other. It's also a fallacy to always think that a longer work took longer to produce. Much more care might have been taken on the shorter work to get the writing tight and cut out unnecessary scenes. The longer work might have been haphazardly edited and have 125,000 words worth of pointless scenes.

In the end, I think Terrence O'Brien is right. The best price for an ebook is what the market determines for maximum revenue. That means there will be different prices for established and new writers. There will be different prices for books from traditional publishers and books from independent authors. There is still a stigma of sorts attached to indie authors. In many cases it's not fair, but it's there. In many cases, it's more than fair. Unfortunately, there are a lot of indie authors releasing books that just aren't up to snuff. A lot of other indie authors are releasing wonderful books, but they have to sell their books for less than traditionally published works because the bad indie authors create a certain wariness in the reading public. That may change at some point, but it hasn't yet.

Another factor in price has to do with traditional genre expectations. Readers are used to paying more for a Knopf book than they are for a Harlequin book. Literary fiction can always be priced higher than most other genres. In non-fiction, a scholarly history book is always going to be more than a popular history book. The people who read the higher priced genres have no problem with it. But, if you try to price your science fiction ebook for what a Phillip Roth or Toni Morrison ebook sells for, you are twisting traditional expectations and might suffer for it.

Finally, I'll say something about indie authors paying for a traditional editor. It may or may not be a good idea. If a book is particularly problematic, an editor might help. Just be aware that over the years, editors have ruined many an otherwise good book. Not all editors are good. I do think indie authors would be well served to hire copy editing services. Hiring someone to fix spelling, grammar, usage and punctuation problems in a near final draft would help the author get better reviews, establish a better brand, and get more sales.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

KBR said:


> Just be aware that over the years, editors have ruined many an otherwise good book.


Example(s)?

Not disagreeing, just curious.

Mike


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

I was pretty happy with ebook pricing up till Apple/the big publishers pushed the agency model on Amazon.  I have not bought a book from the "major" publishers since, nor will I again in the foreseeable future, fairly priced or no.

As far as other books I'm much more concerned with the quality of the entertainment than I am with price, up to a point at least.  Convince me that the book is good and I'll pay for it, don't convince me that it is good and I wouldn't take it if it was free.

The only other thing I'll add right now is as the ebook price approaches the cheapest paper version available (and to me this includes "used" books if they are readily available) I am less and less likely to buy any version of the book.


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## Budo von Stahl (Aug 31, 2010)

Well, as a writer and a voracious reader, I can only bow the the 'limits of the budget' crowd.  Look at it this way: when I buy a book, I am paying the author to tell me a story, much like the traveling minstrel of old.  If the story is a good one (free sampling is a boon here   ) I really don't mind dropping a few bucks in to his lil tin cup.  Shame that nowadays we think nothing of forking over twenty bucks for a ticket to a so-so movie, when a good book in any format, which comes with unlimited reruns, rewinds, repeats, etc. can be had for half that or much less.


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## Walterrhein (Nov 19, 2010)

I think they're too expensive frankly.  It would be nice to set the price at around $1 or $2 for a new release.  The margins on e-books has to be super high and I think the industry has made a HUGE mistake by overpricing these things.  I don't know why they're afraid to go away from print, maybe they just want time to develop some more ereaders.


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## danfan (Apr 17, 2009)

I have to_ really_ want a book to go over 9.99 for the e-version. Otherwise I will wait til it comes down in price. Of course, some don't... I was looking at some classics earlier written 50 or 60 years ago that are 9.99 and higher.

I don't mind 9.99 but I dislike paying more for an ebook than a p-book. I totally understand the agency model & that Amazon cannot discount all ebooks anymore, but the publishers annoy me with it. And then, 9.99 for a shortie... Don't like that. I bought one the other day at 9.99 - enjoyed the sample so decided to pay. What i did not notice was that it was only 1400 locations. So when I double-checked, I discovered the p-book is 6.99. That just bugged the heck out of me. Yes, I enjoyed it but I wouldn't have paid that much if I'd known it was so short and would be read and finished in just a short time.

Kids books too.... my dd flies though books but they are pricey. even though I just ordered a kindle for her for christmas, I think we'll still be making trips to the library for her.


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## Terrence OBrien (Oct 21, 2010)

_"I think they're too expensive frankly. It would be nice to set the price at around $1 or $2 for a new release. The margins on e-books has to be super high and I think the industry has made a HUGE mistake by overpricing these things. I don't know why they're afraid to go away from print, maybe they just want time to develop some more ereaders."_

I'm not taking the publishing industry's side here, but it's instructive to understand their reasoning in pricing eBooks.

They look at all editions of a book as a single profit center. So, they take all costs associated with the book, and net that against all revenue generated by the book. They are not looking at the eBook as something that should be priced based on the marginal costs of producing it. They look at it as simply another way of presenting that book, and they will price all their editions - hardback, paperback, eBook, audiobook - to maximize revenue.

Try a thought experiment. Suppose a hardcover novel sells 100,000 copies, covers all the costs of production and distribution, and generates a profit. Now suppose the publisher sees continued demand and decides to produce another 50,000 copies. Let's say it costs $2 to produce and distribute each additional book, plus $2 royalty, for a total direct cost of $4. Remember, all the costs of editing, promotion, cover art, proof reading, print setup, etc have already been covered by the first 100,000 sold. And those 50,000 copies won't cause the publisher to hire any new people, rent more office space, expand warehouse capacity, or buy more equipment.

The initial run of 100,000 books sold for $20 per book. How should the publisher price those additional 50,000 books?


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## mathewferguson (Oct 24, 2010)

Terrence OBrien said:


> _"I think they're too expensive frankly. It would be nice to set the price at around $1 or $2 for a new release. The margins on e-books has to be super high and I think the industry has made a HUGE mistake by overpricing these things. I don't know why they're afraid to go away from print, maybe they just want time to develop some more ereaders."_
> 
> I'm not taking the publishing industry's side here, but it's instructive to understand their reasoning in pricing eBooks.
> 
> ...


I think you're being entirely too generous to put "publishing" and "reasoning" in the same sentence. 

I'm in and around Australian publishing and the mood here is sheer terror mixed with eyes-clenched-fingers-in-ears-chanting-nonononono.

Their pricing is dependent on trying to get the same or more profit than they used to get from paper. It is irrelevant that paper and distribution and warehousing and even marketing to a large degree has been taken out of the cost. What matters is that they used to make $6 per copy, the author $1 and that's the way it needs to stay.

They cannot conceive of the world where the author makes $2.50 in royalties and they make 30 cents. They cannot conceive of a world where authors make $2.04 per title sold and they make zero because they have absolutely nothing to offer that author.

The entire business model is set up as a tiny editorial department resting atop a mammoth distribution network. Publishing companies are really extraordinarily successful distribution networks at core. If you can ship books to every supermarket, every tiny hole-in-the-wall around the country then you'll be raking it in.

What we're seeing with ebook pricing and publishers fighting Amazon is the last gasp of an entire industry on the brink of incredible change. Editors are cheap to hire as are book cover designers. Practically anyone can pick up formatting skills for ebooks. What do you need paper publishers for again?

Treating publishers as reasonable rational actors in this change is far too charitable. They're dinosaurs screaming at the flaming dot in the sky that just keeps on getting bigger and bigger ...


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