# Pricing for 31,000 word novella?



## AutumnKQ (Jul 27, 2013)

How would you price a 31k sci-fi novella?

I don't know an exact page count. It was coming up around 152 pages on one of my ereader apps, but if I divide by 250, I get 124 pages. I guess I'll know once I finish formatting for Createspace.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

I price works 20-40K at $2.99.


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## ElleChambers (Nov 5, 2013)

My 34,000 word horror novella is $2.99. It does not sell at that price.


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## williamvw (Mar 12, 2012)

My 27,000-word _BestFriend_ continues to eke out a handful of copies each month at $2.99. But that's with no ongoing promotion, no correlation to other works, and no new novels pushing interest in a backlog. I'd wager that the $2.99 price is fine, but other factors are more likely to contribute to your sell-through. You could start at $3.99 and see if Amazon will match down to $2.99 later.


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## Jan Thompson (May 25, 2013)

Not sure about SF genre, but I've seen tradpub sweet rom priced at around $3.60 - $3.99.

For example, these are part of the Weddings Novella series by Harper Collins (one novella a month):

$3.99 (unknown pages)
http://www.amazon.com/May-Bride-Year-Weddings-Novella-ebook/dp/B00DQURKG8/

$3.79 (80 pages)
http://www.amazon.com/February-Bride-Year-Weddings-Novella-ebook/dp/B00DL10HG2/

$3.63 (105 pages)
http://www.amazon.com/January-Bride-Year-Weddings-Novella-ebook/dp/B00DL10HDA


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

I'd probably price at $2.99 for that length, but I have no idea if that will sell well or not.

I've got two novelettes around 11,000 words that sell okay at 99 cents but don't sell at $1.99. I guess it all depends on if there's enough of a pull in the cover/description to get people to buy.


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## dotx (Nov 4, 2010)

You mean price for print or ebook? 

31k is likely around 124 pages.


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

I've tested my novellas at price ranges from $0.99-5.99. My experience is that novellas seem to sell better between $2.99-3.99. My recommendation is for you to browse the Kindle store (if you haven't already) and compare prices among novella length space opera novels that are selling. But the aforementioned price range seems right, but YMMV.


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## AutumnKQ (Jul 27, 2013)

Sorry. Yeah, I meant ebook. I'll base the paperback on however much Createspace quotes me. 

Anyway- I was going to go with $2.99, but then I noticed people on here saying 15-30k goes for 2.99, and I wondered if $3.99 would be better. This is the first episode of at least 5 episodes. But this first story definitely stands alone. I tell a complete story, and it has a solid ending. So I'm not forcing anyone to buy the next one. But the later episodes maybe not have such solid endings. I eventually want to do an omnibus of the first five novellas (~600+ pages), and if I'm charging $3.99 for each episode, I'm not sure what I'd charge for the box set or omnibus edition...

Starting at $3.99 gives me a lot more wiggle room...
I'll go do a little more digging on Amazon, but it hasn't been easy determining how long books are. I have to click all of them and check. And I've seen some 400+ page epics selling at .99 cents and such, and 230 page novels selling for $6.99, so it's seriously all over the place.


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## dotx (Nov 4, 2010)

For episodes/serials, I'd go with $2.99.


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## AutumnKQ (Jul 27, 2013)

Yeah. I think $2.99 is more reasonable. I'm looking at New and Popular in my genre, and even with trad pubbed books, I'm seeing prices that are around ~1.00 - 2.00 per 100 pages for ebooks. I guess I'll stick with my original price.


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

It depends on what your goal is. If you're trying to collect readers/fans and start a long-term writing career, I would price as low as you're willing to, in order to get some good reviews and fans. Like you said, it's just the first of a series, so there will be chances to make money off the book later on. I hate to say it, but your chances of selling many copies (and as a result, making many fans) with a $3.99 novella is, well, not all that great. I'm not a fan of the whole "wiggle room" argument, either. Making your book too high will lose you potential readers. What are the chances those would-be readers are going to find your book/blurb so amazing they're going to stalk your book's price and wait until it drops? Sometimes you just have one shot to hook a reader, and my motto is to have as few barriers as possible, and price is a heck of a barrier.

My 2 cents.

As an aside, my 500-page debut novel is $2.99.


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## Glenn Bullion (Sep 28, 2010)

Whoa, I guess it's time for me to start seriously reviewing my pricing.

I'm getting ready to release my next novel at 124K words for $2.99.  I've been planning a novella (30K words I'm shooting for) for .99 cents.

You guys got me thinking.


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## zoe tate (Dec 18, 2013)

AutumnKQ said:


> How would you price a 31k sci-fi novella?


Not less than $3.99.

I wouldn't _dream_ of making it $2.99.


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## ♨ (Jan 9, 2012)

When I first released my 45k word novel, it was priced at $3.99.  I later raised it to $4.99.

I have a 32k word novel priced at 99¢.

The former has sold more copies.  (Sold better at $3.99 than $4.99 though.)

So, why not try for $3.99?  You can always change the price later.


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

Dan C. Rinnert said:


> When I first released my 45k word novel, it was priced at $3.99. I later raised it to $4.99.
> 
> I have a 32k word novel priced at 99¢.
> 
> ...


See, that's the thing. How many MORE copies would you sell at $2.99? I don't see any downside to shipping more copies at a lower price point. I'm getting more readers and making more money at $2.99 than I ever did at $4.99 when I originally released the book.


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## scottmarlowe (Apr 22, 2010)

Don't undersell yourself. Also, keep promotions in mind if that's something you plan on doing. Having a higher price to discount from makes a sale price seem like more of a deal.

I'd also consider that you can always lower prices later when the next book, novella, whatever comes out, and have the new book take the place as your higher priced title.

I have a 14,000 word novelette coming out soon. I'm going with $2.99, but also giving it away for free to those signed up for my mailing list. It's the 3rd in a series of shorts with more to follow in the short term, so that price will likely come down fairly soon (maybe 1-2 months) when the next one comes out. The first two titles in the series are free.


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## Justawriter (Jul 24, 2012)

AutumnKQ said:


> Sorry. Yeah, I meant ebook. I'll base the paperback on however much Createspace quotes me.
> 
> Anyway- I was going to go with $2.99, but then I noticed people on here saying 15-30k goes for 2.99, and I wondered if $3.99 would be better. This is the first episode of at least 5 episodes. But this first story definitely stands alone. I tell a complete story, and it has a solid ending. So I'm not forcing anyone to buy the next one. But the later episodes maybe not have such solid endings. I eventually want to do an omnibus of the first five novellas (~600+ pages), and if I'm charging $3.99 for each episode, I'm not sure what I'd charge for the box set or omnibus edition...
> 
> ...


I wouldn't go any higher than 2.99 for a novella. 3.99 will be a tough sell. At that price you're competing with books that are 100k or longer...actually at 2.99 you are too, but 3.99 just seems high.


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

AutumnKQ said:


> I've seen some 400+ page epics selling at .99 cents and such, and 230 page novels selling for $6.99, so it's seriously all over the place.


Prices are definitely all over the place. I think you need to consider your target audience. Is your readership primarily female readers? Male? Younger? Older? What kind of prices do your intended readers usually pay for books? $3.99 for a novella isn't high to me. But I'll admit that $2.99 comes off as more of a bargain and makes it easier for readers to one-click your book than the higher price tag. Either way, you can keep playing with your price until you settle on the one that you're most comfortable with.


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## AutumnKQ (Jul 27, 2013)

Hmm. This isn't an easy decision. Maybe I could ask my beta readers what they'd be willing to pay.


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## Edward W. Robertson (May 18, 2010)

jackcrows said:


> It depends on what your goal is. If you're trying to collect readers/fans and start a long-term writing career, I would price as low as you're willing to, in order to get some good reviews and fans. Like you said, it's just the first of a series, so there will be chances to make money off the book later on. I hate to say it, but your chances of selling many copies (and as a result, making many fans) with a $3.99 novella is, well, not all that great. I'm not a fan of the whole "wiggle room" argument, either. Making your book too high will lose you potential readers. What are the chances those would-be readers are going to find your book/blurb so amazing they're going to stalk your book's price and wait until it drops? Sometimes you just have one shot to hook a reader, and my motto is to have as few barriers as possible, and price is a heck of a barrier.


Very strong advice, IMO. Particularly in the context of the first part of a series.


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## Carradee (Aug 21, 2010)

jackcrows said:


> See, that's the thing. How many MORE copies would you sell at $2.99? I don't see any downside to shipping more copies at a lower price point. I'm getting more readers and making more money at $2.99 than I ever did at $4.99 when I originally released the book.


I played with the $2.99 and $3.99 price points on two of my novels. The sales were the same.



AutumnKQ said:


> How would you price a 31k sci-fi novella?


I'd price it at $3.99. If it were a series, I'd drop it to $2.99, $0.99, or free after 3 or 4 came out.


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## redacted (Dec 16, 2013)

Carradee said:


> I played with the $2.99 and $3.99 price points on two of my novels. The sales were the same.


When you say you "played with" it, how long did you give it? My sales didn't take off when I bumped the price down from $4.99 to $2.99 until almost 3 weeks later.


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## GearPress Steve (Feb 4, 2012)

You're getting answers that are all over the pricing spectrum, and that's because no two books are the same. Price is only ONE factor when buyers decide to purchase a title. I doubt many people go to Amazon and search for "novellas with at least 120 pages in the price range of $1.99 to $2.99". People search for what they like to read. They're drawn in by your cover. They're attracted by a carefully crafted and compelling description (Amazon gives you 4000 characters for a reason... USE THEM!). They're captivated by a smashing free preview.

The bottom line is that what works for everyone else MAY or MAY NOT work for you. So how do you know for sure? You have to test. Test, test, and test some more.

The place to start is to compare your book to others that are popular in your genre and look at how they are priced. Even that won't give you the full answer, you're still going to have to test and test and test.

It isn't easy, but if it was, everyone would be doing it.

Good luck!

Steve


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## britrocker (May 16, 2011)

AutumnKQ said:


> How would you price a 31k sci-fi novella?
> 
> I don't know an exact page count. It was coming up around 152 pages on one of my ereader apps, but if I divide by 250, I get 124 pages. I guess I'll know once I finish formatting for Createspace.


I've seen a lot of kids books at around 130 pages. And they charge $4.99

I don't think there is a number set in stone. You determine the value yourself


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## Deke (May 18, 2013)

Price it as you like...as much as you think you can get...JUST MAKE SURE YOU CLEARLY NOTE THE WORD-LENGTH...or buyers may be angered.


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## Carradee (Aug 21, 2010)

jackcrows said:


> When you say you "played with" it, how long did you give it? My sales didn't take off when I bumped the price down from $4.99 to $2.99 until almost 3 weeks later.


I gave it almost 2 months, but to be fair, my sales haven't yet "taken off". They're just no different at each of the price points I've tried, so I'm focusing on getting more out in each series before I play with it again.


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## GearPress Steve (Feb 4, 2012)

Deke said:


> Price it as you like...as much as you think you can get...JUST MAKE SURE YOU CLEARLY NOTE THE WORD-LENGTH...or buyers may be angered.


Even better is the page count. While some readers know word counts, most are more comfortable with page counts.


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## ChrisWard (Mar 10, 2012)

I'd go with $2.99. Less is hardly worth it, and anything between 99c and $2.98 is just a kind of limbo number.


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## CraigInOregon (Aug 6, 2010)

Another vote for $2.99.

But it's your book and your career and your sales, so, it's just an opinion.


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## legion (Mar 1, 2013)

We get away with 3.99 at that length, but that's for romance in a particular niche.

Definitely go for no less than 2.99.


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## Dave Dykema (May 18, 2009)

I haven't put up a new book in a while. Is $2.99 still the price point where Amazon will pay you 70% royalties, and anything priced below is 30%?

That's a factor to consider.


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## EmilieHardie (Jan 2, 2014)

All my 30k novella 'episodes' are priced at $0.99. I see that a lot of people are advocating $2.99 and for good reasons.

Personally, I'm planning to put out a total of 12 in this series, then rework them into four full length novels as part of a twelve book series and take the novellas of the market. For me, the $0.99 price is an interim/promotional price to get some interest and build up a mailing list. I don't intend to make any money off it and I have deliberately been avoiding sinking any money into the novellas for precisely that reason.

I intend to make all the money from the novel series at a later date and I actually don't mind my job so the lack of profits are a non-issue for me.


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## Alain Gomez (Nov 12, 2010)

jackcrows said:


> See, that's the thing. How many MORE copies would you sell at $2.99? I don't see any downside to shipping more copies at a lower price point. I'm getting more readers and making more money at $2.99 than I ever did at $4.99 when I originally released the book.


You sell roughly the same amount and make twice as much money. And there are lots of disadvantages to pricing short fiction so low. Anything below 40k words runs the risk of the "too short" one star reviews. A higher price makes people read the description more carefully. At 2.99 I get a much higher buy-through rate for my series. People were more careful when buying and when I get one sale for book 1 there's a really good chance I'll see sales for books 2 and 3 the next day.


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## rjspears (Sep 25, 2011)

Sorry to go against the prevailing tides, but I have two novellas as a part of series and I have them both priced at $1.99 right now.  The first one ins 31K and the second is 41K.  If I were honest, the first one is my bestseller and it was priced at $.99 for the largest part of those sales.  When I write the final book in the trilogy, I plan to sell all three of them in a box set for $2.99.

Just my $.02 cents worth.


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2014)

I have one just over 20,000 words.  I sold a few at $0.99 when it came out last month, but when I moved it up to $2.99 it sells none.

I like $2.99, and I'll probably keep it there for a while longer, I'm just expecting that ranking to continue going down.  Just passed 1 million the other day and is still sinking.


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## jnfr (Mar 26, 2011)

One other thing to keep in mind is that your price isn't set in stone. With e-publishing, it's very easy to change.

I don't like to change often myself. I like to set a price sit for a least a few months to gauge how it's working. But you certainly can change your price to try different strategies.


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## JamesHutchings (Feb 27, 2011)

The most common price seems to be 99c.

Some people have a tendency to buy ebooks 'by weight': that is, to feel ripped off if it's short, regardless of the actual quality.

Another possibility is to combine it with other stories to get to get a single document of novel length.


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## williamvw (Mar 12, 2012)

EmilieHardie said:


> Personally, I'm planning to put out a total of 12 in this series, then rework them into four full length novels as part of a twelve book series and take the novellas of the market. For me, the $0.99 price is an interim/promotional price to get some interest and build up a mailing list. I don't intend to make any money off it and I have deliberately been avoiding sinking any money into the novellas for precisely that reason.


Emilie, this is an interesting approach. How long have you been doing it, and has it proven effective at building your mailing list?


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

EmilieHardie said:


> All my 30k novella 'episodes' are priced at $0.99. I see that a lot of people are advocating $2.99 and for good reasons.
> 
> Personally, I'm planning to put out a total of 12 in this series, then rework them into four full length novels as part of a twelve book series and take the novellas of the market. For me, the $0.99 price is an interim/promotional price to get some interest and build up a mailing list. I don't intend to make any money off it and I have deliberately been avoiding sinking any money into the novellas for precisely that reason.
> 
> I intend to make all the money from the novel series at a later date and I actually don't mind my job so the lack of profits are a non-issue for me.


Star Wars did a very similar thing right around the time Amazon started testing free indie books in the Kindle store. They released 7 short stories over the course of a year for free, then stuck the 8th book in the collected version of the series. To read the final book you had to purchase the collected works. Interestingly enough you won't find the individual books on the market anymore as the promotion is over and they have since pulled them. It worked for Star Wars, so I say your strategy has been tested and proven to work.


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## EmilieHardie (Jan 2, 2014)

williamvw said:


> Emilie, this is an interesting approach. How long have you been doing it, and has it proven effective at building your mailing list?


I've been at it for three months now, with a total sign-up for the mailing list of three people  That's considerably more than I would have otherwise, so I count it a win, particularly since I've done zero promotion. I also have a couple of regular readers who have bought all the episodes but haven't yet signed up.

There have also been other benefits that I didn't intend, namely that I'm now really getting the hang of formatting and the actual mechanics of publication so everything should go much more smoothly for the series proper. As a bonus, I've also seen a huge improvement in my writing style and I won't feel guilty about majorly reworking the first few episodes since I'm transforming them into a novel anyway.



> Star Wars did a very similar thing right around the time Amazon started testing free indie books in the Kindle store. They released 7 short stories over the course of a year for free, then stuck the 8th book in the collected version of the series. To read the final book you had to purchase the collected works. Interestingly enough you won't find the individual books on the market anymore as the promotion is over and they have since pulled them. It worked for Star Wars, so I say your strategy has been tested and proven to work.


I'm going to pretend that I knew that when I started so that I don't look quite so out there


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

EmilieHardie said:


> I'm going to pretend that I knew that when I started so that I don't look quite so out there


Sounds like a winning strategy.


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