Honest opinions on my price?

[Kevin O. McLaughlin]

Kevin is right - the price does effect the "popularity list" and I believe the "search" algorithm. The "Bestseller lists" it does not...those lists are purely sales but are harder to find/get to so the popularity ones are more relevant.

Yup! And then of course popularity ranking affects bestselling ranking as a secondary effect. Higher popularity ranking has a positive effect on sales, which then boosts bestselling rank (sorry if I was unclear about that being a secondary effect in the earlier post).

 

[Zero Angel]

How likely is the average buyer to know that the book is self published? If it appears to be professional, do people question it?

On the other hand, since discovering self published books at $5 and below, it's getting harder for me to pay $6, $7, and $8 for even established authors whose work I follow.

See, I'm having the reverse reaction to books. When I see a book that is cheaper than $8, I assume that it is self-published or inferior so I am more likely to dig further. Oh, this is just a novella, oh it's self-published and the author isn't very good, oh it's a 30 year old book, etc.

If I see something that is priced high, I assume that it is traditionally published and higher quality. Maybe not two-four times better, but better nonetheless. I'm not saying I am any more likely to buy one or the other, but I do know when I see a "cheap" book that red flags pop up and I have to be either invested in the author (as with all of you) or be blown away by its marketing/reviews/etc.

As I mentioned earlier, I will be dropping the price of the first book when the sequel comes out, so I think I just need to keep writing until I get 10-20 books on Amazon and then if people think the higher priced ones are too high, I can direct them to the lower priced ones.

I am also thinking of a Christmas sale--I wish Amazon allowed you to set up sales automatically instead of forcing you to do it manually -_-

 

[Kevin O. McLaughlin]

I've heard other writers suggest the same thing, Zero Angel. I've also heard some indie writers beginning to suggest that the new "sweet spot" might be a couple of dollars below whatever the "big six" are selling new books for. At least, once you have built something of an audience, anyway. That's heavily debated, mind you, but the indications are that the average price of indie ebooks in top-hundred best seller lists is climbing, slowly but steadily.

 

[Caged Maiden]

I just want to comment on pricing of merchandise.

So I used to make soap in my home. It was good quality, all vegetable oils, and no additives except herbs from my garden. I used to haul forty pounds of soap to a show, sell it for two days, then give away a bunch just to not have to haul it home again. It wasn't about making a profit for me, it was about selling the remainders of the eight-pound batches after I took what I used in my home out. SO basically, in selling a few bars, I paid for the supplies for the next batch. What does this have to do with books, you ask?

Well, when I put it up for sale at $2 a bar, I barely sold any, and when I sold it for $4 a bar, I sold much more. Does that make sense? Not to me it didn't. Until someone explained it to me, after I told them about the weirdness of selling more after raising my prices.

They told me that at $4 a bar, people felt like they were purchasing something special, a product of superior quality, even though it was the exact same bar and recipe I'd always sold for less. However, if I priced it at $7 a bar, I'd see sales drop off again because that was too high for people to pay even for something special.

The lesson? That if it's too inexpensive, people doubt the quality, and if it's too expensive, they feel thy might get something better for their money.

That being said, I would probably pay $2.99-$4.99 for a book, but I'd think the $7.99 or $9.99 might just be more book than I'm looking for, or that someone thinks too highly of their work.

Pricing products is very important, because it says more than just "I'd like everyone to read this, so I'll make it $.99. I think by asking the questions, it shows you're already ahead of where I was when I was pricing my soap, so good for you, thinking of it that way. Best wishes on your sales. I hope you find the price point that gets you noticed and makes you the profits you are looking for. Nothing is more exciting than when you get repeat customers.

 

[Zero Angel]

Pricing products is very important, because it says more than just "I'd like everyone to read this, so I'll make it $.99. I think by asking the questions, it shows you're already ahead of where I was when I was pricing my soap, so good for you, thinking of it that way. Best wishes on your sales. I hope you find the price point that gets you noticed and makes you the profits you are looking for. Nothing is more exciting than when you get repeat customers.

I enjoyed your comment and appreciate the info/ideas, but I just wanted to mention that I can't see myself making any profit on my books in the foreseeable future.

Any money I make I am funneling back into my books--whether that is editors/cover artists or things like paying for a PO Box, flyers, bar codes, marketing and not to mention travel expenses to conventions and so forth.

This has the dual effects of (1) making my work better, and (2) helping out my taxes

 

[Zero Angel]

Brian's helpful blog post:

Interesting Blog Post Analyzing ebook Pricing | brianwfoster.com

and the applicable link from it:

Update to the Fantasy Bestseller Breakdown

 

[Kevin O. McLaughlin]

That reminds me. I need to do a new set of those; that article is a little dated at this point, and I'm curious how the market has changed. My guess is, publisher prices are down, indie prices are up, and publishers have gained a little bit of market share back. But I'll have to go get the data to see if my hunches are correct.

 

[Zero Angel]

If you have the time, Kevin, then more power to you! I'm sure there are many authors that would be interested in seeing updates.

 

[BWFoster78]

Brian's helpful blog post:

Interesting Blog Post Analyzing ebook Pricing | brianwfoster.com

and the applicable link from it:

Update to the Fantasy Bestseller Breakdown

I ran across that post while doing a Google search on marketing ebooks on Amazon. I was quite surprised when I realized it was Kevin's blog. He did an incredible job on those articles. Very useful!

 

[Zero Angel]

Wow, I am the most oblivious person in the world. Thanks for pointing me to that blog Brian, and thanks for such a useful blog Kevin!

Mythic Scribes members for the win!

 

[Kevin O. McLaughlin]

Thanks, guys! Glad it was useful.

We DO have a pretty cool crew around this site, don't we?

 

[BWFoster78]

Zero Angel,

When I previously looked at this thread, I answered without even looking at your Amazon page. I just did.

Please, for the love of God, man, buy and read: Making a Killing on Kindle.

 

[Zero Angel]

Zero Angel,

When I previously looked at this thread, I answered without even looking at your Amazon page. I just did.

Please, for the love of God, man, buy and read: Making a Killing on Kindle.

...I have purchased this book. Do you mind elaborating what you are referring to? Or just the whole presentation disappointed you...?

I have been adjusting the blurb as I promote it to people face to face, and I am commissioning a cover artist for the print version which I will adapt to the eBook. But I like the title and I'm pretty set on the price (except for sales/etc). So...yeeaah, anything else about my page set you off?

 

[BWFoster78]

Sent a PM.

 

[ALB2012]

Hello all,

I have been having doubts about the price of my novel.

My doubts are not that my book is not worth US$6.99, but rather that self-published eBooks are rarely that high.

When pricing my novel, I assumed it was worth as much as the cheapest paper books available: the mass-market paperback. These 50K-100K print run books clock in at between $6.99 and $8.99. If there is a book that I am interested in that is mass-market, I will probably buy it as readily as I would check it out at the library.

So that is why I priced my eBook at $6.99.

I've seen everything from people saying that self-published eBooks should be free, to no more than $2.99, to no more than $4.99, to no more than etc.

What are your thoughts?

If it influences your decision, my pricing plan for all my books is the following:

• New Novels: $6.99
• Old Novels: $4.99
• Novellas: $2.99
• Short stories: $0.99

Definition of "old" would be when the sequel comes out lower the price point of the earlier in the series to $4.99.

,

Personally I wouldn't pay 6.99 for an e-book. I think my limit might be 4.99 or so but we are talking about £ so I have no idea what that relates to in dollars. I would agree 99c is fine for a short. I say a 10 page book for 4.99 the other day.

But at the end of the day they are your books and you can charge what you please. If no one decides to buy them then you can drop the price and still make decent royalty. if the book is good people won't mind paying a bit extra.
I like your idea of dropping the price when a new one comes out.

 

[Zero Angel]

@BWFoster78: I guess PM. Constructive criticism is always good to have (and I will try to take it better than I usually take medicine ). Thank you in advance.

@ALB2012: 6.99 US is about 4.69 UK. Here's the UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008L1G3TM

 

[ALB2012]

I like your cover, but what do I know. I am not sold on the blurb but I got a sample

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I think the biggest problem with your cover is that it says:

By Richard "Zero Angel" Richardson

Professional authors don't use "By" & they don't combine naming.

If you don't want to use your real name due to commonality that's a good reason but a better pseudonym might help. As a buyer, I'd even prefer something like this:

The Throne of Ao

Z.A. Richardson

Secondarily, your cover art screams self-pubbed. As Michael was saying before, if you wish to be taken seriously, you need to look like the big boys. Decent cover art can range between $300 - $10k plus. Yes, that can be a lot of money depending on your finances. I'm not saying you have to do anything. Just consider attracting more business and readers by going to a site like deviant art.... Lots of talented artists needing to make a name for themselves as well.

 

[Kevin O. McLaughlin]

Actually, you can get some *really* good cover art these days for $25-100. Nice, polished, very crisp designs, etc.

You can also pay thousands of dollars for cover art. And the art that you pay a thousand bucks for will be better than the $100 art. But here's the thing: people are going to be viewing your cover art mostly at postage stamp size. That's the size it needs to sell them at. Which means the designs need to be a lot different from the elaborate paintings we once saw dominate cover art. They need to be crisp, clean design with lettering that stands out in very clear fonts. Simple designs work better than complex ones.

The design still ought to evoke the story, however, and the fonts used should look professional, and be properly placed. All that takes some art and design skill. But your hundred dollar cover might be 98% as effective as the thousand dollar one. So the indie writer makes a decision: is that other 2% worth $900? Usually not.

 

[Kevin O. McLaughlin]

Zero, you want a cover crit? I've done professional design before, and could probably give you some pointers. Either here or PM, if you'd like. Don't want to embarrass you, but some of the points made are really common ones that others might find valuable as well.