Prices

Just Kevin · March 2017

Just out of curiosity I looked at a book of fiction promoted in Shameless.

It is of 178 pages and it costs £9.22 (ex VAT) that would make it cost £11.16 (inc VAT). In my view rather a lot for black & white paperback of only 178 pages which do not actually get to a story until page 9.

But not only that, it seems to have 2" margins all around in a 15.24cm wide x 22.86cm tall book, so as you can imagine there are not many words per page. (None of which are Justified. It also has page numbers on every page and First Line Indent is huge).

What I am hinting at here is one surely has to give value for money? Even books of fiction have to compete on price. Even more so if one is not famous!

Take a look at these sample prices >> https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=lp_266239_nr_n_8?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A266239%2Cn%3A%211025612%2Cn%3A72&bbn=1025612&ie=UTF8&qid=1488473704&rnid=1025612

Granted few if any are using expensive POD, but that only means that when using POD one cannot add a high royalty or the price just looks really out of place amongst the above examples. What you set as royalty may not look much to you, and no doubt those sample books may even be making more for the publishers, but due to POD being expensive to start with you cannot expect to make the same profit as mass-printed books, and actually sell many or any.

oncewas · March 2017

I hear what you are saying but the issue is pretty complicated. Someone selling an ebook at $0.99 is happy to make $0.35 but psychologically getting paid $0.35 for a print book is not very palatable. It probably has something to do with book buyers happily paying $ 9.99, or more, for a print book but not being prepared to part with more than $ 0.99 for an ebook.

You could argue that the average POD author will not sell very many copies anyway so why not set a price that you feel will give you some reasonable return. Each author has to ask himself if he would prefer to sell half a dozen books that give him $ 2 each in royalties or 6 books that gives him $0.50 each in royalties.

I publish print books on another platform and looking at my sales figures I find that it is not necessarily the cheapest books that sell best. In fact, it is almost the opposite. It would appear therefore, that price is not always the sole consideration when people buy books.

As for people sabotaging their chances of selling books because of poor formatting and perceived lack of value for money...it is a dog eat dog world out there. If someone creates a book that no one wants to buy it might just give some competitive edge to someone else.

I will concede that while I will happily pay $0.99 for any old book on Kindle - and most of what I read these days is by self-published authors - I would want something pretty decent if I had to pay the price of the average print book.

Just Kevin · March 2017

danielblue wrote:
I hear what you are saying but the issue is pretty complicated. Someone selling an ebook at $0.99 is happy to make $0.35 but psychologically getting paid $0.35 for a print book is not very palatable.

I fully agree, but it is possibly more or less the same as some major publishing house would pay a writer as actual royalties.

It probably has something to do with book buyers happily paying $ 9.99, or more, for a print book

Due to the abysmal value of the £ right now that is about £8.13 which is around the price our major supermarts sell hardbacks for and paperbacks from as little as £3.99. (Or two for £6!) As I say, we cannot even publish a paperback novel via POD for £3.99 at cost.

but not being prepared to part with more than $ 0.99 for an ebook.

People have to be credit with some sense (some do anyway). I don't know if it spread to the USA, but when Amazon began selling Kindle books the publishers set the price the same as the printed versions, and they got a vast amount of bad press over it. People realised that there's no printing or shipping costs with an e-book. Eventually Kindle book prices fell in shame, and some writers thanked them for that because they made far more total royalties selling a million e-books for $0.99 than a few 1000 or 100s of printed books.

You could argue that the average POD author will not sell very many copies anyway so why not set a price that you feel will give you some reasonable return.

We have covered this before. Because they will sell fewer or none. A retail price just cannot be made up. Companies spend a lot of money working out the prices that a market will stand.

Each author has to ask himself if he would prefer to sell half a dozen books that give him $ 2 each in royalties or 6 books that gives him $0.50 each in royalties.

Or four dozen books at $0.50 royalties each because it would be a much cheaper product? 6 x $2 = $12: 288 x $0.50 = $144. That's just theoretical of course because it would still cost more than a mass-printed book.

I publish print books on another platform and looking at my sales figures I find that it is not necessarily the cheapest books that sell best. In fact, it is almost the opposite. It would appear therefore, that price is not always the sole consideration when people buy books.

Not fully, no, but if you look at the price of most of them they hover around the same prices. It's what publishers (and retailers) believe people will pay. Again, take a look at these prices >> https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_0?fst=as%3Aoff%2Cp90x%3A1&rh=n%3A283155%2Cn%3A10495%2Ck%3Apaperbacks+best+sellers%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A2656022011&keywords=paperbacks+best+sellers&ie=UTF8&qid=1488505347&rnid=1000&ajr=2

As for people sabotaging their chances of selling books because of poor formatting and perceived lack of value for money...it is a dog eat dog world out there. If someone creates a book that no one wants to buy it might just give some competitive edge to someone else.

True, but this is Author Workshop

I will concede that while I will happily pay $0.99 for any old book on Kindle - and most of what I read these days is by self-published authors -

Why would that be?

I would want something pretty decent if I had to pay the price of the average print book.

Plus at the very least 50%? because they are POD?

oncewas · March 2017

Who knew? Instead of selling about 80 print books a month, as I am currently doing, I could be selling thousands simply by lowering the price.

Just Kevin · March 2017

Why not try it then? But 100s more, not 1000s Smiley Happy

Skoob_ym · March 2017

danielblue wrote:
Who knew? Instead of selling about 80 print books a month, as I am currently doing, I could be selling thousands simply by lowering the price.

And if you set a negative royalty, paying the author to read the book, you could "sell" millions!

Though one wonders if you need that many counters... because it would be very ... counter-productive... Smiley Very Happy

Just Kevin · March 2017

Skoob_Ym wrote:
danielblue wrote:
Who knew? Instead of selling about 80 print books a month, as I am currently doing, I could be selling thousands simply by lowering the price.

And if you set a negative royalty, paying the author to read the book, you could "sell" millions!

That makes no sense. Even if no royalty is added the cost of the book still has to be taken in to account, so a reader would indeed still have to buy the book, and at POD costs, so it would hardly be millions would it? But it could be greater sales if 10% is added rather than 100%. Why do you think places have sales? Even fake ones ...

Though one wonders if you need that many counters... because it would be very ... counter-productive...

Huh?

Just Kevin · March 2017

I have no idea why I get arguments here about pricing. It's no mystery. It's not something I have made up.

Here's an example of what I often say here >> https://www.millcitypress.net/author-learning-center/setting-retail-price

Here's another >> https://www.dogearpublishing.net/ak-pricing-your-book.php

of 129,000,000 search results on the subject saying the same things.

I bet you don't read even those two, though ...

Skoob_ym · March 2017

kevinlomas wrote:
Skoob_Ym wrote:
danielblue wrote:
Who knew? Instead of selling about 80 print books a month, as I am currently doing, I could be selling thousands simply by lowering the price.

And if you set a negative royalty, paying the author to read the book, you could "sell" millions!

That makes no sense. Even if no royalty is added the cost of the book still has to be taken in to account, so a reader would indeed still have to buy the book, and at POD costs, so it would hardly be millions would it? But it could be greater sales if 10% is added rather than 100%. Why do you think places have sales? Even fake ones ...

Though one wonders if you need that many counters... because it would be very ... counter-productive...

Huh?

A pun on "counterproductive" which does not mean "Producing counters" (as one might assume) but actually means "Counter to (or adverse to) productivity."

Thus if one has enough counters already, one would not wish to be counter-productive.

Just Kevin · March 2017

I have often wondered why Americans even call the worktops in kitchens counters. Counters are only to be found in shops, for old obvious reasons.

Skoob_ym · March 2017

It's simple, really: When one is discussing counters, "worktops" don't count.

Just Kevin · March 2017

Don't people also count on worktops?

Skoob_ym · March 2017

You can't count on worktops, but you can always count on your fingers.

Just Kevin · March 2017

And toes.

Prices

Comments