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sarsen
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http://ireaderreview.com/2011/02/19/what-happens-if-ebook-prices-drop-to-the-1-to-5-range/ That is a great article and contribution to the ebook debate.
blog: http://1513fusion.wordpress.com/
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Tommi
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Very interesting piece. I saw you over on the Kindle forums yesterday - good luck to you. I'm thoroughly enjoying selling for 70 pence - I see at the moment it's got me to 27 in the literary fiction chart my old bestseller book from here which is a lovely surprise
Songs from the Other Side of the Wall is just £0.70 on Kindle
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madeinwood
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Thanks, sarsen. That was an interesting article.
Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. Anton Chekhov
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tchaibov
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The prediction in the article that traditional publishers could become extinct is probably not as unthinkable as it at first seems. The fact is, dead-tree book prices are artificially high, despite the best efforts of the supermarkets to break the mould. E-book prices for the big names are artificially high because the publishers are thinking short term profit and simply do not grasp quite what a turning-point this is. We sell our e-book Sugar & Spice at a deliberately low rate of just 71p. We make a profit of 25p a sale. But multiply that by the thousands of sales every week... In three months we've gone from nowhere to the top five best-selling e-books on Kindle UK, and have bumped off mega-stars like James Patterson and Stieg Larsson on the way. All without a penny of advertising and hype from the traditional publishing sector and with no previous brand to build on. In fact, the dead-tree version of Sugar & Spice is still waiting for a decision from our prospective agent, let alone a publisher! And if it was bought up by a major publishing house today it would be lucky to makes the shops by Christmas. And we'd be asked to hand over control of pricing, cover image and quite possibly content. With Kindles now being sold in Tesco, and Asda and other supermarkets with their e-readers out there, the e-publishing revolution has now reached a tipping point. To be honest, while it would be pleasing to see Sugar & Spice on Waterstone's, we're beginning to wonder if traditional publishing is even worth bothering with any more...
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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LoopyLou
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But having an agent or a publisher is someone to hold your hand. I'm finding it all a little overwhelming at times, esp when I get not-so-good reviews. But yes, I have been shocked at how easy it is to publish an ebook - and the money to be had! Just bought Body 13 for 86p!!!
___________________________________________________ http://louisewise.blogspot.com
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Louise-Wise/e/B003FW6RKM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1Romance by Louise Wise
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tchaibov
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Quote: LoopyLou, Saturday, 12 Mar 2011 11:36But having an agent or a publisher is someone to hold your hand. I'm finding it all a little overwhelming at times, esp when I get not-so-good reviews. But yes, I have been shocked at how easy it is to publish an ebook - and the money to be had! Just bought Body 13 for 86p!!! Don't let poor reviews get you down. Sugar & Spice got more than its fair share of damning reviews on youwriteon and never got above 14 in the YWO charts. Youwriteon reviews can be useful, but don't let them decide your future for you. After all, youwriteon reviews are assigned regardless of reader preference, and many readers looking at your work would probably never touch your particular genre in real-life. Hey, you can't please everyone!
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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DaiBach
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Reading these posts, and checking the website mentioned, as well as reading the posts on Kindle tell me that, even if it is not going to 'take-over' traditional publishing, ebook will soon become a major force in the market.
What I am concerned about is the pricing. Some of the contributors to this thread have talked of around the £0.70p mark, i.e. about one dollar. Now, Amazon charge by the 'size' of the book in kb with a minimum of 0.15 (cents US) which I would guess is about £0.12p. And then, if the price is below $1.99 ( I think, please correct me if I am wrong) the writer gets 35% So, an a £0.70p book that equates to £0.23p ((£0.70-£0.12p)*35%=£0.23)
BUT others on the thread also says that the level of sales does not seem to be affected much by price up to, (and this is the figure mentioned) $5.00 (roughly £3.33).
However, at $1.49, the percentage paid to the writer then goes up to 70%. So for the sale of a book at say, £1.50 the arithmetic is £1.50-£0.12= £1.38* 70%= £0.97p.
So, it would seem that the best price, financially for the writer, is to pitch the book price at just over the $1.49 limit. 'Received wisdon' on that thread seems to show it makes little difference to net sales but total revenue (for the writer) is much higher.
Another point is the old adage 'A labourer is worthy of his hire.' All of us on YWO have worked bloody hard to finish books. We have put up all sorts of criticism, same kind, some a great less so, to do what we love. But surely a 100,000 word (say) book, if worth reading is worth a couple of quid?
By the way, if you want to try out Kindle, or sell your Kindle Book to those who do not have Kindle, there is a freebie download on Amazon called Kindle for PC.
I have it and works a treat, and comes with 'Pride and Prejudice' 'Treasure Island' and 'Aesops Fables' ready loaded.
So, I am putting two or more books up on Kindle in the next two or three weeks, and I hope all of us with finished works do the same, but please lets have a bit of pride and earn at least a pound a copy.
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tchaibov
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Quote: DaiBach, Sunday, 13 Mar 2011 09:14Reading these posts, and checking the website mentioned, as well as reading the posts on Kindle tell me that, even if it is not going to 'take-over' traditional publishing, ebook will soon become a major force in the market. What I am concerned about is the pricing. Some of the contributors to this thread have talked of around the £0.70p mark, i.e. about one dollar. Now, Amazon charge by the 'size' of the book in kb with a minimum of 0.15 (cents US) which I would guess is about £0.12p. And then, if the price is below $1.99 ( I think, please correct me if I am wrong) the writer gets 35% So, an a £0.70p book that equates to £0.23p ((£0.70-£0.12p)*35%=£0.23) BUT others on the thread also says that the level of sales does not seem to be affected much by price up to, (and this is the figure mentioned) $5.00 (roughly £3.33). However, at $1.49, the percentage paid to the writer then goes up to 70%. So for the sale of a book at say, £1.50 the arithmetic is £1.50-£0.12= £1.38* 70%= £0.97p. So, it would seem that the best price, financially for the writer, is to pitch the book price at just over the $1.49 limit. 'Received wisdon' on that thread seems to show it makes little difference to net sales but total revenue (for the writer) is much higher. Another point is the old adage 'A labourer is worthy of his hire.' All of us on YWO have worked bloody hard to finish books. We have put up all sorts of criticism, same kind, some a great less so, to do what we love. But surely a 100,000 word (say) book, if worth reading is worth a couple of quid? By the way, if you want to try out Kindle, or sell your Kindle Book to those who do not have Kindle, there is a freebie download on Amazon called Kindle for PC. I have it and works a treat, and comes with 'Pride and Prejudice' 'Treasure Island' and 'Aesops Fables' ready loaded. So, I am putting two or more books up on Kindle in the next two or three weeks, and I hope all of us with finished works do the same, but please lets have a bit of pride and earn at least a pound a copy. Pricing is a difficult one. If you are an established writer and have a loyal following then probably you can get away with a higher price, within reason, and get the higher royalties. But for a new writer with an unknown book trying to get a foothold, a price below one pound seems to work best in the UK. It's basic marketing psychology. After all there's over half a million titles on Amazon UK Kindle, and every new book starts at the back of the queue. We pitched our book Sugar & Spice at below one pound and managed to get to the top twenty. We tried increasing the price just enough to qualify for the 70% royalty and sales plummeted. We soon changed the price back! It took us several weeks just to regain our position. As of this morning it's the fifth best-seller in the UK Kindle charts. As a completely unknown author I don't believe we would have got there at a higher price. And believe me, the 35% royalties at this level of sales (we're talking thousands of sales a week) far, far, far exceeds the income we'd have taking 70% for fewer. Your point about the work that goes into writing a book is valid from our perspective, as writers. But the reader doesn't care one jot whether it took us three months or thirty years. They want a good book to read, and if they've never heard of you before then why pay £2 for your e-book when there's another unknown author next to it for 70p? It's a buyer's market.
Don't get left behind by the e-publishing revolution.
There's never been a more exciting time to be a writer!http://www.markwilliamsinternational.com
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visinker
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DaiBach
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Quote: tchaibov, Sunday, 13 Mar 2011 10:27Pricing is a difficult one.
If you are an established writer and have a loyal following then probably you can get away with a higher price, within reason, and get the higher royalties.
But for a new writer with an unknown book trying to get a foothold, a price below one pound seems to work best in the UK. It's basic marketing psychology.
After all there's over half a million titles on Amazon UK Kindle, and every new book starts at the back of the queue.
We pitched our book Sugar & Spice at below one pound and managed to get to the top twenty.
We tried increasing the price just enough to qualify for the 70% royalty and sales plummeted. We soon changed the price back!
It took us several weeks just to regain our position. As of this morning it's the fifth best-seller in the UK Kindle charts. As a completely unknown author I don't believe we would have got there at a higher price.
And believe me, the 35% royalties at this level of sales (we're talking thousands of sales a week) far, far, far exceeds the income we'd have taking 70% for fewer.
Your point about the work that goes into writing a book is valid from our perspective, as writers.
But the reader doesn't care one jot whether it took us three months or thirty years.
They want a good book to read, and if they've never heard of you before then why pay £2 for your e-book when there's another unknown author next to it for 70p?
It's a buyer's market.
[/quoteWell, I must say I AM taken aback by the 'thousands' I was thinking 'dozens', evidently mistakenly. And the £0.70p price equates to about one dollar. Do you know where your sales comes from, ie Europe or the USA?
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eBooks - a Gutenburg moment?
23 Feb 2011, 23:52
