My Point, Precisely! -

TresaC Reading The Cult of Me by Michael Brookes

26 Jun 2012, 11:53 AM | Post: #11

Accidental Agent!

Posts: 761
Joined: Sep 2011

Thanked 5 times

What I Read

RE: My Point, Precisely!

You are right. Dorte, there are no easy answers. We are all still learning. Some authors in the States are finding a backlash against cheap books as people assume they will be rubbish so they have raised their prices and sold more!

At least with forums like this we can share and hopefully gain a little insight now and again.

FBS Publishing "Make reading an activity, not a time filler."

Website Find

Thank (0)

Reply

Jennie Lee Reading Tell Me I'm Here - Anne Deveson

26 Jun 2012, 12:03 PM | Post: #12

Aussie Kiwi

Posts: 931
Joined: Mar 2012

Thanked 19 times

What I Read

RE: My Point, Precisely!

I found that raising the price for What Happened to Polly increased sales, particularly in the US. I took note of what people were saying about perceived value and decided to test the theory.

It was a triple win because not only were there more sales and bigger monthly cheques nut also some lovely reviews started piling up. It's worth a try and if it doesn't work, you can lower the price again at any time.

Smile

Jennie's Website

Breathe, Relax, Read.

Find

Thank (0)

Reply

davidwailing Reading Me Again by Keith Cronin

26 Jun 2012, 12:14 PM | Post: #13

Auto

Posts: 1,985
Joined: Sep 2011

Thanked 53 times

What I Read

RE: My Point, Precisely!

There'll never be any easy or obvious answers over ebook pricing, and I think in a way that's exciting. This is new ground we're all helping to break! Relying too heavily on established methods is what led the publishing industry towards the tar pit it's mired in today.

My tuppence worth is that a lot depends on how many reviews you've had, and how much of a readership you've managed to gain. When I published my first ebook Fake Kate, I set it at £1.71 and it didn't do very well because I was a complete newcomer. (Joo still talks about how she was put off by the ridiculously high price!) When I dropped it to 99p it did better, and then a second novel at £1.53 did better too. Then free promos helped get new readers and reviews. Recently I set them both at £1.99, feeling like they had now earned that price, and this month sales of them are at least as high as they've been before.

So as always, I think it's the slow steady route that's most effective. Start cheap, build your audience, get recognition, then raise the price. But keep it reasonable. The publishers charing £8 per ebook are, frankly, having a giraffe!

www.davidwailing.com

Website Find

Thank (0)

Reply

Dorte Hummelshoj Reading Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton

26 Jun 2012, 12:14 PM | Post: #14

Posting Freak

Posts: 576
Joined: Jan 2012

Thanked 14 times

What I Read

RE: My Point, Precisely!

Jennie, I´m determined to experiment with prices when I have more novels out there, but "The Cosy Knave" has been among the top 10,000 books in the US most of the time for several weeks so I am not going to hazard it right now Wink

And that is why I am happy I decided to relaunch it in the UK under another title. In that way I can have different prices.

Writer of traditional crime fiction. My blog

Website Find

Thank (0)

Reply

Dorte Hummelshoj Reading Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton

26 Jun 2012, 12:21 PM | Post: #15

Posting Freak

Posts: 576
Joined: Jan 2012

Thanked 14 times

What I Read

RE: My Point, Precisely!

(26 Jun 2012 12:14 PM)davidwailing Wrote: Relying too heavily on established methods is what led the publishing industry towards the tar pit it's mired in today.

You can say that again. Danish publishers started out with ebook prices around £ 20-30 (slighty cheaper than Danish hardbacks, but not much), and they defended the prices by saying that ebooks also needed editing etc, and that the sales were still so low. Small wonder Danes have only just begun to buy e-readers Big Grin

Writer of traditional crime fiction. My blog

Website Find

Thank (0)

Reply