Have 99c novels undervalued the ebook? #kindle #authors #ebooks
Do readers expect too much for their dollar now?
Are they hooked in by more for less? IS quantity more important than quality?
It would seem so. All too often, authors are receiving awful 1Star reviews from disgruntled readers expecting more for their money. Obviously, said readers linger around the 99c or free kindle books, and when they do 'splash out' on something more, they expect...well...I'm not sure what they expect. But they obviously aren't getting it when they splurge.
Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled for all those self-pubbers out there who can dictate their prices and undercut traditionally or digital-first published authors. But it would seem as if their low, low prices are affecting all books across the spectrum and one might even say, degrading their own works by charging so little for them. I mean, if it's a good book, surely they deserve to be paid accordingly? And then we crossover to the other argument; when is an ebook priced too high?
Exactly how much should a full-length ebook cost? A novella? Or a short? Some traditional publishers understand digital books should be affordable. Less than the mass-market paperback or at least the same as. But many charge far too much, some even costing up to $20 for an ebook. TWENTY DOLLARS! I can see why a reader would reach for the 99c ebooks instead. They can get 20 of those for the price of say, the current amazon bestseller that was published by a NY biggie.
What are your thoughts on this? Are 99c ebooks going to be the death of traditionally published, what some would deem to be over-priced, ebooks? Or do you shrug and say 'healthy competition never hurt anyone?'
Talking of ebooks...
Here's my latest release from the bestselling Irish Kisses series.
A holiday romance set in a remote Irish castle, and although it's book four in a series, it can be read as a stand alone.
BUYLINKS
Here's my latest release from the bestselling Irish Kisses series.
A holiday romance set in a remote Irish castle, and although it's book four in a series, it can be read as a stand alone.
Hot winter kisses to warm broken hearts….
Sick of tending to everyone else’s needs around the holidays, divorced barmaid and granny Sandra ferries it from London to Belfast. All she wants for Christmas is some peace with a romance story in front of a roaring fire in a remote Irish castle. What she gets is a most unexpected Christmas present from her friends at Bell’s—A 1Night Stand with a young Irishman.
Can she hack it in the real world of romance, or are life’s complications and treacherous snowstorms best left to the pages of a book?
Newly widowed Ardan Draighean owns Ballygalley castle. Once run as a hotel with his late wife, the stone building now serves as a home for him and his son. After hearing about Madame Eve’s matchmaking skills, he contacts her in search of the perfect match. Although much older than him—by fifteen years—Sandra is his ideal woman. He be damned if he’ll let a good story get in the way of his happy ever after with her.
Hot winter kisses are all this couple needs to stay warm this Christmas, but will the heat stay long after the magical season of mistletoe has finished?
I can agree with the thoughts here. When I was looking into self pubbing my own book, I had to consider the price very carefully. 99 cents seemed too low for the amount of work that goes into a 15k word piece, somim settling at $1.99 and hoping it sells well with a few discount days and whatnot. I've seen ebooks (the latest Stackhouse me, for example) priced at the same or higher than the paperback version. I'll just go to the library at that point. Lol, excellent blog post!
ReplyDeleteah yes, the library. I really should join solely for the purpose of loaning those 'priced more than a paperback' ebooks!
ReplyDeleteExcellent suggestion. DUH. No idea why I haven't sorted that out yet. LOL Thanks xx