Indie publishing. Theres a reason I do it, and theres a reason so many others do it as well. Its called freedom. That freedom stretches everywhere from subject matter to cover and interior art, to font type and, yes, even to price. But right now, Id like to talk about pricing. ALL of my novels are priced at $0.99 USD. Thats my choice as an independent author/publisher. If that seems like desperation in a market that seems overwhelmed with a rise authors and a decrease in readers, I think its worth looking at whats really going on here. Does a $0.99 novel discourage readers from reading fiction? Or does shitty fiction discourage readers from reading fiction? Writing is a career choice for me. Its rare, even unlikely, that you will see me avoiding interaction with my one or two readers on a weekly basis. Im a business of one (I outsource editing and cover art and a few other things, and I have a small group of the most passionate readers alive today that volunteer their time for a few tshirts and gold-pen signatures) compared to Penguin Random House, a company that employs more than 10,000 people. The argument that my pricing is an act of desperation is about as well-formed as others argument that their $4.99 is justified. The overhead of a $4.99 author is not much different than mine… but its nowhere close to the overhead of Penguin Random House. I think we can all agree with that. Ive never been accused of being a genius, but lets consider that Gillian Flynns Gone Girl is currently priced at $9.99. Would logic not suggest that the indie authors charging $4.99 (even $2.99) for their novels are overpricing their product? I think it does. But if you can earn a living off $4.99, then I support you and your price (its your business, not mine) but please dont suggest that my $0.99 price-point is an act of desperation (thats my business, not yours). And no, my low price does not discourage readers from reading fiction, and no, it does not encourage readers to demand a cheap prices from independent authors (who have virtually no overhead, remember) on a regular basis. Youre losing sight of the real killer to readership: Crappy fiction combined with leaving readers feeling ripped off is what will kill indie fiction sales (which increased 11% from 2011 to 2012, for the record). I wont apologize for my low prices, just as I dont expect others to apologize for their 1/2-Penguin Random House prices (psst… I think we ALL know you dont employ 5,000 employees) or for their cover art, or for how they run their business, or for how they treat their fans. I fully support my readers, and I fully support yours too. Regardless of where they come from, they SHOULD demand fair prices, because without that dialogue, our industry and our ability to work in a field that we love simply do not exist. We owe our readers fairness (yes, even the readers that cant afford to pay $4.99 because they are the ones that read hundreds of books every year and survive on a single income, and raise their kids, and make sacrifices to read our stories). But more than that, our readers deserve a GREAT story, a story as great or greater than Gillian Flynns story. If you want to make more money (I, for example, need $4 million to buy my West-Coast house and Porsche), its not going to be achieved on price or turning away five readers who cant afford $4.99 and overcharging the five others that can… its going to be achieved by telling a great story. Now lets hear all the hate (but dont forget to say whether youre a reader or an author).
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 01:49:34 +0000
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