Self-publishing and Money

So, there has been a lot of conversation going around lately and I've been devouring blogs, trying to discover the magical price a self-published author should set for their first book.  It seems the "gold rush" of 99 cent books or free Amazon Select giveaway days is gone.  Word on the web is that Amazon has changed their program, and there is no longer a post-free bump to boost your book's ratings and gain visibility.

Does it even make sense to sell our books for 99 cents?  My answer to this question is a resounding "No!" I am willing to do giveaways and hand out a few free books here and there, but I have decided there is no way I want to take place in the mass giving away of thousands upon thousands of my book.  I have had the very good fortune of making many friends in the writing community, and they are so wonderful about sharing information.  Through the knowledge gained with their experiences, I've learned I'm not willing to give my book away, especially if there is now little benefit gained from doing so.  I've worked hard on Always & Forever, as have my critique partners and my editor, and it is worth way more than 99 cents.  Now, I am a new author, and I'm not so confident in my ability to market that I am going to price it at $9.99 either.  I've been thinking $3.99 seems like a good, fair price range.  Then again, a recent blog by Ed Robertson explains how Amazon has changed their algorithms so that higher priced books will rank higher on the popularity rankings, even if the lower priced book is actually selling more.  You can read that article in its entirety here.  What does this say for Indie authors who are trying to gain visibility?  Does it make sense to price your book lower than $5 when $5 and above seems to be the price point getting the most exposure?

I think books have been devalued in the eyes of the consumer.  They are so used to getting free books (and I basically think a 99-cent book is the same as free) that they think all books should be priced at this rate.  This image has been going around, and I really think it says it all.  Why is a book someone reads while drinking a Double Mocha Iced Coffee worth less than the drink, which took someone a few seconds to whip up?  My Kindle app is full of free books and cheap books that I will probably never read.  But if I pay $5-$15 for a book, you bet I'm going to read that sucker.

{After getting a few comments this morning and sleeping (so tired when I wrote this last night, but I'd promised it would be up) I want to make something clear. I do not think it is the readers' fault the book has been devalued. They've come to expect this because it is what so many of us are doing when we price our books, thinking we have to price at 99 cents to sell because of what "experts" told us.  This is neither an attack on authors nor readers. I think things just got warped in the "gold rush" mentality that started happening, and now we are starting to see a fallout as authors realize they aren't making a fair wage. Not that mid-list writers have ever made a fair wage.}

Many Indie authors are starting to speak out against the idea of a 99 cent book, and I'm happy they are.  I think devaluing something that takes so much work and effort is not a good idea.  Rob on Writing recently ranted My Novel Is Worth More Than John Locke's Comb (warning - this link contains some explicit language), and he's right. Why should we sell our hard work for the same price as crap that can be bought at the dollar store?  Lindsay Buroker discusses how it doesn't matter if you are a new author. Even established authors are unknown to people who have never read them.  She claims you just need a good cover, an interesting blurb, 5-10 reviews (that don't all need to be good), and a clean novel (meaning you hired an editor and didn't just throw a bunch of error-riddle crap up on Amazon).  You can read her entire article here.

I think the view points of Indie authors are slowly changing. We are slowly banding together and realizing there is no reason to sell our work for an amount that will never make us a decent living, let alone pay a single bill.  Heck, at 99 cents a book, only earning 35 cents on each sale, you would have to sell quite a few books to even afford that Double Mocha Iced Coffee.

Honestly, my expectations for a cheap book are low to begin with, and for that reason I may never read it. If someone wants more than a few bucks for their novel, I'm going to assume they've gone through all the proper channels to edit and present a book worthy of reading. Of course, it's always a good idea to read the free sample and make sure the book isn't full of errors beyond the norm in the traditional publishing industry.

I want to find the readers who are at least willing to spend as much on an entire novel of mine as they would on their coffee, or even if I price higher, it still would be cheaper than a combo meal at many fast food places.  If they pay a little more money for it, they'll probably read it, and then *crosses fingers* they will rave about it to all their friends! That's what I'm hoping for, anyway.

Where do you stand on this issue?  Do you think my plan to charge $3.99 for my book is too much, too little?  What are you willing to pay for a really good romantic suspense? What is your top price for an Indie book, or even an eBook?

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful day everyone!