My results have been surprising, to say the least.
If you've been a long time follower of this blog, you know that way back in 2009 I advocated for $0.99 ebooks.
Years passed, and I pushed prices up to $2.99, then $3.99, and my current Jack Daniels novel, RUM RUNNER, has been performing well at $4.99.
Just to see if it made any difference, I listed the tenth JD thriller, LAST CALL, at $5.99.
And people really love the higher prices. To the tune of 10x as many sales every time I go up a dollar.
Crazy, right? I know it sounds counter intuitive, but data doesn't lie. Who would have thought that fans actually want to pay more money?
Well, actually, the Big 5 have been saying that for years. And as much as I hate to admit it, I think they're right. I've been devaluing my titles.
With this in mind, I quickly put my coming-soon eleventh Jack Daniels thriller up on Amazon for pre-order.
Keep in mind that this isn't the final cover. I just slapped this together to get some of that primo pre-order cha-ching.
I'll probably change the colors a little before it goes live. And maybe use a font other than Comic Sans.
But, at this point, it isn't about professionalism. This is a money grab, pure and simple. Which is why the ebook version of SCREAMING ORGASM will be priced at $39.99.
Pre-order now! And be sure to follow my example. Every writer reading this needs to price their ebooks between thirty and fifty dollars each. You fans will thank you for it.
Trust me. I'm a trendsetting pioneer with this self-pub shit.
Good One! You had me right up to $39.95. ROFL!
ReplyDeleteCan't stop laughing!
ReplyDeletethis is absolutely ridiculous...
ReplyDeleteyou admit that the big 5 have had their pricing right all along and that the higher price is bringing in 10x sales
but a price rise to $39 is way too far...the big 5 never price that high....add to the fact that your cover looks rushed and unprofessional, this is not a great move
I am disappointed, but will be awaiting the results of your price challenge
Happy April Fool's Day! Good one.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Carl feels threatened by your cover design prowess.
ReplyDeletebut a price rise to $39 is way too far
ReplyDelete$39.99. Remember the last 99 cents--that's another 68 cents in my pocket.
Also, in case I didn't mention this, SCREAMING ORGASM will be 3000 pages long, so I make that KENP cash. The majority of that word count will be passages from Harlan Ellison books. He seems like a good sport, and I doubt he'll mind.
Ha ha ha! Loving this.
DeleteSounds like a winner to me!
ReplyDeleteLOL...good one!
ReplyDeleteHappy April Fool's Day to you as well, Joe. (Though I really think Melinda Duchamp should take a stab as the guest writer for Screaming Orgasm. :-) )
ReplyDeleteGreat one, Joe! I'm still chuckling!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there's a lot of people out there who've spent much more that $39 bucks for a Screaming Orgasm.
ReplyDeletea 3000 page book, using other peoples work!
ReplyDeleteyou need to read up on copyright law, and also factor in the amazon will clamp down on producing long books just to raise their page count
You had me going right up to the end. I discovered R. A. Salvadore's latest books are priced at $26.99 for Kindle recently, so I'd love to hear you're take on that. Great post!
ReplyDeleteIt's so obvious, I don't know why you haven't tried this before. I'm going to make an ebook of all of the Jack Daniels novels combined into one, then sort all of the words alphabetically in 36-point Comic Sans font. I'll call it "Guzzling Moonshine: Jack Daniels and the Case of the Mixed-Up Novels".
ReplyDeleteI know that your pattern is to write an April Fool's blog every year...so I wasn't fooled.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I was about to tell you that people were buying the books because you were writing good books. Silly me.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what's funnier...the price or the title. Classic! This is HILARIOUS!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to up the prices, selected titles on selected platforms and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I'm not joking.
Okay, that's my project for next year. I'm going to steal your cover, 3000 pages of Harlan Ellison and actually put it up for sale for $39.99. It will be interesting to see if anyone buys it.
ReplyDeleteOh no, I only just saw this, I hope I'm not too late. Are the pre-orders sold out yet? Please don't let them be sold out. I really want to read this book. Oh God I'm so excited just thinking about it I'm gonna have a screaming orgasm of my own.
ReplyDeletePlease, take my money. Take it now! NOWWW!!
...
Ummm, maybe I'll order it later. I've just got to, ahh, go freshen up...
You had me until you agreed with the big 5.
ReplyDeleteLuv it. Another great Apr 1st blog. Thanks, Joe. The "Anonymous" commentator supplied typical "erudite" comments supporting Big 5 "brilliance" on ebook marketing and pricing and that you finally succumb to their "wisdom". ROFLMAO!
ReplyDeleteWho really pays attention to the post dates??? I certainly don't! Well, I will from now... Anyway, I'm new here, absolutely great blog with a wealth of information! Well done!
ReplyDeleteLMAO. Well played, sir. Extremely well played.
ReplyDeleteJoe,
ReplyDeleteyes, I sure hope that wasn't your final cover...you misspelled your name, ha, ha. Otherwise, a great first draft!
Brilliant advice. I've decided to see if I can $49.99 for my book Toby which is currently on preorder. I'll let you know how that goes :P
ReplyDeleteAlso laughed when I clicked the link (because I was actually curious to see how much you did post it on for) and was confronted with Rick Astley. Thanks for the laugh!