tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post8336920441649386376..comments2024-03-28T02:00:11.260-05:00Comments on A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Another Talk with Ann Voss PetersonJA Konrathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-29183377418186129362011-03-31T20:36:46.992-05:002011-03-31T20:36:46.992-05:00Great idea with the Google Docs.Great idea with the Google Docs.Bianca Connorshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15642533140476922804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-21931597158111744662011-03-31T04:02:53.932-05:002011-03-31T04:02:53.932-05:00The Gaiman video above reminded me of the HOME TAP...The Gaiman video above reminded me of the HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC campaign of the 1980s. It was nonsense and, as he said, much more akin to free advertising.<br /><br />As a teenager, my mates and I copied each other's albums all the time and recorded songs off the radio for our own enjoyment. Guess what? We ended up buying lots of music and still do.<br /><br />I've never forgotten the singer of That Petrol Emotion (am I the only person on here who knows who they are?) saying it was the best moment of his life when he saw a bootleg cassette of one of their gigs on sale at Camden Market. It was the moment he knew they'd made it.<br /><br />Yes, I could easily download torrents of ebooks but you know what? It's just easier to browse through Amazon and click on them. The prices are low and it's a simple impulse buy. I'm more bittorent savvy than almost everyone I know and I can't be bothered with the hassle of it, so I'm pretty certain that all my friends will be the people who just buy a Kindle and shop for ebooks in the legal way.<br /><br />The browsing, shopping and sampling experience is a big part of why ebooks sell so much.<br /><br />My girlfriend is a big fan of thrift store fashion. She buys something new almost every other day, but it's the thrill of finding something that appeals. She doesn't want someone to dump a huge container full of old dresses on her doorstep in the night. It's just not the same.<br /><br />Yes, I just compared novels to thrift store dresses. I don't know how that happened.<br /><br />Andy Conway<br />The Girl with the Bomb Inside (A Novelette) on <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004T3B0X0/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=andyconwaycou-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B004T3B0X0" rel="nofollow">Amazon.co.uk</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Bomb-Inside-ebook/dp/B004T3B0X0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300781838&sr=1-1-catcorr" rel="nofollow">Amazon.com</a>Andy Conwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12092513024341129435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-3901053905464103282011-03-30T17:38:09.176-05:002011-03-30T17:38:09.176-05:00LOL, David. Yes, there's always a way to ratio...LOL, David. Yes, there's always a way to rationalize crime.<br /><br />That's one of the fun things about creating villains.S.J. Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947499917626378222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-83114017321718044702011-03-30T17:31:35.154-05:002011-03-30T17:31:35.154-05:00But many Snickers are thrown out if they fail to s...But many Snickers are thrown out if they fail to sell by a certain date. So really you're just stealing one of the Snickers they wouldn't have sold anyway.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311450979063952296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-77847285382841151212011-03-30T17:19:23.767-05:002011-03-30T17:19:23.767-05:00We're seriously not equating file sharing with...<i>We're seriously not equating file sharing with murder, are we?</i><br /><br />Just saying both are unethical and illegal. I'll admit the two are at opposite extremes of the strata. <br /><br />So let's go back to the Snicker's bar example. Is stealing a Snicker's bar going to hurt Wal-Mart? Nope. Does that make it okay to steal a Snicker's bar? Nope.<br /><br />I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy shoplifted candy very much. Same with music and literature.S.J. Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947499917626378222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-5876581677927180642011-03-30T17:03:46.296-05:002011-03-30T17:03:46.296-05:00We're seriously not equating file sharing with...We're seriously not equating file sharing with murder, are we?<br /><br />I've jailbroken my iPhone. I have copies of Playstation games that are long out of print and impossible to find. And once, I Xeroxed a short story from a library book because I couldn't get the book anywhere.<br /><br />If you Google my name, you'll find hundreds of torrents sharing my ebooks. And yet I still managed to sell 60,000 this month.<br /><br />There isn't a single study that proves piracy harms the artist.JA Konrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08778324558755151986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-60495622023700913032011-03-30T16:51:15.771-05:002011-03-30T16:51:15.771-05:00I hear the pricing argument a lot. Just make it a...I hear the pricing argument a lot. Just make it affordable. But the people I know who download free e-books and audiobooks wouldn't consider buying books anymore if they can get them for free. Free's better than cheap. Does it equal a lost sale, maybe not. Were the titles you bought (of Joe's books) available to torrent for free? Did you buy them because you wanted to support him, or were the ones you wanted simply not available? <br /><br />This isn't an easy, black or white thing. RBT says most people don't think it's wrong. I don't know if that's true. But watching that Gaiman video I question my own stance a bit. Not about the ethics of it, but how it affects artists. If you consider it free publicity for print books, then maybe it can be a good thing. But the numbers may change radically as the industry changes.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311450979063952296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-91471664706480678352011-03-30T16:42:04.313-05:002011-03-30T16:42:04.313-05:00BTW, Kiana never got back to me so I still have a ...BTW, Kiana never got back to me so I still have a slot open for tomorrow's <a href="http://coverartreview.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Cover Art Review</a>.<br /><br />First person to ask gets it.S.J. Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947499917626378222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-81716466023854581532011-03-30T16:40:34.886-05:002011-03-30T16:40:34.886-05:00That's reality.
So are drive-by shootings. Do...<i>That's reality.</i><br /><br />So are drive-by shootings. Doesn't mean we have to participate in them or condone them.<br /><br /><a href="http://tiny.cc/4280n" rel="nofollow">Journey Into Darkness: A Kim Journey Thriller</a><br /><br /><a href="http://coverartreview.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Cover Art Review</a>S.J. Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947499917626378222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-73429928639975276252011-03-30T16:33:06.945-05:002011-03-30T16:33:06.945-05:00David said...
Whether it's called theft o...<i>David said...<br /><br /> Whether it's called theft or something else, it's still against the law. It's also unethical. The entitled downloader probably justifies his actions by saying he's exerting pricing control. Putting pressure on the author or publisher to price the product the way HE wants it priced, rather than what makes economic sense. What other area of life allows a person to behave that way? Elsewhere, if you don't like the price, you shop around. You still don't like it, or you can't afford it, you don't buy it. $4.00 is too much for a person's blood, sweat, and tears, yet we spend $4.00 now on a single gallon of gasoline? Entitlement. There's a lot of it these days.</i><br /><br />You just don't get it. You aren't in control; readers are in control. No matter how much you may believe copyright infringement of your work is wrong, readers are going to do what they're going to do. They don't care what you think.<br /><br />If you price your work at a level the market considers reasonable, most people will pay for it if they want to read it. If you price it at a level the market considers too high, most people will simply ignore it and many of the smaller number who don't will simply get an unauthorized copy. That's reality. The music business tried for years to deny that reality, and look where it got them.<br /><br />Joe and a lot of other authors are smart. They realize that an unauthorized copy does not equal a lost sale, and that making stuff freely available leads many people to try your stuff. If they like it, and if your other stuff is priced reasonably (in their opinion, not yours), they'll buy it. I'd never heard of Joe until I started reading his blog a few months ago. I downloaded some of his free stuff, and have since bought five of his books. And I'll probably buy the others as well, because they're priced reasonably.<br /><br /><i> Maybe you should allow other authors to make that decision for themselves. Oh, and what happens when e-books account for 75% of all book sales. Wil that change your free e-books for all policy?</i><br /><br />Ultimately, authors don't decide what people will pay for their work. Their readers do.<br /><br />Why would I change my mind? I write technical and scientific books, which aren't particularly suited to reading on an e-reader (small screen, most lack color, and so on). So my publisher will distribute the book I'm writing now as a PDF that can be freely downloaded. If the reader wants a printed version, my publisher will be happy to sell it to them. And we'll sell many more print books that way.<br /><br />If one day ereaders are more suitable to the type of stuff I write, yes I will continue to distribute copies freely. <br /><br />--<br />Robert Bruce ThompsonUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06713034882489020664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-84391841512578156842011-03-30T16:19:42.756-05:002011-03-30T16:19:42.756-05:00Thanks TJ. That's a very interesting video.Thanks TJ. That's a very interesting video.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311450979063952296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-9779977382750201002011-03-30T16:15:18.669-05:002011-03-30T16:15:18.669-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311450979063952296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-50029357459410258772011-03-30T16:12:51.723-05:002011-03-30T16:12:51.723-05:00I know we are venturing way off topic..bu since th...I know we are venturing way off topic..bu since the subject came up. <br /><br />There is an interesting interview with Neil Gaiman about how he feels that pirating of his books..actually helped his sales....by almost 300%<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qkyt1wXNlIT.J. Dotsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08408403689172395803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-25942464273591354082011-03-30T16:06:15.825-05:002011-03-30T16:06:15.825-05:00Sheri Leigh said...
You're welcome. You&#...<i>Sheri Leigh said...<br /><br /> You're welcome. You'll notice that official government statements refer to it as "copyright infringement", not "theft". That's because it isn't theft.<br /><br /> Right. But there's that pesky 3 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine to consider.<br /><br /> There's also no mention of paying taxes in the constitution. But the IRS has a funny way of fining and confining you anyway.<br /><br /> Don't worry, I'm sure the FBI will have no problem with you calling it "copyright infringement" from jail all you like.</i><br /><br />I would think that you, as a writer, would be as concerned as I am about the misuse of words.<br /><br />Incidentally, despite the wording of the standard video warning, the FBI has no interest in pursuing non-commercial copyright infringement. They go after people who knock off copies and sell them, not people who make copies for personal use or distribution to friends. They could hardly do otherwise, given that nearly everyone has at one time or another committed the crime of copyright infringement.<br /><br />Like Cory Doctorow, I don't mind in the slightest if someone infringes my copyrights non-commercially. In fact, I convinced my publisher (O'Reilly/MAKE) to release the book I'm currently writing under a Creative Commons license, which allows anyone to copy it freely. That leads to more sales of the printed books.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06713034882489020664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-85609245940047121862011-03-30T16:05:33.542-05:002011-03-30T16:05:33.542-05:00Semantics aside, taking something that doesn't...Semantics aside, taking something that doesn't belong to you because you feel it is priced to high is unethical, and it's illegal.<br /><br /><i>Just since I bought my Kindle in mid-January of this year, I've bought more than 60 books from Amazon. So please don't come off all holier than thou about supporting authors.</i><br /><br />So...since you buy a lot of books, stealing some is okay? Sorry, Charlie. Not gonna fly in the real world. Go spend half your annual salary at Wal-Mart, and then get caught pocketing a Snicker's bar. <br /><br /><i>Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass GO...</i>S.J. Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947499917626378222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-79750592585666740082011-03-30T16:00:11.360-05:002011-03-30T16:00:11.360-05:00On the subject of word counts, my own debut Big 6 ...On the subject of word counts, my own debut Big 6 published novel was just shy of 140,000, and equalled 330ish pages in hardback and about 550 in paperback. I would say that most traditionally published thrillers/crime novels come in well over 100,000 words, with writers like Vince Flynn and Lee Child writing between 120-150,000. You can find out the word counts of many books on Amazon via the "Text Stats" feature. A rule of thumb is if the book is over 400 it's over 100,000 words. <br /><br />If we say there is an average of 250 words on each page then a novel of 60,000 is 240 pages), while 70,000 equates to 280, 80,000 to 320, 90,000 to 360, and 100,000 to 400 pages.<br /><br />A book 240 pages long or thereabouts is very short by traditional standards. Even 300 pages is short these days, unless they're romance or young adult. So I think some people have their idea of what makes a novel a bit skewed.<br /><br />That said, ebooks are a whole different animal, and there clearly is a market for shorter works, but I think there is a danger that readers buying an ebook and believing it to be a novel in the traditional sense, and finding out it's only 50,000 words long, are likely to feel short changed, whatever they paid for it.<br /><br />Also, the average reader has no idea how many words a book contains and just works off the page count to determine if it's long or short, so I'm not sure how useful it is quote the word count in a description.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14861454141675790625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-28893794125088258592011-03-30T15:52:30.322-05:002011-03-30T15:52:30.322-05:00You're welcome. You'll notice that officia...<i>You're welcome. You'll notice that official government statements refer to it as "copyright infringement", not "theft". That's because it isn't theft.</i><br /><br />Right. But there's that pesky 3 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine to consider.<br /><br />There's also no mention of paying taxes in the constitution. But the IRS has a funny way of fining and confining you anyway.<br /><br />Don't worry, I'm sure the FBI will have no problem with you calling it "copyright infringement" from jail all you like.Sheri Leighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04634054915514468456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-21172769263841776062011-03-30T15:30:27.044-05:002011-03-30T15:30:27.044-05:00Sheri Leigh said...
And, please, let's no...<i>Sheri Leigh said...<br /><br /> And, please, let's not call copyright infringement "theft". It isn't. Theft requires conversion. If you make an unauthorized copy of one of my books, you have stolen nothing from me.<br /><br /> Gee I guess all those warnings on my old VHS tapes and those shorts they're showing in theaters about "no recording devices allowed" in movie theaters lately... well, I guess the FBI must just be kidding about those warnings. Silly me. Copyright infringement is not theft. Thanks for clearing it up.</i><br /><br />You're welcome. You'll notice that official government statements refer to it as "copyright infringement", not "theft". That's because it isn't theft.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06713034882489020664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-17469234067566549032011-03-30T15:24:26.925-05:002011-03-30T15:24:26.925-05:00And, please, let's not call copyright infringe...<i>And, please, let's not call copyright infringement "theft". It isn't. Theft requires conversion. If you make an unauthorized copy of one of my books, you have stolen nothing from me. </i><br /><br />Gee I guess all those warnings on my old VHS tapes and those shorts they're showing in theaters about "no recording devices allowed" in movie theaters lately... well, I guess the FBI must just be kidding about those warnings. Silly me. Copyright infringement is not theft. Thanks for clearing it up.Sheri Leighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04634054915514468456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-43048502477604591522011-03-30T14:55:59.299-05:002011-03-30T14:55:59.299-05:00David said...
Robert, the fact that you go to...<i>David said...<br /><br /> Robert, the fact that you go to a author's blog and admit to pirating books because you don't feel like paying more than $2.99 is gutsy--and shows how little respect you have for writers. Maybe you're the voice of the poor, huddled, proletariat masses, but theft is theft. Risk or no risk.</i><br /><br />Well, I *am* an author, and I've been making my living at it full-time for about 15 years now. I doubt that anything I said will come as a shock to Joe. And, incidentally, I wouldn't grab an unauthorized copy of Joe's book; as I said, either-or, and the one I'd choose in this case is simply not to read it. But I'd be in the minority, as I suspect Joe realizes would be the case if he drastically overpriced his books.<br /><br />And, please, let's not call copyright infringement "theft". It isn't. Theft requires conversion. If you make an unauthorized copy of one of my books, you have stolen nothing from me. If I steal your car, you no longer have the car. Or if you come into my home and steal a printed copy of one of my books, I no longer have that printed copy. Calling copyright infringement "theft" or "piracy" is something MAFIAA do because few people consider copyright infringement to be wrong, while nearly everyone considers theft and piracy, in the real sense of those words, to be wrong.<br /><br />Incidentally, I'll bet I've bought more books than you have, and probably by a considerable margin. Just since I bought my Kindle in mid-January of this year, I've bought more than 60 books from Amazon. So please don't come off all holier than thou about supporting authors.<br /><br />--<br />Robert Bruce ThompsonUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06713034882489020664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-6777956613305016902011-03-30T13:52:27.290-05:002011-03-30T13:52:27.290-05:00RBT said:
"People don't buy short storie...RBT said:<br /><br /><i>"People don't buy short stories, novelettes, or novellas individually in print form"</i><br /><br />That's because NY rarely prints them. The profit margin per book is too low due to print costs. Printing shorts used to be viable 50 years ago, but things changed. That gets leveled once printing costs get removed from the equation.<br /><br />Now, this is not to say that readers won't buy longer fiction. Damn right they will! But publishers have to stick in a sellable and profitable range, otherwise <br />they can't buy the books. <br /><br /><i>"Short fiction is not economically viable in the long term even on the Kindle, unless it is sold very cheaply."</i><br /><br />EVERYTHING is economically viable on the Kindle. No storage fees or print fees, unlimited shelf space, massive market penetration of the distributor, and vast numbers of readers. Every single thing, even a niche market, is huge.<br /><br /><i>"Individual short stories will have no market unless they're priced at $0.00."</i><br /><br />Amazon had a shorts program that they've merged with KDP, and those shorts were $0.99. They now have a similar program for articles. As in Magazine-type articles. The equivalent of blog posts. And they're selling. The program is new, but they're selling. (this is the Kindle Singles Program that Kendall mentioned)<br /><br /><i>"Novelettes will be the same. Novellas (25,000 to 70,000 words) by established authors will probably have a market at $0.99, which price they'll share with loss-leader short (75,000 to 100,000 word) novels by established authors and most novels by less well-known authors. Full-length novels by known authors will settle down probably at $1.99, which is about the value to most readers of the story alone, which is all they're getting with an ebook purchase."</i><br /><br />Can I ask where you're getting your numbers for word count? Those are WAY off from my experience speaking to dozens of agents and looking at award word count qualifiers. I'd be interested to know your source. <br /><br />From the standards I've been dealing with for 10 years or so, this is where things stand, +/- a couple thousand words for particular markets:<br />>7,500 = short story<br />7,500-20,000 = novelette (for those who use the designation)<br />20,000-50,000 = Novella<br />50,000+ = Novel<br />80,000 = where an agent would like a debut novel to be, also typical word limit for YA fiction, unless it's JK Rowling<br />120,000 = good lower length for epic fantasy (and publisher cutoff for some new authors - gets too expensive for print)<br />150,000 = bloated, and editor will want big cuts, unless in certain genres or by certain authors. <br />200,000 = the makings of a trilogy, or one VERY profitable author with a lot of clout<br /><br />As I stated before, I've paid $7-8 bucks for printed novellas, and they were worth every penny. Yeah, I can read through them in 2-3 hours. Sometimes I want something quick, and sometimes I want something meaty. You're honestly saying that at some point, a JK Rowling novel (90k-250k words) will be expected to be $1.99 by the entire buying public? I paid about $16 for the last Harry Potter book, after discounts, and I would pay that AGAIN for EVERY REREAD. That book is worth hundreds to me, so I got a bargain. I'm not alone. $1.99 is too low for a new book by an established author. That devalues the work completely, IMO. <br /><br />I like many of your points, but I think you're perhaps dealing with incorrect info, or else just very pessimistic. <br /><br />Jenna<br />@lundeenliteraryLundeen Literaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06706378156366979277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-84274902312891592982011-03-30T13:22:27.229-05:002011-03-30T13:22:27.229-05:00david said:
> You're suggesting then that...david said:<br />> You're suggesting then that <br />> anything over 99 cents would<br />> be taking advantage of and <br />> milking the reader.<br /><br />not necessarily.<br /><br />besides, that's not my decision<br />to be making in the first place...<br /><br />the customers themselves will<br />decide if they got a good price<br />or if they were fleeced, after<br />they finish reading the book.<br /><br />but because his books have<br />all jumped into the top-60,<br />with all but one of 'em regularly<br />inhabiting the top-30, it's easy<br />to see that john locke has been<br />giving fans fantastic value, and<br />making new ones in the process.<br /><br /><br />> So anything higher than 99 <br />> cents is screwing the reader?<br /><br />not necessarily.<br /><br />besides, again, that is _not_<br />my decision to be making...<br /><br />(and, for the record, i advise<br />authors _not_ to use $.99,<br />because the "royalty" that<br />amazon pays at that price<br />is one that i feel is unfair,<br />since that's half what it pays<br />for prices of $2.99 and up.)<br /><br /><br />> That seems like you're <br />> putting a valuation on him, <br />> or on e-books in general <br /><br />art is worth whatever you can<br />get someone to pay for it...<br /><br /><br />> Are you saying that all <br />> e-books should be 99 cents<br /><br />most definitely not.<br /><br />charge whatever you like.<br /><br /><br />> or that his books are <br />> fairly priced at 99 cents<br /><br />when it comes to prices,<br />the notion of "fairness"<br />is extremely hard to define.<br />and hardly worth the bother.<br /><br />if an author wants to charge<br />an "unfair" price, so be it...<br />as long as there is no law<br />requiring me to buy the book,<br />i'm free to make the decision.<br /><br />on the other hand, however,<br />it would be hard for me to<br />characterize a price of $.99<br />as being "unfair" or "too much".<br /><br /><br />> and anything above that <br />> would be unfair?<br /><br />you seem to want me to give<br />some strict definition, but i<br />just don't see things that way.<br /><br />if someone wanted to charge<br />ten thousand bucks for a book,<br />i'd be completely fine with it...<br />i wouldn't buy the darn thing,<br />but that's not the question...<br /><br />likewise, if the corporations<br />want to charge $12.99 for<br />the e-books, i'm fine with it.<br />i may laugh at their stupidity,<br />but price however you like...<br /><br />-bowerbirdbowerbirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05962115094107919533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-91114028762767937452011-03-30T13:18:11.722-05:002011-03-30T13:18:11.722-05:00Robert, the fact that you go to a author's blo...Robert, the fact that you go to a author's blog and admit to pirating books because you don't feel like paying more than $2.99 is gutsy--and shows how little respect you have for writers. Maybe you're the voice of the poor, huddled, proletariat masses, but theft is theft. Risk or no risk.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311450979063952296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-42672189081365831832011-03-30T12:50:38.954-05:002011-03-30T12:50:38.954-05:00Not about the money? As Samuel Johnson said, "...Not about the money? As Samuel Johnson said, "No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." That's a sentiment with which I think nearly all successful working writers will agree. Joe certainly seems to keep score that way.<br /><br />As someone noted earlier, authors don't determine the value of their work; readers do. Sure, some readers will pay more than others, but the trick to optimizing pricing is to price your work at the level that maximizes revenue. If you price too high, readers will either not buy your work or will simply download it for free. Music companies found that out, and ebook authors are going to learn the same lesson.<br /><br />Right now, anyone can go out and download a torrent file with 5,000 or 30,000 ebooks, at essentially zero risk. If Joe prices his next novel at $2.99, I'll buy it without a second thought. If he prices it at $4.99, I'll probably still buy it, but I'd have to think about it. If he prices it much higher, I either won't bother with it--there are plenty of other good books available for $2.99 that I haven't read--or I'll just torrent it. Other readers' price tolerance varies, certainly, probably on a bell curve, but one sure thing is that high prices will result in much smaller sales volumes.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06713034882489020664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11291165.post-67007220373498794952011-03-30T12:42:15.735-05:002011-03-30T12:42:15.735-05:00David, I agree that my analogy about movie rentals...David, I agree that my analogy about movie rentals is not a good one, because of the very reasons you pointed out. But we're all competing for the time and attention of our "customers."<br /><br />My customer can spend a couple of hours watching a movie (rented for about $1) or he/she can spend that time reading one of my novellas (downloaded for about $1). So, what we're really talking about is the entertainment value for a few precious hours.<br /><br />Furthermore, I won't spend $12 to see a movie with no-name actors and an unknown director. But I will pick up a rental for $1 if it sounds interesting. I think a lot of readers feel the same way about buying books.<br /><br />I agree with your comment about pricing when you said, "I think when it comes to pricing, writers (not readers) must determine what is best for them. Some will make more money with 99 cent novels, and others will make for with $4.95, name or not."<br /><br />Authors should find the price point that provides them the revenue they want (or need) for any given book. The focus should be on total revenue not price point. But I think readers (not the writer) ultimately determine the price by purchasing or not purchasing at a given price. <br /><br />I've seen a lot of news about Amanda Hocking getting a $2 million offer. But I haven't seen any headlines that said, "Amanda Hocking agrees to contract with traditional publisher for $24.99 per book." And yet, in the ebook-self-pub-world we all seem to talk more about the price of a single copy than the long-term revenue that book generates.<br /><br />Merrill Heath<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bearing-Witness-Stover-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B003PPD9UK/ref=cm_cmu_up_add_glance" rel="nofollow">Bearing False Witness</a>Merrill Heathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00164361657325279390noreply@blogger.com