I've recently (and belatedly) started using my Twitter account to interact with other writers and publishing industry types, and in the course of these interactions, I've seen that the majority of ebooks at Amazon.com (where my ebooks live) are priced at $2.99. Many, as indicated in this piece in the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/ebooks-cheap-price_n_1160383.html?ref=books), are being offered for only $0.99 as an attempt to inspire more sales through impulse buying. I've had my ebooks set at a selling price of $10.00 since they first came out. There have been some sales, but I can't help but wonder if maybe I'm pricing myself out of business.
It's so difficult to try to operate as an independent author, especially when you're self-publishing. It's more commonplace these days, so the earlier stigma attached to self publishing is waning (excuse me while I offer a moment of thanks to all good deities). It's also devilishly hard to drum up any sort of buzz when there is absolutely zero marketing machinery supporting the work.
I'm doing a lot of reading and a lot of research that, quite honestly, I should have done long before now. At least I'm looking, though, so tardy or not, maybe I can still get points for the effort. I don't have any answers, and I'm just as lost as I was when I took my first step in this direction.
I will never get rich as an author. I'm fine with that. I just would really like to have someone read my words. As I say in my intro message on my website, a writer is no good without readers. I'm happy that some people have chosen to take a chance on my books, and I only hope that they've found that the product was worth the investment.
I'm learning. I'm writing. I'm still breathing, which means that there's still hope for positive changes and growth. I'm hoping that as 2012 goes on, I'll gain a little wisdom along the way.
I guess I'm just ruminating. I really should get to work on that 300-word pitch I need to finish. (God, but I hate writing pitches. Anybody out there want to pitch LEW for me? I'll pay in cookies.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
More than points for effort, I should think. The nice thing about electronic publishing is that you can change your game plan any time, once you've done the research and drawn your conclusions. No reason it can't yield tangible results.
ReplyDeleteWe ended up lowering the price to $6.99. It was sort of a compromise between the $10 it used to be and the way-too-low $1.99 that I've been seeing people use to try to generate interest. Time will tell if the price ends up being lowered again.
ReplyDelete