Ebook pricing for new authors/series

[Mikkelinski]

Fair enough, given that bread etc is consumed instead of lasting. So it is indeed a poor analogy. However, fact remains that I think paying less for a novel than I do for bread is well, ridiculous (for me speaking as one person).

Ultimately though, the price is whatever people are willing to pay (profit maximization) so if it they keep pushing them at me at low prices, well it won't make me stop buying them (books that is, not bread, cheap bread too often tastes bad). And I guess it does make sense to provide the first offering for cheap then increase the price, it's not exactly a new phenomenon (see anything on behavioural psychology / advertisement)

[Peadar]

I'm torn on this one. A good book is great value at anything under $30 to me, but a bad book is overpriced at even $1. So, I get the free first book thing. I think it's a cool idea when publishers have already made their money from a great series and can now afford to go after any holdouts with an offer they can't refuse.

But there's a very easy solution for the other books you might like. It's called "Sample Chapters". You can get them for any ebook with the click of a single button. Most of them are about 10% of the full novel, which is usually plenty of time to find out if an author rubs you up the wrong way. I do this all the time when I'm looking for something to read.

[MisterOJ]

But there's a very easy solution for the other books you might like. It's called "Sample Chapters". You can get them for any ebook with the click of a single button. Most of them are about 10% of the full novel, which is usually plenty of time to find out if an author rubs you up the wrong way. I do this all the time when I'm looking for something to read.

I used to download samples, but I've never had much luck with them and gave up on them. A couple cases in point: The first Long Price book by Abraham. I downloaded the sample, wasn't drawn in to the story very much in the first 2-3 chapters and gave it up. A few weeks/months later, after reading more about the series on here, I decided to just go ahead and buy it and try the whole book. I wound up loving it and subsequently bought the rest of the series and read them all. Then there was the sample I downloaded of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I thought that the book seemed really cool, bought it - and wound up hating it by the end.

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

The problem with sample chapters (didn't have this problem IIRC with your book Peadar :)) is that they are so arbitrary and often not enough to judge by.

For example, I recently got a recommendation for The Red Tree by Caitlin Kiernen. Well and good, the cover art put me off a bit but I downloaded the sample and opened it up. It is 16 pages long as measured by my Nook, so probably 10-12 pages of a paperback. The sample doesn't actually include any of her writing - it's 5 pages of praise for other books she's written, a couple of pages of TOC and list of other works, 3 pages of copyright stuff, and 3 pages (longer pages since these are actual book pages) of the editor's forward.

I will pass on that one 19/20 times. I think the Grim Company style sample is better, or one like the 200-pager that came with Shogun and LOTR 50th edition.

[Mikkelinski]

I guess I'm simply too conservative when purchasing new books, I always go by reviews from people I "know" I share the same taste as, have yet to read anything I had to put down.

But ye, I don't see why you only need one or two sample chapters, hell, offer half the book if I like it there's no chance I won't be buying it if that hooks me (though, I spose you risk losing the people who would otherwise have just taken the chance, depends on how much you trust your product maybe).

[David Selig]

The problem with sample chapters (didn't have this problem IIRC with your book Peadar :)) is that they are so arbitrary and often not enough to judge by.

For example, I recently got a recommendation for The Red Tree by Caitlin Kiernen. Well and good, the cover art put me off a bit but I downloaded the sample and opened it up. It is 16 pages long as measured by my Nook, so probably 10-12 pages of a paperback. The sample doesn't actually include any of her writing - it's 5 pages of praise for other books she's written, a couple of pages of TOC and list of other works, 3 pages of copyright stuff, and 3 pages (longer pages since these are actual book pages) of the editor's forward.

The editor forward is part of the framing device for the novel, so it's Kiernan's writing.

Anyway, The Amazon preview of The Red Tree is 15 pages or so, including several of the main text past the framing part. I highly recommend it, BTW, the cover is really inappropriate, but the book is excellent.

[MisterOJ]

For what it's worth, I just downloaded and read the sample of The Inferior. It was 19 pages, but only 14 of those was actual text. Not really enough there to make up my mind one way or the other. We'll see.

ETA: Barnes & Noble says that the book is 464 pages. So if you throw out the first five pages of non-text, the sample is only 3 percent of the story.

[Peadar]

The problem with sample chapters (didn't have this problem IIRC with your book Peadar :)) is that they are so arbitrary and often not enough to judge by.

Why thank you!

For what it's worth, I just downloaded and read the sample of The Inferior. It was 19 pages, but only 14 of those was actual text. Not really enough there to make up my mind one way or the other. We'll see.

ETA: Barnes & Noble says that the book is 464 pages. So if you throw out the first five pages of non-text, the sample is only 3 percent of the story.

Only 14 pages? That's bloody awful! :frown5: My apologies.

If you ever find that you do want a longer sample of my writing, a collection of my previously published short stories is here. At the very end, you will find two full sample chapters from The Inferior.

I believe -- perhaps wrongly! -- that you should be able to tell if you're going to enjoy the book from that.

[Shryke]

Ooh, that's awesome. I've had your stuff on my list of "things to try", so this will work nicely.

[MisterOJ]

Only 14 pages? That's bloody awful! :frown5: My apologies.

If you ever find that you do want a longer sample of my writing, a collection of my previously published short stories is here. At the very end, you will find two full sample chapters from The Inferior.

I believe -- perhaps wrongly! -- that you should be able to tell if you're going to enjoy the book from that.

No apologies necessary. I'll check out your preview chapters from that link this weekend sometime probably.

[TrackerNeil]

I am a *huge* fan of sample chapters. You see, I have a love/hate relationship with fantasy: I love fantasy when it's good and hate it when it's mediocre or bad. Samples give me the opportunity to determine if the book I'm eyeing is new and innovative, or Standard Fantasy #57.