[LauraWestbrook]

Hiya!

How do you all price your romance? I understand it's a subjective thing, which is why I wanted to ask ya'll.

I started out with 30k-ish novellas, but I have plans to transition to 65k-70k - ish novels. Right now I have my 30k priced at $2.99 (I have nine novellas out), and I have and my 65k novel priced at $3.99 (I only have one 65k currently).

I did some pricing research and I'm getting the feeling that I'm in the upper end of pricing for indie romance (which isn't necessarily bad in itself). I found about 15% of other sweet romance authors with similar pricing (or even slightly higher), but the other 85% or so have less expensive pricing, such as $0.99 for 30k-ish stories and $2.99 for 65k-ish stories. The lower 85% of authors seem to only go up to $3.99 with 75k-90k stories. This is a broad generalization, of course, and I could've been missing a broad swath of authors that would've been helpful to see.

Part of it is that I probably should've not started with 30k novellas, but now that they're out, I'm trying to price them where readers are most comfortable. My sales aren't terribly impressive, so I'm wondering if the pricing is holding readers back.

For reference, here is my author profile if anyone needs a point reference, such as covers, blurbs, etc: https://www.amazon.com/Laura-Westbrook/e/B07GQGVHD8

Thanks in advance for your feedback. This community is the best!

 

[C. Gold]

I commonly see the first book in the series at a lower price than subsequent books. I think the actual price you set will vary depending on how popular you are. I just dropped $2.99 for 312 pages of rom com which is a book 1 in a new series. Others by that author start low and nudge higher  - like permafree, $2.99, $3.99, $4.99. That's a common trend among the romances I purchase.

 

[LauraWestbrook]

I commonly see the first book in the series at a lower price than subsequent books. I think the actual price you set will vary depending on how popular you are. I just dropped $2.99 for 312 pages of rom com which is a book 1 in a new series. Others by that author start low and nudge higher - like permafree, $2.99, $3.99, $4.99. That's a common trend among the romances I purchase.

Thanks for the feedback C!

So, let me ask you this, what do you feel comfortable paying for a 105 page-ish story, and then also for a 228 page-ish story?

Gauging by what you recently bought, I'm guessing at or less than $2.99, as that one is a fair amount longer than 105 and 228.

 

[Carol Davis]

My regular romance readers (the subscribers to my newsletter) totally balk at paying anything above 99 cents, no matter what the length of the book is. I recently listed for pre-order the sequel to my most popular, crazy-selling romance -- price at $2.99, and I've gotten SEVEN pre-orders.

The flip side is, when I list longer books for a higher price, the Kindle Unlimited readers do seem to recognize that as a "better value for their money," and I get more pages read.

I know other romance authors who have a completely different experience, but that's where I've been since I started. Price above 99 cents, almost no sales.

Right now, my prices are:
Up to 20K: $0.99
20K-50K: $1.99
Over 50K: $2.99
I also have two box sets for $3.99.

 

[Crystal_]

I would never price based on length. Price based on comparable authors.

Price cheaper than comparable authors if you want to offer a discount. (This may entice readers, but it might also look cheap).
Price around comparable authors if you want to look like a solid genre entry. (The safest bet)
Price higher than comparable authors if you want to position yourself as high-end (but make sure you keep everything high-end and offer readers a high-end experience from start to finish. Someone like Laurelin Paige or Penelope Skye is doing this well. I do see it mostly in dark or billionaire romance, but I sometimes see it in other places too).

 

[LauraWestbrook]

I would never price based on length. Price based on comparable authors.

Price cheaper than comparable authors if you want to offer a discount. (This may entice readers, but it might also look cheap).
Price around comparable authors if you want to look like a solid genre entry. (The safest bet)
Price higher than comparable authors if you want to position yourself as high-end (but make sure you keep everything high-end and offer readers a high-end experience from start to finish. Someone like Laurelin Paige or Penelope Skye is doing this well. I do see it mostly in dark or billionaire romance, but I sometimes see it in other places too).

Good advice! Comparable to other authors is pretty much where I want to aim for, so basically I'm just trying to figure out where the consensus of that is. Any thoughts on what that is?

I checked out the two authors you mentioned, and you're right, they're on the upper upper end of indie, methinks. Their stuff looks nice!

 

[Atunah]

I am a huge romance reader. Although I bought lots of sale books at 99 cents and $2.99, those were sale prices, not everyday prices. They would normally by like 6.99-7.99.

But I checked my recent buys, over the last few months. And they range in 340 pages to about 400 pages. I paid $3.99-5.99 for those in the last few months.

One was 210 pages and that was a short one. I do not read novellas or shorts in romance. Or I should say not anymore. They are never satisfying and just too short for me in this genre. Or really any genre for me. So I can't speak to what I would pay for those. Or not pay in that case.
For me 3.99-5.99 is a good price for normal length romance novels. If I can snag sales, I will. Who wouldn't.  I also pay for kindle Unlimited and also check out from library. Its a mix of all.

Some authors are auto buy for me at 5.99. If I like you I like you. But never for anything short.

$3.99 is a great price in romance, if its full length and its good stuff. 5.99 is still a pretty good deal for the good stuff and authors that deliver consistently.

 

[LauraWestbrook]

I am a huge romance reader. Although I bought lots of sale books at 99 cents and $2.99, those were sale prices, not everyday prices. They would normally by like 6.99-7.99.

But I checked my recent buys, over the last few months. And they range in 340 pages to about 400 pages. I paid $3.99-5.99 for those in the last few months.

One was 210 pages and that was a short one. I do not read novellas or shorts in romance. Or I should say not anymore. They are never satisfying and just too short for me in this genre. Or really any genre for me. So I can't speak to what I would pay for those. Or not pay in that case.
For me 3.99-5.99 is a good price for normal length romance novels. If I can snag sales, I will. Who wouldn't. I also pay for kindle Unlimited and also check out from library. Its a mix of all.

Some authors are auto buy for me at 5.99. If I like you I like you. But never for anything short.

$3.99 is a great price in romance, if its full length and its good stuff. 5.99 is still a pretty good deal for the good stuff and authors that deliver consistently.

Thanks for the feedback on the longer works side of things Atunah!

 

[LauraWestbrook]

My regular romance readers (the subscribers to my newsletter) totally balk at paying anything above 99 cents, no matter what the length of the book is. I recently listed for pre-order the sequel to my most popular, crazy-selling romance -- price at $2.99, and I've gotten SEVEN pre-orders.

The flip side is, when I list longer books for a higher price, the Kindle Unlimited readers do seem to recognize that as a "better value for their money," and I get more pages read.

I know other romance authors who have a completely different experience, but that's where I've been since I started. Price above 99 cents, almost no sales.

Right now, my prices are:
Up to 20K: $0.99
20K-50K: $1.99
Over 50K: $2.99
I also have two box sets for $3.99.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing this. I've always heard of 1.99 as "no man's land." Are you finding success with that price point?

 

[Lorri Moulton [Lavender Lass Books]]

If I'm having a sale, it's 99c and $2.99.  Regular price is $2.99 for shorter books and $3.99 for the rest of my fiction.  Shorter is usually under 150 pages.  I go by pages since that's what readers see on my Amazon author page.

 

[LauraWestbrook]

If I'm having a sale, it's 99c and $2.99. Regular price is $2.99 for shorter books and $3.99 for the rest of my fiction. Shorter is usually under 150 pages. I go by pages since that's what readers see on my Amazon author page.

Thanks for sharing Lorri! Your pricing is basically what I have right now. It's good to look at it from that perspective too. Do you think that you'd have more overall proceeds if your price point was one notch lower for both, or no?

 

[Lorri Moulton [Lavender Lass Books]]

Thanks for sharing Lorri! Your pricing is basically what I have right now. It's good to look at it from that perspective too. Do you think that you'd have more overall proceeds if your price point was one notch lower for both, or no?

No. I think the books would be seen as less valuable if they were always cheaper. Also, these are all in KU, so many readers want to get "more" for their money.
ETA: If I were wide, I might try a lower price point.

 

[katherinef]

My romance books are 40k-60k words and their price is $3.99. I tried $2.99, but saw no difference in sales.

 

[C. Gold]

Thanks for the feedback C!

So, let me ask you this, what do you feel comfortable paying for a 105 page-ish story, and then also for a 228 page-ish story?

Gauging by what you recently bought, I'm guessing at or less than $2.99, as that one is a fair amount longer than 105 and 228.

For all unknown romance authors, I try to use KU unless they have a book I really want to read and it's 99c. I did this to keep the monthly cost of my book addiction down. If an author gets on my good side, then I'll usually flat out buy it since I always have KU slot issues, and the price can go up to $4.99 before I start balking. But that's only for established authors. If you're new, I'm KU'ing you or passing unless you 100% hit all the tropes I'm seeking. There are too many other book out there to choose from so I can afford to be picky.

I'm not into short stories for romance. They usually don't have enough character development. Naturally, there are exceptions, but for the most part I skip anything that is under 100 pages. I prefer 150+ pages (regular Amazon page count, not paperback connection page count which runs much higher). I also abhor serials unless your name starts with Gina.

 

[Carol Davis]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing this. I've always heard of 1.99 as "no man's land." Are you finding success with that price point?

No--the only price I have *any* success with is 99 cents (no matter the length of the book). I just use $1.99 as a guidepost for the KU subscribers.

 

[LauraWestbrook]

No. I think the books would be seen as less valuable if they were always cheaper. Also, these are all in KU, so many readers want to get "more" for their money.
ETA: If I were wide, I might try a lower price point.

@LorriMoulton: That makes sense. That is one thing holding me back from lowering my price point.

@katherinef: Good to know! Thanks for sharing.

@C. Gold: It's understandable for a reader to want to go the KU route until they know that author more. All of my sweet romance is in KU, so that checks that box. You bring up a good point, and that's length. I'm getting the feeling a lot of romance authors are like you, who won't touch novella-length romance. It's why I'm planning on switching to full-length novels in the future.

@Carol Davis: Interesting! And have you tried all types of length with an over-$0.99 price to test them out? I haven't quite heard that viewpoint before, so I'm curious.

 

[Lorri Moulton [Lavender Lass Books]]

@LorriMoulton: That makes sense. That is one thing holding me back from lowering my price point.

@katherinef: Good to know! Thanks for sharing.

@C. Gold: It's understandable for a reader to want to go the KU route until they know that author more. All of my sweet romance is in KU, so that checks that box. You bring up a good point, and that's length. I'm getting the feeling a lot of romance authors are like you, who won't touch novella-length romance. It's why I'm planning on switching to full-length novels in the future.

@Carol Davis: Interesting! And have you tried all types of length with an over-$0.99 price to test them out? I haven't quite heard that viewpoint before, so I'm curious.

Laura, I think there's a group of readers out there that enjoy shorter stories...even in romance. The trick is to find them.

Maybe a promo specifically for shorter romantic reads in KU? I put up all kinds of promos on BookFunnel.

 

[LauraWestbrook]

Laura, I think there's a group of readers out there that enjoy shorter stories...even in romance. The trick is to find them.

Maybe a promo specifically for shorter romantic reads in KU? I put up all kinds of promos on BookFunnel.

I'm not familiar with BookFunnel. How do you put a promo there/with that?

 

[I am a unicorn]

I write paranormal romance and my books are monsters ( )! The smallest to date is 56k words, and that's the prequel I'm launching in August. I have a series of four books:

1st: 110k ($2.99)
2nd: 120k ($2.99)
3rd: 90k ($3.99)
4th: 80k ($3.99)

I'm going wide with the prequel just for kicks and pricing it at 99 cents to see what it'll do. As a reader, I only balk at anything over $4.99.

 

[LauraWestbrook]

I write paranormal romance and my books are monsters ( )! The smallest to date is 56k words, and that's the prequel I'm launching in August. I have a series of four books:

1st: 110k ($2.99)
2nd: 120k ($2.99)
3rd: 90k ($3.99)
4th: 80k ($3.99)

I'm going wide with the prequel just for kicks and pricing it at 99 cents to see what it'll do. As a reader, I only balk at anything over $4.99.

Impressive length! Your per word rate is much lower than mine, as my novellas are currently the same price as your 110k word book. That's the kind of thing that worries me a little that my books might be overpriced. : /