[Sybil Nelson]

But here's another thread. I'm mostly posting this for myself not anyone else. I figure if I post it, I'll actually do it.

I've decided to RAISE my prices for the month of July.

Leslie DuBois titles
Ain't No Sunshine is currently free with over 40k downloads in the last two weeks of June alone. I have know idea when I'll be able to get a price back on it so I figure I better take advantage of all those new potential readers now.

Guardian of Eden - raising the price to $4.99 for July.

The Queen Bee of Bridgeton is currently 99cents. I'm raising that to $3.99 and releasing the sequel to it in July for $4.99

I'll be releasing a new book La Cienega Just Smiled at the end of July also at $4.99

Sybil Nelson Titles

Twin Shorts - Free
Priscilla the Great - raising from $2.99 to $3.99
Priscilla the Great 2 - raising to $4.99
Releasing Priscilla the Great 3 at $5.99

Why am I doing this? Not sure. I just think I want to try it for a month, maybe two, and see if it makes a difference in sales. If sales come to a standstill, I'll probably change everything back.

I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[Sybil Nelson]

Sigh.

Already having doubts. Not sure I should raise the Priscilla the Great books when they barely sell as it is.

But, on the other hand, if I raise the price maybe they'll have more "perceived" value and people will start buying. Eh, I'll give it two weeks. Sales can't get that much worse.

Okay, done talking to myself now.

 

[Keira Lea]

I understand, Sybil. I think pricing is one of the hardest decisions we have to make in publishing our work.

 

[Sybil Nelson]

But that's the great part about being Indie. It's a decision we get to make!

 

[Gertie Kindle]

Sybil, I did the 99 cent thing for six weeks and doubled my sales. That's not the target. The target is to get six times the sales or close to it so we're still making money while getting more readers.

I now have

3 novelettes at 99 cents
An anthology (168 pages) at 1.99
a novel (218 pages) at 1.99
a novel (262 pages) at 2.99
a novel (406 pages) at 3.99

I have 1/3 the sales I had in May but considering the usual June sales slump, that isn't so bad. I will definitely have made more money in June than I did in May.

All you can do is try it. You won't know how it works out or how you'll feel about it until you do.

 

[HeidiHall]

I am so excited for you! I agree that perceived value may boost your sales. I have a work in progress and when I release it I intend to raise my two other books to $4.29... why that price? I've seen it on some of the trad pubbed books and for some reason it looks good to me. Can't wait to hear how your sales go! Sending happy sales wishes your way .

~Heidi

 

[CraigInOregon]

Sybil,

Not a bad idea, but are the price changes based on length, or...?

Food for thought post: http://www.craig-hansen.com/2011/06/30/word-counts-and-professionalism/

Oh, and I know I've said it before, but personally I love Priscilla the Great... I think your biggest challenge there is that middle-grade books are hit by a couple problems. First, not many middle-grade kids read books on eReaders... yet. And second, not many adults who do own eReaders read many middle grade titles.

Of course, Pottermore might have a beneficial effect before long.

 

[Mr. RAD]

Great article, Craig.

But don't books come in different trim sizes?  If we indies price our works based on estimated page count, then how would that go exactly?

 

[CraigInOregon]

Great article, Craig.

But don't books come in different trim sizes? If we indies price our works based on estimated page count, then how would that go exactly?

In CreateSpace, trim size does not affect price. At all.

And my point wasn't to suggest a new price structure, just to point out how confusing our inconsistent pricing is for customers.

 

[TheSFReader]

Great article, Craig.

But don't books come in different trim sizes? If we indies price our works based on estimated page count, then how would that go exactly?

That's one of the points of the article : If you want to price based on "size", use word count : it doesn't depend on Trim Size ...
Then divide the word count by ~300 and you get approximate Pages count.

 

[John Dwyer]

Hi Sybil,
Maybe you could report back at the end of July and let us know how the price increase impacted your sales. Would be interesting reading.
John

 

[Sybil Nelson]

Great points Craig. And I did base the price somewhat on length. Ain't No Sunshine is only 39K words so even when it's not free anymore I'll keep it 99c. Guardian of Eden and La Cienega are my longest books which is why I chose $4.99. All of the Priscilla books are about 300 pages in print. Of course, the word size is bigger, but for a kids book it's still long. I'm talking almost Harry Potter long. I  don't think price is the problem with those books. As you said, the problem is middle graders don't have ereaders. At this point, no matter what the price is of Priscilla the Great, I don't think it's going to sell too well.

 

[TheSFReader]

As you said, the problem is middle graders don't have ereaders. At this point, no matter what the price is of Priscilla the Great, I don't think it's going to sell too well.

Wait for a year or two (three maybe ?)

Wannabuy in a reply to his latest blog mentionned the "Leappad" tablet .
Good news is when middle graders get ereaders, they'll find Priscilla. You'll only have to market "her"

 

[Sybil Nelson]

Well, so much for that idea. I raised the prices and Amazon has already price matched them back down. I'll have to go to all the websites and raise my prices there first. I don't know why I didn't think of that.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

That's one of the points of the article : If you want to price based on "size", use word count : it doesn't depend on Trim Size ...
Then divide the word count by ~300 and you get approximate Pages count.

Even that doesn't work. Traditionally, they count 250 words to a page. I suspect that's for mass market and that 300 words to a page works for trade paperback size.

If you have a paperback edition, CS posts the page count which is also transferred to the Kindle page, if readers know where to look. I put the print length in the description.

 

[Anne Victory]

Sybil, good for you.  I'm of the opinion that you don't know 'til you try something.

Craig - here's my comment on your article:
Good write-up, Craig. My only feedback:

1) It’s not just about value or how much you’re paying per word. Sometimes you want a long work that you can take their time with, and sometimes you want something short that you can breeze through in a couple of hours.

2) Yes, readers can learn to figure out word counts. Why make them, though? Seriously. Do the math for them, it’ll take you less than a minute. Don’t ask your readers to work in order to make a purchase. Further – how many readers *will* figure out the formula of how many words to a page? Or will the brain just see 80,000 words as useless numbers floating on the virtual book jacket, and so ignore them?

 

[jimbronyaur]

Here's my advice... after agonizing for what feels like FOREVER...

Two things:

(1) Decide and stay consistent... meaning?  I've decided my novels will be $4.99 and anything else (short stories, short story collections, poetry, novellas, etc.) will be $0.99.  DONE.  That way there's no pricing confusion or anything.  I believe my writing is worth $5 for an ebook.  For those who aren't sure or who are new to me, no worries, they can purchase a novella or story for only $0.99.  When they're done and convinced I am who I am, they'll be back for a $5 book.  I'm not worried about it one bit.  I believe that you have to pick and be consistent.  Almost like "standing your ground".  Sure, some are going to tell you it's a terrible decision, etc. but like anything in life there's exceptions and opinions.  Some people have their ebooks for $5 and sell thousands.  Some have their books for $5 and sell nothing.  Some have their books for $0.99 and sell a million (aka John Locke).  Some have their books for $0.99 and sell nothing.  It comes down to YOU, as the author... which brings me to my second thing...

(2) Believe in yourself.  It may seem easy, but to see you post so quick after your initial post about doubts, I can understand it.  Believing in ourselves is SO hard to do... our worst enemy is ourselves.  But whatever price your choose and stick with it, make sure it reflects your belief in the body of work and never look back. 

If you need anymore hope, pick your favorite author and check them out on Amazon... look at how many 2 star and 1 star reviews they have.  As much as we want to, we can't please everyone.  Stick to your guns and keep writing in the meantime. 

-jb


(Side note:  For all we know, in a week, I could change my mind about prices!  But I'm fighting it tooth and nail... no self doubt! haha!)

 

[Decon]

Sigh.

Already having doubts. Not sure I should raise the Priscilla the Great books when they barely sell as it is.

But, on the other hand, if I raise the price maybe they'll have more "perceived" value and people will start buying. Eh, I'll give it two weeks. Sales can't get that much worse.

Okay, done talking to myself now.

Don't have any doubts. I increased the price of Lunch Break Thrillers to $4.99, considering it undervalued and a bargain compared with the 12 single short stories. I've sold seven this week which is the equivalent of 70 sales at 99c. Considering I was selling 50 per month at 99c during the offer period, it's a no brainer to me.

 

[William Peter Grasso]

So far, I'm pretty happy with my "summer sale" that dropped the price of my one and only novel to 99 cents from $2.99. I'm going to keep it going for a while...maybe at least until I get my second novel released (hopefully by end of summer).

I share your thoughts, though, Sybil...if I do decide to raise prices again, it will probably be higher than $2.99.

WPG