I have some erotica shorts priced at 2.99 that are 9,000 words - 15,000 words. Some sell, some don't. Nobody has ever complained about price or length.

I also have a series of non-fiction shorts around, oh, 5000-7000 words each. Those are priced at .99, and they sell. Note that off Amazon, Smashwords is a great place for your .99 titles. I make about 60 cents per copy on Barnes & Noble (more than I'd make if I uploaded directly there) and Apple, and up to 80 cents per copy for sales off the Smashwords site. The .99 ones do well on Kobo too. I'd tell you how much I get per title there, but honestly, I can't remember and am too lazy to check right now.

 

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I price short stories of up to 7500 words 99 cents and novelettes of 7500 to 17500 words 2.99. Above 17500 words, I charge 3.99.

That said, 2100 words is at the very lowest edge of what I would publish as a standalone. I think my shortest standalone is 2300 and that one does not sell very well. Mostly, with very short stories (i.e. below 2500 words), I bundle them with another story or two in a similar genre. 

 

I think the point of DWS is not that you'll become a two short stories wonder who sells into the thousands every month. It depends on outputting 50 short stories per year, and sell at least 5 of each of them all formats included (ebook, paperback, audio), to succeed in 6+ years in having a useable income. This is obviously very taxing and not for the people who want it all and big right now. Maybe that could be a side project.

Some people won't buy. They're not your intended target.
Look at TW and Bilinda. They haven't spent 6 years writing 50 stories per year. Yet they have a nice income.

Try to read TW's blog from the start, it's very cool and useful:
http://thesecretstorylair.blogspot.fr/
Seems like series sell!

Also, check TW and Bilinda's threads here about their experience:
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,121594.0.html
www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,122949.0.html

 

Personally, I price my short stories (>2.4k words) at $0.99 each. Shorter than that, and I combine in a bundle. (Surprisingly, some of my individual $0.99 short stories sell better than the stories I only have available in bundles.) My shorts that sell the best are in series. For example, under one penname, I have 3 shorts in a series. The first is free. People who buy #2 also buy #3. (They're the only things I've managed to sell on Sony, so far.)

Once things hit novelette territory (7.5k words, per SFWA, and I write in the genres they cover), I go $2.99. My dark fantasy penname only has 1 story so far, 11k words at $2.99, and it sells a few copies per month, across all vendors. (Mainly the little ones.)

*shrug* Look at your genres, look at authors comparable to you, look at your intended audience, and see where those titles are hanging out.

As a reader, I'd think that's too expensive, but I'm kind of cheap. So you won't sell to me, but obviously, other people do pay those prices. Why not give it a try? If it doesn't sell, change your strategy.

And this. I wouldn't pay $2.99 for a 3k-word short story, but that just means I'm not in your target audience. It doesn't mean your target audience doesn't exist.

 

The difference between DWS's situation and the OP's is that DWS is a well-known name with a good reputation built over a lot of years. The OP is starting out, so he doesn't have that reputation to trade on. Also, the preview on a 2,100 word story will be so tiny that it will be almost impossible to judge the quality of the writing.

THIS.

I personally wouldn't even pay $2.99 for a super-short story by DWS (simply because I don't buy stories that short), but at least there I know the name and reputation of the author. The OP is starting out with a brand new pen name, so absolutely no reputation to trade on for fiction.

And how can someone glean anything from a 200-word sample? (If that...that's assuming there is no front matter included, so it could end up being half that.)

 

Really, don't give your work away. At least submit it to paying markets before you give it away. If you follow DWS's blog, note that he's very keen on writers having or developing self-respect for their work. Believe your work has value and place a price on that value.

Or, do what Kris Rusch does and offer the story for free for a week or so on your website or blog, then pull it off the website/blog and sell it for 2.99 or whatever.

 

DWS, TW and Bilinda all price at $2.99 and above for short stories.

DWS said in his last blog post, "you must price your short story at at least $2.99 no matter how short it is".
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/

If you want to follow in his footsteps, it might be a good idea to price as he says.
At the same time, I'd add another short story to that 2k one, to make that at least 5k.

The difference between DWS's situation and the OP's is that DWS is a well-known name with a good reputation built over a lot of years. The OP is starting out, so he doesn't have that reputation to trade on. Also, the preview on a 2,100 word story will be so tiny that it will be almost impossible to judge the quality of the writing.

 

As a reader, I'd think that's too expensive, but I'm kind of cheap. So you won't sell to me, but obviously, other people do pay those prices. Why not give it a try? If it doesn't sell, change your strategy.

As Nathalie said, if your plan is to follow DWS, might as well go all in.

I hear you. Many thanks!

 

As a reader, I'd think that's too expensive, but I'm kind of cheap. So you won't sell to me, but obviously, other people do pay those prices. Why not give it a try? If it doesn't sell, change your strategy.

As Nathalie said, if your plan is to follow DWS, might as well go all in.

 

DWS, TW and Bilinda all price at $2.99 and above for short stories.

DWS said in his last blog post, "you must price your short story at at least $2.99 no matter how short it is".
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/

If you want to follow in his footsteps, it might be a good idea to price as he says.
At the same time, I'd add another short story to that 2k one, to make that at least 5k.

Hi Nathalie,

Thank you for your empowering response! Indeed, I am keen on using the DWS model. I'll check out his latest blog post. Thanks for sharing it.

Thanks also for the tip to increase the length of the story!

 

DWS, TW and Bilinda all price at $2.99 and above for short stories.

DWS said in his last blog post, "you must price your short story at at least $2.99 no matter how short it is".
http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/

If you want to follow in his footsteps, it might be a good idea to price as he says.
At the same time, I'd add another short story to that 2k one, to make that at least 5k.

 

For something so short like that, I would just make it free. Or you can do a collection of short stories and sell them in a bundle for $2.99, if you really want to use that price.

I like the idea of making the 2100 word story free to use a promotional tool. Thanks for the tip!

 

Personally, I wouldn't even pay 99 cents for 2100 words, but then I'm not a flash fiction fan. (If it was me, I'd make that a permafreebie for promotional purposes.)

I'd pay 99 cents for 5000 words, but I wouldn't pay $2.99.

I personally wouldn't pay $2.99 until at least 20,000 words (novella-length rather than short story).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Amanda! Much appreciated.

 

For something so short like that, I would just make it free. Or you can do a collection of short stories and sell them in a bundle for $2.99, if you really want to use that price.

 

Personally, I wouldn't even pay 99 cents for 2100 words, but then I'm not a flash fiction fan. (If it was me, I'd make that a permafreebie for promotional purposes.)

I'd pay 99 cents for 5000 words, but I wouldn't pay $2.99.

I personally wouldn't pay $2.99 until at least 20,000 words (novella-length rather than short story).

 

$2.99 is too expensive for 2100 words, unless it's erotica, and only then, very good erotica.

That's what I suspected! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

$2.99 is too expensive for 2100 words, unless it's erotica, and only then, very good erotica.