Why book price doesn’t and shouldn’t measure “value”
Last week, author advocate Porter Anderson wrote a piece on book pricing called ‘Who Decided Our Worth?’ Do Free Books Give Away Authors’ Value?, in which authors like Roz Morris, Henry Hyde, and others try to build the case for book prices that reflect an author’s “value” and “worth.” Hyde goes so far as to claim that he doesn’t “want the kind of audience that expects free, or even heavily discounted” books, and that “the rise of Kindle is that it has given the audience a sense of entitlement where none should exist.” Anderson basically underwrites this perspective, scoffing at Dan Holloway’s argument that “art should be free, and people should pay for it,” a paradox resolved when the business of selling books is distinguished from the more philosophical question of art’s widespread accessibility.
Ultimately, Anderson seems to endorse Kathryn Magendie’s (seemingly) rhetorical question, “What other professions do we ask, or demand, the proprietors to give away their work for free or so cheaply they cannot make a living on it?”
I’ll give you a minute or so to begin compiling your list in response to Magendie’s question. Mine grew pretty damn long, pretty quickly, beginning with pretty much every small business owner in the world, and ending with a slew of artists and artisans, including actors, painters, poets, jewelry designers, etc. etc., etc. The fact is that many, many, many, many people, in many professions that require creative output, are underpaid for both their labor and the results of that labor.
Then I’ll ask you to return to the question Anderson – and many other authors and author-advocates – want to push aside, but which I want to put front and center in a discussion about a) the relationship between the business of authorship, and b) the differences between worth, value, and price as they relate to the relationship between art and business. And just to make things perfectly clear, here’s my thesis: one of the greatest obstacles to universally higher book prices is not readers, but authors.
By way of explanation, let’s start with Holloway’s distinction between authorship as a business and art as a public good. The existence of museums, public libraries, public art installations, even graffiti, are all examples of art as a public good – that is, as something central to the establishment, communication, and reproduction of culture that any given society values. While access to art is never completely free for those who pay taxes or who buy a ticket of admission to a museum or get fined for an overdue library book, how many people want to pay more to walk through their local art museum or think a fee to check out public library books would be a great idea? In the United States, especially, there is a deeply ingrained belief that access to art is a public right – that is contributes to our understanding of history, our appreciation of beauty, our empathy with the human condition, etc.
Of course, it is often easier to feel this way when the creator of said art is either long dead or not present at the moment of viewing or engagement. And even the U.S. Constitution acknowledges the importance of public access to creative content in limiting the duration of copyright: To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries. If we had unlimited copyright, no one could use the Sherlock Holmes character without permission from the Conan Doyle estate; Jane Austen’s descendants could decide whether any works derived from Pride and Prejudice would see the light of day. Just imagine how much Romance might never have been written had Austen’s work not passed into the public domain. Ditto Shakespeare. By contrast, only two films of Georgette Heyer novels have been made, and the film rights to all the books are currently owned by two companies, one in the UK and one in the US, neither of which has exercised them. Further, only one of her books (The Black Moth) has passed into the public domain, so while her work has had a huge influence on the Romance genre, use and adaptation of certain elements is still limited.
Actually, when you think about it, there’s something interesting about the fact that Pride and Prejudice is available for free because it is now in the public domain, while Longbourn will set you back $10 on Amazon, either for the paperback or the Kindle edition. To some degree that difference is a function of time and copyright law, but it’s also a reflection of the production of creative content as commercial business.
Putting aside those authors who insist they are not producing art, even those authors who contemplate their work as art are also engaging with the market as small business owners. They either contract independently with a publisher for the packaging and distribution of their creative content, or they act as their own publisher, undertaking the same functions by hiring freelancers or doing some of the work themselves. In either case, production and distribution are business functions, because they are part of creating a product that will compete in the open market with other products of similar type.
It is understandably difficult for authors to think about their creative content as commercial products, especially when they build fan bases of readers who articulate a sense of deep appreciation for the content (aka the “art”). What is any given work of art worth? How do we value an artistic product? And at what price is the worth or value adequately reflected?
Taking the example of Pride and Prejudice, does the availability of the book for free from Project Gutenberg, for example, mean that the work has no value or worth to the reader? It’s ironic, right, because the art of that work has so transcended the product of the book, that it doesn’t matter how little the product costs, because the book is widely considered to be a work of classic literature and therefore both worthy and valuable. Worthy in the sense that it should be read, and valuable in the contributions it makes to literature, to Romance, to courtship novels and films, etc. But in regard to price, there is really no direct relationship.
And still, books are priced as products, even though their worth and value will likely never be directly reflected in their price. For those novels a reader loves, their value and worth will likely be many times greater than whatever is paid, and for those the reader hates, any price might be too high. If a reader decides any given book was not worth reading, should she be able to get the price of the product back? Or do we somehow separate the reader’s engagement with the book as art (worth) and the selling as the book as a product (price)? When we value a book, we can do so both as art and as product, and how many authors think in terms of their creative content being adequately valued at 99 cents or $9.99? Even the infamous Kickstarter debacle revealed that many different factors go into an author’s perception of whether it is worth writing a book – and that this calculus will be different from author to author.
And this is both the beauty and the danger of the commercial marketplace. In many ways, authors have more freedom now than they ever have. And the fact that we see about a million books published every year is testimony to that, especially when compared with the 600 + theatrical movie releases each year. Just look at scholarly publishing for a stark contrast to commercial publishing. The limited number of books, the increasing consolidations among publishers, and the limited and captive market of textbook users means that fewer, more expensive books are published to widespread complaints that the system is corrupt and in need of reformation.
Of course, we’re not talking about the difference between $10 and $100 here, and authors should be thinking carefully about how they value their work – not only as art, but also in terms of production standards and price. And because reader reactions are, to some degree, unpredictable, these decisions may always be somewhat experimental.
What I think has been wildly overstated is the role of the reader as “king” of the market. Readers, like authors, act independently, and when their buying habits converge, it’s not in a truly coordinated way. Which is part of why authors are getting pushback from readers who feel “blamed” for certain book pricing trends. What readers do have right now is choice, and they have choice, not only among literally thousands upon thousands of newly published books each month, but also among different forms of creative content (television, movies, games, music, etc.). And the reason they have that choice is because so much creative content is being produced. And as much inclusivity within the self-publishing community authors are finding, the reality is that there is a great deal of content for readers to choose from, and many, many content creators who are looking for ways to best find an audience for their work. And in that sense, it’s authors, not readers, who are responsible for setting book pricing. Yes, I understand that they’re doing so to attract readers, but as long as the market remains open, there will likely always be someone who is willing to undercut another author in price on the chance that will build readership, especially with so many new authors entering the marketplace (especially when compared to the number of readers, from which many of these new authors come).
I know that many people do not like the comparison between books and music (although the fact that musicians have to pay for expenses related to touring should be factored into the argument that musicians have more opportunities to generate revenue), but it’s interesting to note that the only album to go platinum by the last quarter of 2014 (aka sell more than 1 million copies) was the Frozen soundtrack. Compare that number to the five albums to go platinum during the same period in 2013, and it’s not so good. Even the number of platinum songs was down, to 60 million from 83 million the year before.
If the sales of digital books are, indeed, plateauing, and so much of the self-publishing market is taking up the digital space, then it’s likely prices will continue to fluctuate downwards rather than upwards. And it’s understandable that many authors will be frustrated by this, and will see it as a “devaluing” of their work. While at the same time, readers will find books they love, and books they hate, and will likely value those books the same way they always have. Some of those books they may have gotten in print, either at full or discounted price. Some they may have gotten used in print or from the library, either in print or digital. Some they may have borrowed from a friend or relative. Do they need to actually pay for those books, and pay a certain threshold price, to value them more or less?
If authors want to offer their books at a higher price, I think they should go ahead and do it. However, to equate price with the value readers get from the creative content of their books as product is, I think, a losing and illogical strategy. Not because readers don’t value books, but because the way readers value books is often so multi-layered and idiosyncratic, and so disconnected from price, that it’s impossible to predict that kind of valuation with any monetary certainty.
Think, for example, about how often people negotiate a price on more expensive objects –cars, jewelry, etc. The higher the price, and the more precious the item, the more exciting it is to get a good deal – in fact, the perceived value of an object can actually increase when someone believes they’ve gotten a particularly good price on something that is deemed to be worth much more than what they paid for it. Measuring worth and value in terms of price is not a straightforward analysis, and in the case of book pricing, it ignores the fact that authors will often reduce pricing after particularly good reader reception. In other words, articulation of value can actually result in a lower price (and vice versa).
Ultimately, I think authors need to clarify what they mean by value – is it the level of profit, the quality of reader response, the number of copies distributed? And what’s worth it to them – selling their books at a product price they think is a good value for their work, trying to maximize exposure through high volume at a lower price, or maximizing profit through whatever combination of strategies works best for them? The answers are going to vary from author to author, and for every author who wants book prices to be higher and free books to diminish in availability, there’s another who will discount heavily, hoping to capture new readers with a deal. Not because readers don’t value books — any more than the competitive author does or doesn’t value them — but because readers, like everyone else, appreciate a good deal, even on things they value highly.
Are you one of those readers, or do you perceive a higher priced book to be worth more to you?
Interesting post, and very well explained :) Thank you!
I’m a reader, (for an awful long time :) ) but I do know the difference between price, value, and worth.
In the 80’s, I found a 6-book series by a certain author: I bought the (current) mass market paperbacks; decided they were fantastic, and proceeded to buy the (current) hardback copies of the same. Fifteen years later, they were re-printed in Trade size; so I bought them too. And when Kindle brought them out, they got acquired as well. So I have 4 different versions of the same thing – but their WORTH is priceless to me. I never once queried the cost/value to me, because paying for something is what one does to satisfy a particular craving :)
And that continues, for me, with about a dozen favourite authors. I ‘crave’ their books, so when a new one is due I will pay ANY price for it. Fortunately (for my bank), sometimes there’s a promotional/early discount which means I don’t spend as much; but I never feel ‘cheated’ when, 9-12 months later, that book is further discounted/cheapened to try to gain more readers. These books are WORTH something to me.
Yes, I will buy heavily discounted, or free, books – just to see what’s what. But if they don’t satisfy my ‘craving’ then I haven’t lost out too much. Alternatively, if they do appeal, then I’ll go find that author’s backlist and buy – at whatever price they’re going! If, like some long-running series, I get bored with the same-old same-old, then I will STOP buying. No loss to me because I have had my ‘worth’ out of them,
All this said, these special books have worth and value only to ME. Another person quite easily would consider them worthless or valueless; but to ME, they are PRICELESS :)
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, my only option for reading one beloved book was to borrow it from the library and to check every used book store to see if maybe they had a copy. Eventually, with the rise of eBay, I finally managed to get a copy.
But, let’s face it, as much as I love the book, the author made no money off it from me*. Even when a reader values a book enough to pay $30+ for it, it isn’t necessarily going into the author’s pocket.
*Until I found it available for the kindle.
Couple years ago before Joseph Hansen’s “Dave Brandstetter” series were available for Kindle , I bought the paperback omnibus edition on amazon – from third party seller and paid quite a lot of money for it ( not outrageous, because then price went even more up but it was not cheap either.). Then books were available for kindle and I bought all of them again. I bought them because I wanted to be able to carry books with me, and omnibus edition was, well, thick, but also estate or whoever has the rights now made money, right? I don’t get the argument that making the books available for kindle was a bad idea in any way, shape or form for anybody.
Great essay Robin.
Ok not to derail but Carole-Ann, what series may I ask? (I have been buying Diana Wynne Jones as hardback, paperback, kindle and now getting the audiobook version).
I think it is smart marketing to price the first in a series low, get the reader hooked. I won’t spend 7.99 on an unknown. I am more likely to borrow from the library. But if it is an author that I like or trust I will pay full price.
An excellent article with lots of great reading material cited within.
It’s a very interesting conundrum, one I think the self-publishing industry (in particular) is dead-set on ignoring: the market is flooded. And it’s only going to get more flooded. Even traditional authors aren’t making enough to live off on average, and I think that’s what’s scaring the “author” side of the argument. The days of becoming a writer who is able to sit home all day and ponder each and every line are long gone. Not only must you balance the creative work with “actual” work, you must also be more prolific than your competition, or you run the risk of being lost in the shuffle. For those pursuing the career for fame and fortune, well… selling your movie rights is about the only glimmer of hope left for that.
It will be interesting, for sure, to see where the market takes us after the plateau.
@Alex Hurst: I don’t see the number of books being published ever declining because the barrier to entry is so low.
We’ve talked a lot about value v price here at DA because they are so very different. I hate the coffee cup analogy but one reason people will pay a certain price is the consistency of the offering. Every purchase is almost exactly the same and that’s not true for readers with books.
@ Michelle The 6 volume series is Dorothy Dunnett’s Chronicles of Lymond. Just Google if you don’t already know :)
And by-the-by, another author who I buy in variations is Joey W Hill. Satisfies the ‘craving’ so well :)
I think another side to the argument goes back to an older podcast from DBSA. Jane and Sarah discussed the high prices of e-books years ago and how old romances were being listed for 9.99 and up. I think Jane (I could be mistaken) mentioned how in paper releases the price comes down with time. You have a 30 dollar hardcover that later becomes 7.99 mass market. Then later it is 25 cents at a library book sale. Instead we have books being re-released for 9.99+ 20 years after their initial release. Why? Because it is new on Kindle/Nook/Kobo/etc.
The thing is I understand where authors are coming from. They work really hard and they want their paycheck same as anyone. I get it, I do. At the same time when I look at a 10 year old book on Kindle and see the author/publisher/etc. wants 9.99 for it, I just go to the library. I cannot justify paying 9.99 for an old book when I get the detailed summary on Goodreads for free. It sucks but I do not have an unlimited amount of money.
At the same time I have books I cart around in paper, digital, etc. form because I love them. To me they are incredibly valuable but the author has gotten the money from me now. I’m not going to buy more. I own each copy. I’m going to recommend them to friends. I’m going to quote them on Twitter. I am going to bemoan the lack of movies/tv shows about the books. I am a fan.
I think, like everyone, authors are generally looking at the short term. Can I live off this? Do I have to compromise my hard work? Maybe. At the same time that little 99 cent book I picked up on Amazon? I tell everyone about that book. I convince friends to buy that book. I blog about that book. I have just found an author I will pay the next 7.99 price point. So in the end isn’t there more value and money being made? Without that 99 cent price point I would have bought something else and I would be discussing something else.
I’m currently reading Write, Publish, Repeat in which the indie authors suggest creating a “funnel” for each type of book (series in particular) and it makes perfect sense to me in terms of relationship as a reader. When I first try out an author, there’s no relationship. I want the book for free or cheap so the commitment’s low. If I don’t enjoy the book, meh. There are other authors.
But say I love the book. OK, I might buy the next one or two on the Kindle for, say, $4.99. A small commitment, but I can feel the relationship becoming important to me.
It’s only when I’ve completely fallen in love with the writing or the characters that my commitment becomes total. I buy every book the author’s written in print so they are there on my shelves, hopefully forever. The object–the book itself–is way more valuable than its price. Sometimes, connotations such as who bought me the book or that the author signed it and we talked for five minutes make it priceless to me. I still look at the copy of Lord of the Rings my sister gave me and feel the pain of realizing my kid had broken its spine, and that was over ten years ago.
Value = product + relationship.
As someone who’s lived in several countries over the years, books always seem weirdly cheap in the US. I’ve never quite understood why? Heck, when I grew up, a paperback would cost me the equivalent of $20 or so, a hardcover (which I bought only rarely), $40.
Let’s not forget for some people, $10 might be the difference between their kid having a good dinner that night or not and for other people, it might be the difference between having a $50 bottle of wine with dinner or a $60 dollar bottle of wine.
I think Kathryn Magendie’s question quoted at the beginning of this post – “What other professions do we ask, or demand, the proprietors to give away their work for free or so cheaply they cannot make a living on it?” – really resonates with me when it comes to the pricing of current writing. It seems like people forget or ignore the amount of raw time it takes for a writer to produce a book. And that time has value – it’s irretrievable and limited. So why is it unreasonable for a writer to expect to be compensated for the time they’ve invested to create what amounts to entertainment for someone else, regardless of whether or not you call it “art”? If an accountant spends ten hours doing my taxes, why wouldn’t I expect to pay him for it? If a person performs a service for me that I cannot do myself – include writing a great story – why should I feel entitled to get that for free? If every writer in the world decided to stop writing in favor of a job that paid an hourly salary, would the price of books go up due to low supply? IMO, the problem may be the fact that so many books are unleashed on the world at any given time that “writing” is like water – taken for granted.
However, I also recognize on the flip side that my time as a reader is equally valuable. That’s why I am reluctant to spent much money on an unknown-to-me writer who may not deliver what I perceive to be good value for my time spent. It would take me the same amount of time to read a really bad book as it would to read a really great book, so the only way to mitigate my investment is financially. Therefore, I’m willing to fork over $.99 to try someone new, but hardly willing to spend $10+. Conversely, I’m happy to spend more on a favorite author who I know is pretty sure to tell me a fantastic story.
Honestly, have these people never taken an economics class?
The barriers to entry are non-existent. The job qualifications are minimal. We live in a society where the literacy rate is 99%, and the only skill required to write a book is basic literacy. Demand is more or less static.
The market is glutted, which puts downward pressure on prices. There are a few people who are so good at it, that they defy these market pressures. And so it will always be.
@Christine @ Moonlight Reader:
Exactly – why in the world would anyone ever pay $$ for a book when they can get a different one for so much less? The only way book prices will ever go up in any substantial way is if they become rare or less easily accessible, which in fact is exactly the opposite of what’s happening. Too, what seems to me to be a tragedy, is that readers in general seem to be more accepting of the poorer quality offerings that come with that “zero barriers to entry”. At lease with traditionally published books, you could justify the higher cost by expecting higher quality in editing. Sadly, this also no longer seems to be true given the sheer number of crap books I’ve read put out by big name publishers.
Link to Porter Anderson piece seems broken. Here it is: http://tcat.tc/1uV22i8
@Lynn M:
Because books are not interchangeable widgets. If I want the new Author X book, a cheaper book by Author Y isn’t going to cut it. If I want to find a new author to glom, I’m unlikely to make random choices based on price point. I’ll ask for rec’s from friends. I’ll read blurbs. I’ll download samples. And then I’ll pick something and plonk down my money.
Hi, and thanks much for this good piece following mine, some really good points (especially the need to choose what constitutes “value” for each author — and for each reader, for that matter.
Just a note, flagged by our friends at Nosy Crow publishing in London — the link to my piece in your first sentence is broken. The correct link over to the story at ThoughtCatalog.com is http://thoughtcatalog.com/porter-anderson/2015/01/who-decided-our-worth-do-free-books-give-away-authors-value/
And many thanks again, I appreciate your bringing so much to the table on this.
Cheers,
-p.
On Twitter: @Porter_Anderson
I’ve updated the link and it’s working for me, so let me know if anyone else is still having problems.
I’m old enough to remember when the argument was “don’t buy books from UBS”.
We readers are not buying books, we are buying licenses to read books. This is true for print as well as digital. The value we perceive of the license is reflective of what usage the license allows.
Licensing determines platform and whether that license will allow transfer from one platform to another. Licensing determines the number of devices we can download to, and transfer from 1 app to another. Licensing determines whether or not sharing is allowed. In other words, licensing allows the publisher to limit usage.
I’ve lost licenses due to DRM, most especially with Adobe Digital Editions. Adobe does not support deauthorizing devices, nor do they support the app itself. If you reach the publishers limit of # of devices, your license is done. If you purchase an iBook version of a book, you can’t transfer to your Android device or Windows PC. Same goes for Google Play.
As a consumer/reader, I have to make a choice based on my budget as well as longevity of use. Lower pricing does not reflect the value I perceive of the actual book.
@Isobel Carr: as a reader, I would respectfully disagree with your assertion that “books are not interchangeable widgets.” In some cases they are exactly that. For example, if two new-to-me authors or non-auto buy authors are releasing a book on the same day, price may very well be a factor in determining whether or not I will buy one book over the other or whether I will buy neither and wait for another book to come along. I have declined to purchase a book on many occasions because I felt the price was ridiculous and because I could buy two or three equally good books for the same amount. The only time that a book is not going to be interchangeable for me is if it is a book by a favourite author (and that amounts to maybe 25 authors at most). In that case, I will happily pay whatever it costs for the book, and for a very, very few authors (at the moment three), I will happily pay the full hardcover price on release day and possibly also get the book on other platforms.
I would argue that the same principles hold true for any art form. The difference in how it manifests in each case is, in my opinion, governed by the law of supply and demand. That is why painters, for example, will limit the number of prints made of a painting or first run movies are only in theatres for a limited time.
@Jane:
Oh, I agree… the availability won’t decline, but the cost will eventually plateau. I mean, you couldn’t get any more appealing to a customer unless you were paying them to read (which some people already do for reviews, but hey, we don’t condone that… :P )
After that, it will be interesting to see where things go.
@Lynn M: But an author isn’t a service provider like an accountant. An accountant doesn’t do my taxes in the hope that I will like her work and pay her for it later. I contract her to do them and we agree on payment up front. Nor can she sell the work she does on MY taxes to many other clients, so it makes sense that I have to bear the whole cost of it. An author’s work isn’t like that at all.
An author is creating a product and releasing it in a market which, as others have pointed out, is glutted, thus driving down the price many readers are willing to pay. And even if it’s an author I have loved before, I don’t know in advance what the non-monetary value of reading the book will be; only the reading experience tells me that. So translating that kind of value into the monetary value I place on the book is, as Robin says, a complicated calculation and varies from reader to reader and book to book.
@Carole-Ann:
You are not alone! I discovered Dunnett in the library when I was in high school and she was long out of print. After college I desperately wanted to re-read Lymond again and the only editions I could find were the purple cloth bound library set. I bought those, then started hunting the first edition hard covers in used bookstores and online. Then the Penguin trade editions came out and I bought those so I wouldn’t wear out my first editions…
The sales model is also evolving. For example, the introduction of serial publications influences buying decisions. Purchasing all parts of a serial can ultimately lead to a higher price than if you were to buy a trade paperback version of that book. I know, for me, this has led to hesitation to start purchasing serial novels. “Value” has to be considered with parameters like this in mind.
I don’t really see books as being in the same race-to-the-bottom category as say, appstore games (mostly highly derivative or outright clones, with no original work put into them, meant to be sold at 99 cents), as I don’t believe most authors intentionally have a business plan for all of their books to be at 99 cents, forever.
I see 99-cents, or free, as a discoverability and promotional tool — not a business plan in and of itself. I think it WORKS, too, as the SBTB/DA bestseller lists tend to reflect what was in the Daily Deals posts of the last week or two!
If you’re cruising the Kindle Free section, you may find a lot of not-amazing and downright-awful books. But you’ll also find other authors — I specifically have found 4 or 5 auto-buy authors that way (although these days I value my time more and don’t trawl the free section anymore), who had one of their books up for free as a promotional strategy.
When an author I love puts a book up for 99 cents, even if I already own a copy, I may buy it just to give it as a gift to someone. Or if I own a copy on Kobo, but it would be _even more convenient_ to have it on my Kindle. Or I had an ARC but at that price will happily buy the book. Same goes for free! It doesn’t mean I don’t value their work at all, it just means that to me it’s an amazing deal that gives me a chance to share what I love with other people almost risk-free.
Now for people demanding FREE books, that’s a different thing entirely — those are the folks who don’t and won’t pay, for whatever their reasons (and there are a lot of reasons) — but I don’t think any author should be planning their business strategy around these people, or in trying to convince them to stop. They’re not gonna. They’re also not the vast majority of book-buyers, or publishing would have failed due to used book stores and libraries years ago. In fact, these are the same arguments being used now that were used against libraries years ago — and guess what, we’ve seen over and over that kids who have access to loads of books (through such things as libraries!) are much more likely to be voracious readers as adults, when they have jobs n stuff that help them pay for books.
Frequent readers make up not just a tremendous amount of library traffic, but also bookstore traffic — because frequent readers value books! Offering a frequent reader a free or discounted book is not going to make them expect free books from you forever — it’s just making it more likely that they will actually read your book, which is the hardest part I think any author has past actually like, writing the book.
I am always thrilled when the first book of a series is free or heavily discounted. I would not be in pain if books on Amazon were only sold $10 and up, but my number of books purchased and read every month would contract tremendously, as would authors I read. It’s not competition at that point — new authors wouldn’t be in the running, period.
For me it is not about getting 10 books for $10 or one book for $10, it’s about a much greater chance of finding a new author, a new series, a new subgenre I fall in love with and buy ALL THE THINGS from with those $10. That hope, that chance, that is where the value especially is for me, above and beyond those 10 books.
@ML: This is beyond true. I was once buying a serial of an acquaintance, and was sorely disappointed to learn that of the “4,000 words” per serial, 500-700 were author notes. Each of these serials was priced at 2.99US! With over 25 serials, this man was making a -killing- off of his readers… I am very careful now, and check word counts before buying. :(
So an author emailed me anonymously and wanted me to post this. I…I forwarded it to Robin and asked if it was sent to the wrong person. I did email the author back but didn’t get a response so…Here it is.
Dear Readers,
We are not the bologna of the book world.
When I decided to publish my first book in 2012 I knew it wouldn’t be easy. At least I thought it wouldn’t be until I was offered a contract almost on the spot with a strictly ebook imprint that would move into POD. We all know how that ends…then I made an even bigger mistake and was sucked into the vanity press cult. I just happened to be lucky enough to get out in time and begin the self-publishing process. Both events are too painful to relive…plus I signed NDAs. I had noticed that SPing became more and more popular and figured why not? Can’t be any worse than what I’ve already been through, right? At least if I failed I failed on my terms.
I was so excited and proud of what I accomplished on my own with a gorgeous cover and amazing rewrites with the guidance of an editor that wasn’t contracted out and working for fifteen other “publishers” as well. An editor that cared where my story went, and went wrong. After the entire Vpress debacle and SPing I was approximately 5600.00 in the hole but my baby was was mine again and I was damn proud of what I was publishing. Now of course back then (2012) the whole self-pubbed thing was still considered only for those who “couldn’t make it” in the real publishing world, but I didn’t give two flying saucers what people said. I needed the control after what I had been through.
Breaking into a reader’s world was a completely different low in my publishing life. I did everything right…blog tours (when they were still relevant) I sent out ARCs, did giveaways, tweeted, blogged and stayed “present” online and kept writing in the mean time. This was a full time gig and I knew if I just kept writing and getting stuff out there, staying on the reader’s radar I’d eventually get somewhere.
The reviews were rolling in, people were talking about my book. Regardless of that, for the three months my book was on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, aRE and iTunes I made a whopping $125.00. Between the 5600.00 I was out and then giveaways and such I had given up. You do the math. My single income family was seeing less and less of me and my husband’s pay check…but he said keep on. If anything you can say “you wrote books” which is a lot more than some could say.
By that time I was starting to crack a little…like a metal bar held above a low-lit flame…I was breaking down, beginning to slightly warp day by day.
Now here I am, two years later, four books in with rave reviews and still $5000.00 in the hole. Where did I go wrong???
This is where it gets real folks. If you don’t like honesty then you should stop reading now.
It’s not me. It’s you. It’s you, the readers. Not the pirate sites and not the Kindle Unlimited, or the Oysters and Scribids, its not me, its you. It used to be without YOU there was no ME. But not now, because let’s face it, if it weren’t for you the pirate sites wouldn’t exist because nobody would be using them. If you respected mine or other’s work, you wouldn’t pay for a subscription service or expect a book that cost me a year of my life and a lot of money, for .99 cents. It isn’t worth it to you because I’m not Abbi Glines, Nora Roberts or Janet Evanovich. No I’m not…you’re right. I don’t get paid a fraction what they do or up front like they do. Clearly I don’t deserve it either. I’m a nobody. Which is great, I am, I need to earn it, and I fully intend to…but I can’t because either nobody is willing to let me break through or someone uploads it and pirates my work. Writers like me are what I’ve heard referred to as “fillers”. Yes, the bologna of the publishing world, the hot dogs of books, the pig’s ass. I’m here for you to pick up between “real” author’s books. And you know what?? I wouldn’t mind being the chicken croquette of writing if I could at least be respected and paid for my work. Boxed sets and anthologies for 99 cents? To give me the hope someone may read my book that’s included or pick up other work of mine? Dream that someone posting about my break through novel? That’s an expensive dream and betting it all on a crap shoot.
Which leads me to breaking through. It won’t happen unless one of the cool kid blogs likes your work, right? Wrong, well kinda’ wrong. It’s all politics with the big’ins. Popular blogs and review sites are like the Mean Girls of the book world. They write the Burn Book. If you aren’t somebody, you’re nobody, especially if they cater to a specific group of authors. You’ll have a better luck hitting the lottery than getting acknowledgment from one of them. And there are plenty of offenders out there.
Now, there’s always that chance that I just suck so bad and I’m blaming everyone else for my shitty work…but that isn’t me. I own my mistakes and I take pride in myself and what I represent. Which is why I think it sucks that people devalue our work. Somehow we are not worthy of that 2.99 for the reader’s enjoyment.
I’m tired of feeling like what I do is not worth it. I write to entertain and hopefully bring escape and enjoyment to a reader, why do you feel my work is less valuable than the next person’s?
By this time that low-lit flame has turned into a full blaze of failure and desperation and I’m no longer are bending…I’m warped beyond recognition and eventually, I’ll snap. I won’t just be broke…I’ll be broken.
All I ask is to consider going to work all week long then someone else sitting at your desk and handing your boss all the work you’ve done and them getting your paycheck. Or worse…your boss telling you that your work is absolutely fabulous, they love the hard work and dedication that you’ve put forth only to not see a paycheck. Right? That shit wouldn’t fly for you…so why does it have to for me?
Let me break this down for you perhaps then you’ll stop thinking of us as pig’s ass. This is what I’ve spent on these services so I can bring you quality work.
• Writing the story. 3-7 months away from life. The only ppl that pay for this is my family.
• Editing -1st, 2nd 3rd sometimes even four or five rounds on an 85k novel approx. $1800.00-2400.00
• Final proofing 100.00-200.00
• Cover design -150.00 to 300.00
• Formatting 160.00-250.00
• Advertising 1000.00 (Giveaways, ARCs, Book Bub, ENT, Ads, etc)
• Swag to give away. 500.00
• Mailing things out to winners of giveaways and other free things. $100.00
Do I need to go on?
Some of you will agree, some will be too afraid to agree and there will be some that think I’m the Anti-Christ for writing this.
No mater what your opinion is regarding my feelings on this subject just know it’s the truth. What I’ve put out there in regards of what it costs to bring you a QUALITY book is what it costs us, the writer. So please, before you eat your free hot dog, think about the pig that wrote it for you. That pig gave up a lot of ass so you could enjoy that hot dog. Stop devaluing us…please. We appreciate you. I appreciate you. So please, at the least respect the work and support us by purchasing our books at a fair price so we can keep on bringing you the books that you love.
**DISCLAIMER**
It is 1230am when I’m writing this so please forgive my lack of proper comma use and grammar. LOL I couldn’t afford my editor for this piece.
Hey, I’m a writer, not an English major. :D
Best to all,
TPA
(The Pig’s Ass)
My question to the author was “I’m confused a bit. Readers don’t set the prices or put together box sets. Is your argument that we should refuse to pay lower than a set amount (2.99 you quote in the piece) even if there are books and box sets available.”
I think free or 99 cents does help authors though (well good ones anyway). I’ve tried many free books in genres I don’t normally read, or with settings I don’t usually like and ended up buying the entire backlist of an author when I’ve found a good one. A prime example is lindsay buroker. I read the Emperor’s edge and loved it so much I bought every single one of her other books (and there were a lot!) I then proceeded to tell all my friends about them and they bought them. Then I found out she writes under another name Ruby Lionsdrake and bought all of those books as well. I’ve done the same thing with too many author’s to count. Now, if the first book I read sucks than that author is out of luck (at least with me) I”ll never buy another book by them but if that first free or .99 cent book is good than it does not matter what the price of subsequent books are…I’ll snap them up.
@Lynnd: We’re apparently very different readers. Price has never been a deciding factor for me when chosing between books. If the book is flat out above what I’m willing to pay for an unknown author, then I wouldn’t bother to look a it at all. It comes down to the sample In the end. I tend to download samples in bulk and read them on my commute. Most don’t get finished. If it doesn’t suck me in, I delete it. Some samples get finished, but I’m not compelled to read on, so they get deleted. A few get finished and I click the buy button and keep reading. Utterly not substitutiable (for me, obviously YMMV).
I’ve bought ebooks at 99p and ebooks at £10 (for a favourite author or an incredibly compelling-sounding story that hits all my buttons.) I’ve bought books I would never have bought at 99p to £2.99, thinking “I’ll give it a try” – because the risk is then small. I’ve then gone to spend £5 or £6 or more on other ebooks by the same author. I’ve bought republished digital backlist titles from many authors, mostly around the £3.99 mark, rather than buy second-hand, because I know I will get my reward (yay for KM Peyton’s backlist coming available last year!) I sometimes pre-order a book despite likely knowing it’ll end up being discounted fairly soon, because sometimes I want to help a book I think I’m going to love get buzz before publishing. I’ve also rebought books I own physical copies of in ebook format at high prices, just for the pleasure of having them in two formats. So that author got twice the money from the same person. I don’t begrudge it, it’s always worth it.
Before 99p ebooks, I’d give new authors a try by a) visiting the library, b) looking out for the book in a 2nd hand bookshop, or c) borrowing from a friend. Sometimes it feels as if with ebooks, those behaviours have become totally unacceptable. Maybe they always were and I just didn’t notice, but since I have limited spending money I doubt I’m going to change too much. But 99p has to be better than no money, right?
Particularly with self-published books, I’ve found quality to vary widely. Spending money is not unlimited and I’m just not going to take a big risk on a new author I might dislike.
@Donna Thorland LOL and well done!! :)
As for this anonymous author, yes I understand where you’re coming from; and this is why I buy mainly direct from e-publishers – purely and simply to let the author know I appreciate and respect all their hard work and hope that my contribution to their ‘royalties’ is not just a drop in a puddle.
I WILL buy self-pubbed authors – but probably only after I’ve heard a few people rave about their work. This happened recently: J A Huss packaged her first 3 Social Media stories together and put them out at a ridiculously low price. I bought; got hooked; paid full advertised price for the rest of her books; and she is now on my auto-buy list.
See: it does work sometimes :)
“Which leads me to breaking through. It won’t happen unless one of the cool kid blogs likes your work, right? Wrong, well kinda’ wrong. It’s all politics with the big’ins. Popular blogs and review sites are like the Mean Girls of the book world. They write the Burn Book. If you aren’t somebody, you’re nobody, especially if they cater to a specific group of authors. You’ll have a better luck hitting the lottery than getting acknowledgment from one of them. And there are plenty of offenders out there. ”
Okay, I’ll play. A favorable mention on my blog can raise your Amazon rank to the top 500. Send me your book and I will read it. But I get to post an honest review of it. If I like it, I will praise it and tell people to buy it. If it’s crap, I will tell people it’s crap and you don’t get to complain and cry that a big author bullied you by being mean. So put your manuscript where your mouth is and let’s go.
@Ilona Andrews:
I totally agree on your stance. I’m a small-time blogger but I am 100% honest in my reviews. I try to make it clear I am representing only my opinion. After all what works for some people does not work for me and vice versa. I try to make a DNF review obvious as to my rage issues while still saying “Hey maybe it is your cup of tea”. I also include the links to buy in most reviews (I do occasionally forget). If someone thinks that DNF book sounds awesome, then go buy it and leave it some love. For me, it’s just not working and I won’t be buying any more of the authors work. Maybe I’ll check back in on a free book down the road.
Posts like the one from the anonymous author above make me really angry. First of all, I really hate to be included in the general “you” who download pirated books. I don’t do that and I think most of the audience of the DA blog doesn’t do that. But the sob story is just exhausting. I get it. You worked hard to publish your book. Maybe it’s good, maybe not, maybe it’s great and simply not to my taste. There are thousands of other authors who also worked hard and maybe wrote something good. This isn’t the reader’s problem to solve. You set a price point for your book and I buy it or I don’t depending on whether it appeals to me. Am I supposed to get a side helping of guilt if I chose to buy your book when you listed it at $0.99 because I paid too little for it?
It’s basic economics not a cabal of readers sitting around deciding which author gets to feed their kids this week.
@Tsuki
You have more leeway in how you review. :) If you wanted to simply vent your rage over a particular book, you have full right and power to do so. Technically, so do I, but because I am an author, my opinions are seen through a particular light. If I say that a book is badly written, I’m “picking on a colleague” if it’s a New York published author or “bullying” if it’s a self-published author. Both are time sinks as they generate a flurry of comments and subtweets, which then get forwarded to me. I don’t have the time and it turns out that the internet can totally survive without the benefit of my opinion. ;)
In this particular instance, I am coming to it with open mind. If this book is good, I will recommend it. If it’s not, I will say why. I think that’s fair.
@Tsuki:
I see what you mean and I understand it. It is just sad that one person can say what they think and another person has to be so careful. Way of the world.
@Dear Author
This makes no sense to me at all. I mean I understand her frustration that she is getting rave reviews but it is not turning into money for her but why would you go and blame readers for that? I buy books I like and don’t mind paying money for said books. Once I find a SPA I love I keep buying their books. That’s how I work.
I think this author is getting frustrated her reviews are not garnering more money which is not my problem.
Dear Anonymous Author:
A word of advice, if you’ll take it, from someone who’s been in this business for over two decades.
Readers owe us nothing.
We are storytellers, nothing more, and our role in society is no more vital or important than that of a really good mechanic or the woman bussing tables at your local restaurant.
Here’s how it would have gone, in an earlier time: You, the storyteller, would have gone to the marketplace, found a corner, spread your blanket out, and told your story. People might have stopped to listen. If they liked the story, they’d have stayed to listen to the end. They might have tossed a coin or two. Next market day, when you spread out your blanket, they might recognize you and stop once again, to hear you tell another story. If they liked that, too, then they might tell their friends, and every market day you’d find more people waiting in your corner, and if THEY all liked your stories, they’d throw coins as well.
That’s how it works. It’s gradual. It doesn’t happen all at once. It never did.
And here’s the thing: it really, truly, IS about the story.
There will always be storytellers in other corners of the marketplace with more expensive blankets, better clothes, and fancy props, and maybe influential friends who can persuade people to stop and hear THEIR stories, but it’s the story itself that makes people decide to come back.
In the end, it’s the choice of the listener, just as it’s the storyteller’s choice to stand in that marketplace, to spend (or not spend) money on a fancy blanket, or take time away from family, whatever.
The readers—our “listeners”—get to decide if our stories are worth their own valuable time. They don’t HAVE to throw coins (some have no coins to throw, or they have coins but need them for things like, say, bread—so you need to get over your piracy issues, it isn’t the problem you think it is). They don’t HAVE to do anything.
Learn that, and you’ll be a happier writer.
Success rarely comes after two years. It took more than two years for me to find someone to publish my first novel, back in the day (which was not, for the record, 2012. 2012 was just yesterday.). It took several more years after that before I was able to support myself from just my writing income, and another fifteen years or so before I hit the New York Times bestseller list. And you know who put me there? Readers.
You want success? Here’s how you do it: you go to the marketplace, day after day, even when the wind blows hard and cold in your corner and nobody comes. You still spread out your blanket. And tell a good story, the best way you can.
Best of luck to you.
I’m another self published author, and I’m baffled at the notion of spending that much money to self publish. I think TPA needs to re-evaluate her costs, and then look at what about her books isn’t appealing to readers rather than complain about them.
It is never, ever the readers’ fault. Ever.
@TPA:
I don’t know what else to refer to you as, since you didn’t leave much of a name.
Part of me feels a lot of sympathy for you. A lot. Trust me. Writing is a crap shoot. I’m in the process of looking at going back to work part-time after writing full time for 10 years. This is a hard life. It’s not for sissies and it’s not for the faint of heart.
It’s also a gamble. There is no guarantee anybody will make it and not guarantee that once you do *make* it…(and what is making it, anyway?) that you’ll even be able to continue indefinitely?
Take a look at a bin of ramaindered books at a Dollar General Store. Some of them say NYT Bestselling author…and a number of them haven’t written in years.
Writers come and go in this business and that’s a fact.
If you’re looking for a guarantee, this isn’t the career path to take. There’s a reason I’ve stayed up to date in the nursing industry and it’s because I just don’t want to take a chance things will fall apart.
Bloggers don’t owe you anything. That’s just all there is to it. The best thing to do if you want to try and get your work reviewed is to build relationships. That is what this business is about but they have to be real relationships. It’s not about how you can get something from somebody. It’s about talking and interacting and being decent to people and then when it’s time to reach out, they are more likely to be willing to at least take a look at what you have. Be genuine and talk to people. The same way you’d want people to talk to you.
To the freebie discussion in general, there are so many freebies out there in general, the market is all but oversaturated so it doesn’t do as much good as it once did, but a free book can and does help. One of mine got picked up for Book of The Week at iBooks and the series has gone on to become my bestselling one-I firmly believe it was because of that, and the support from readers and bloggers that caused its success.
“So please, at the least respect the work and support us by purchasing our books at a fair price so we can keep on bringing you the books that you love.”
We are purchasing the books at fair price: we’re purchasing them at fair market price. The price the market dictates they should be. And every consumer is different. Some can afford to pay $9.99 or $7.99 for a book. Some of us (like me, I’m a broke student) may not always have the luxury. It doesn’t mean we don’t respect the work of authors. It’s simply called being a consumer and making consumer decisions based on X factors. And, hey, I feel for you, but guess what? I have to eat, too. Or is my being able to afford food, transportation, rent, heat, and overpriced textbooks not as important as you because you’re an “artist”?
And I want to add that not all words placed to paper are art, nor is every book released (no matter how much overhead expenses were incurred by the author) quality. Quality is subjective.
“Let me break this down for you perhaps then you’ll stop thinking of us as pig’s ass. This is what I’ve spent on these services so I can bring you quality work.”
No, that’s the money you spent in order to fund your startup/small business. Because writing is the creative part, but publishing that writing so that it competes in the open market along with the other thousands of books is the business part. And like any small business, it will either succeed and you’ll make a profit or enough to make a living, or it won’t. Thems the breaks, Kid. No one is entitled to be a success just because the want to be or feel they should be.
@Susanna Kearsley: Awesome comment. You should turn it into a post in your blog. :)
TPA, I don’t want to be mean, but it seems like you jumped into self-publishing without doing the research, after trying publishing without doing the research. And without comprehending how glutted the market really is. Trying to find an audience is an uphill battle even when you land good reviews. There are just too many books competing for readers’ attention. I’ve been reviewed here on DA (positively) and there’s no way I’m make any bestseller lists anytime soon. It’s not the readers’ fault. They don’t owe me their money or their time (or their reviews for that matter– but that’s another discussion).
There are those publishers who implode (cough EC cough) that you never see coming, but for most if you do your homework, you know what you’re getting. I say this as someone who signed with the wrong publisher. Not that my publisher is bad, they’re just not right for me. They sell high heat erotic romance very well. I’m writing medium heat with beta heroes–you see the problem. That doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with publishing, it means I didn’t do all my homework. I only checked to see if the publisher had a history of paying on time and looked at their average sales. I should have been paying attention to their bestsellers and their reputation in the reader community. But, now I know. I won’t make the same mistake next time. (I’ll probably make different ones. :) )
As for self-publishing, all you have to do is look at the volume of self-published books and realize that an Amanda Hocking or an EL James is an outlier. In order to earn back an investment in self-publishing you’re going to need to build an audience. How do you do that? If I knew, I’d be doing it. What I do know is that it takes time to build a readership. It’s not just: I wrote a book. Give me money now. Does that mean doing a loss leader with your first book to gain an audience? I do know that as a reader, I don’t bother with free books anymore, unless its from an author I know, because my time is as valuable as my money.
I get the impression that loss leaders aren’t as effective as they used to be. I do know that there a ton of other self-publishers trying to figure those answers out. You can find them at Absolute Write or on the Kindle Boards and I’m sure a ton of other places. Where you’re not going to find the answers is on a reader blog, because (with respect) it’s not readers problem that you can’t sell your book.
TL;DR It’s not the readers, its the crowded market. (And do your homework.)
And I should know better than to write a long screed on my phone. Please excuse the horrendous grammar/typos.
@Susanna Kearsley:
I love this so much.
“If you respected mine or other’s work, you wouldn’t pay for a subscription service or expect a book that cost me a year of my life and a lot of money, for .99 cents.”
On my part … please, readers, keep on getting those Kindle Unlimited subscriptions (if you feel they are worth it to you.) If you borrow a self-published book priced at $0.99 and go past the 10% mark, *right now* authors are earning far more than they would for a sale.
I don’t feel readers value my work any more or less for having borrowed or buying it, but if we’re putting value down to cold hard cash, let’s state the obvious: I’m not getting 33¢ for a 99¢ book when someone borrows it through KU’s subscription service. I’m receiving more than the purchase price when someone borrows it. I earn more with KU for a 99¢ book that I do for a $7.99 novel through my publisher. (And I’m not knocking my publisher; that’s just how that works.)
But for someone like me (who isn’t moving thousands upon thousands of units) that also means I earn more on a $2.99 self-pubbed book, even though the amount I earn on a borrow is less than my percentage earnings for a sale. I know readers’ budgets can be limited, so paying $10/month for KU might allow them to pick up my $2.99 book (for “free”), and I have seen a LOT of readers mention that they only picked it up because they could borrow it. They might not pick up that book otherwise (which means I would earn $0). So I still earn money that I wouldn’t have if they had to buy it (and couldn’t afford it).
So, you know, KU borrowers — keep on going. I would have done anything to have a subscription service like that when I was on a limited book budget. As an author, I’m really glad it’s available now.
I think TPA’s reaction is typical of the way many self-publishers are feeling right now. I listen to a lot of successful indies, and from what I’m hearing it takes a LOT of books and a huge amount of hard work to make even halfway decent money, with those few outlier exceptions of course.
I’m an indie about to step into that hole for my second book. I anticipate the hole getting deeper over the next couple of years. But as far as I’m concerned, I’m an entrepreneur and these are my startup costs. I’m gearing up to write faster, work harder and learn to market (which I hate) with the expectation that some modest rewards may start coming my way in a year or two. It might come faster than that, or slower. I know there are no certainties. My writing could attract the attention of a top blogger at any moment and the money situation will be solved–but more likely than not, I’ll have to keep scrambling for any tiny foothold I can gain.
Those are the realities of the indie world, and I hear a lot of indie authors are giving up the struggle. I don’t think it’s a whole lot better on the trad side–there was an article in the Guardian recently about how best-selling authors are on the poverty line. Is this surprising? It’s simple market economics–supply and demand. The supply is growing faster than the demand.
As I said in my post above, the solution is to give your product more value to your readers by building up your relationship with them. In the meantime, don’t expect your fiction to support you. Mine may never support me, but I’ll never regret having tried.
@TPA:
“We appreciate you. I appreciate you. ”
BRZZZZT!
I am so sorry, you have just failed your first writing test. Your conclusion does not follow logically from the self-pitying entitled whines, excuse me, “arguments” that preceded it. If you had the courage to sign your name, I would have automatically placed you on the DO NOT PURCHASE list for this writing sample.
(The gratuitous concluding slap at “English majors” didn’t help much either.)
However, your cowardice has caused me to just lump you with all the other unknown-to-me self-published authors, reinforced my (admittedly unfair) bias that “they’re all a pack of unprofessional dilettantes”, and caused me to eye their (possibly wonderful) titles with even more wariness.
You’ve not only hurt your own sales prospects, but marginally decreased those of hundreds of other authors. Congratulations!
P.S. And thank you to all the other authors, both trad and self published, who have posted such professional and thoughtful comments to this thread. You have done well both for yourselves and your colleagues!
Dear TPA (I too dislike this name),
Until Social Media came into existence, readers were mostly ignorant of authors & their writing journeys. As a more enlightened reader, I want to offer my deepest & sincerest appreciation for your talents and equally, my apologies for the part I play in your painful journey.
I’ve been a book addict since reading my first Dr Seuss story. I walked miles to & from libraries until I was old enough to work & drive a car. Since then, I’ve suffered difficult bosses, office politics, commuting woes and other associated unpleasantness. I’m not complaining (much). I’m grateful because I not only earn a basic living but also the money to buy books which give me so much joy.
Unfortunately, work eats up much of my time to read (and to search for new potential favorites). When I have time to search for new books (instead of re-reading favs), I rely on bookseller recommendations, interesting book descriptions, number of positive & tempting reviews from bookseller sites, friend & favorite author’s book recommendations and the occasional talented blogger whose tastes similar to mine. Personally, I’ve never looked into Kindle Unlimited or similar deals. (Yes, there are a bunch of us still out there.)
I work to live and live to read. It’s a burdensome and time-consuming process to obtain life’s necessities:) It’s also a bit ironic, don’t you think? You suffer to bring your art to readers and readers suffer for the wherewithal to earn & enjoy your art.
My advise, for what it’s worth:
Try not to be so angry at yourself and your potential readers when it’s often the fault of both our bumpy paths that keep us from each other.
If the publishing and marketing side of the process is making you so miserable, maybe get out of the game and consider another way to share your work that will offer you more personal satisfaction and less financial hardship such as offering readings of your (copyrighted) work at libraries, hospitals, long-term care facilities, schools, etc. It’s also something you could share with your family.
Take Ilona Andrews up on her very generous offer:)
Good luck to you!
[My two cents to bloggers & reviewers in general: Maybe it’s just me, but I personally find it hard to appreciate a review that has crossed the line between interesting & entertaining to hurtful. I’d not only skip the book but future reviews by that person.]
TPA:
I’m posting here because I’m someone who benefitted from a favorable review given by Ilona Andrews. She’s not exaggerating when she says a favorable review from her will put a book in good ranking. Following her review of my book, MASTER OF CROWS, rankings went to the mid 300’s. Considering the demands on her time, I’d say you should jump on that very generous offer.
I can only echo what so many have said here. Hard work, favorable reviews, levels of initial capital investment: none of these are guarantees that your book will become a brisk seller. Discoverability is a high wall to climb, and it’s difficult to get there. There are a lot of books out there, and this is a tough career path. I’ve been publishing for ten years (self publishing since 2011), and until the beginning of this year, I worked two day jobs and like you, diverted time with my family to time on the computer. I accepted it as part of the deal. It is what it is.
As a self publisher, you are the one setting the book to the price you consider fair. Only you have control over it. It may or may not be what the market will bear, and if that’s the case that is no fault of the reader. If the book isn’t moving, step back and look at the various factors that might prevent it from appealing to a broader public – cover art, summary, content, price, etc. Again, these are all things you control. Bloggers offer highlights to books. Yes, they help, but the lack of them will NOT tank a book. Those aspects of your book that you control might.
As a side note, I’ll stridently disagree about the subscription services. I’m not enrolled in KU because I have readers who purchase via other sources besides Amazon, but I am enrolled in Oyster and Scrib’d and seen benefits from that enrollment. I can only speak for my experiences and reading what some readers have said, but they are a benefit to readers and authors alike in most cases.
You say you’ve been publishing since 2012? That’s brand spanking new. This is a long-haul proposition that can change from book to book because you are only as good as your last book. Readers don’t have to “appreciate” you. They are the buyer of the product that you the seller created and priced on a market that may or may not bear the price or move the product. The best thing you can do for yourself, your writing goals and your piece of mind, is to knuckle down, keep writing with an eye always to improvement, hone your marketing skills at every level, put out more books and have a plan B always in place.
There is some solid advice here and then there’s the condescending ass wipe comments as well. @Hapax If I were an author I would never want you to read my books. You seem like a real charmer and you contradicted yourself. This author didn’t make you lump self publishers into that admittedly bias category of not good enough or whatever it was you said, you put them there. With judgMental people such as yourself out there knocking them down before they even get up they don’t stand a chance. I hope your narrow minded self and your shitty attitude are very happy together. You sound like a bitter jaded old hag.
I think every single indie author should charge what they feel they are worth. This author is right in stating the reader sets the prices. I know I’m guilty of it. I’ll see a 0.99 box set and hop on that gravy train.
Ilona Andrews: Why would this author bring themselves to you? It’d become open season on them. I’m sure it’d be a fantastic opportunity for them but you know just as well as the next person they’ll never come forward. They’re most likely too afraid of the ramifications. I know I’d be scared shitless. Is TPA brave? No. Are they honest? Yes. Are they right? Yes and no. lol
Let’s keep the comments about the comments rather than the commenters. Thank you.
@SassaFrassMyAss: Re: Ilona Andrews’ offer. You know I had been reading their blog for years and not once had i seen her telling to the reader how she received the book that she recommends ( unless the book was released by a writer who is their friend which she always discloses). So it did not even enter my mind that she would say before reviewing this mystery book – oh hey , this is a book from an anonymous author who decided to cry us a river at DA post. So no I do not see a reason for this author to be afraid of any ramifications unless her book is really not as good as she claims to be and Ilona Andrews would give us her honest opinion about that. Re: original post , I am with Kim W. Do spare me sob stories, I am delighted when the authors whose books I love succeed ( and I am delighted when authors whose books I don’t love succeed too – strangely enough not liking the book and writing review about it means just that – I always hope there are other readers who would love the book more than I did), but it is not, it is not my responsibility to help you earn a living. I am always happy to give to people who are in dire need of charity, but I have a living to make and I don’t ask anybody to help me with that. I buy books in the price range from 0.99 to seventy and eighty dollars ( granted that’s rare and that’s usually non fiction, but I did spent twenty five and thirty bucks for a fiction book and more than once). And you know what happens when I like the book for 0.99? I can’t shut up about it ( any book but I am likely to take a chance on unknown author with this price), all my friends get to hear me and some of them ( if I feel they are likely to like it) will get the book as a present. I am likely to review it in places I review including DA. The author who does not think this is a good promotional possibility , well I disagree with this.
One more thing – every author should absolutely charge what they want to! But while I bought latest Kate Daniels hardcover and ebook, I am highly unlikely to spend a half of it for the author I never heard of. Obvious no?
@Kim W: “Posts like the one from the anonymous author above make me really angry.”
Me too. As an author and as a reader.
Authors are bologna. Some people love sausage. But there’s always more sausage where that came from.
And her self pubbing expenses are *stupid*. I just put up a self pubbednovella which was my most expensive in costs – $500. I’ve made more money from books I spent nothing but time on than this person has with her thousands.
Like any small business you have to balance your ins and outs. Not the customers’ fault if your business plan sucks – and honey, yours reeks.
I bet your writing does too. Bloody coward.
You see. If you spend something like 500.00 you may end up with an embarrassment such as these. As a reader, I would be insulted if this is all you thought I deserved.
Something definitely reeks here but I don’t believe it’s the OP’s writing.
But for sure OP, it takes well over two years to establish a readership unless you write Twilight porn, then you’ve hit the mother load.
I need to go something is for sure stinking up the joint. LOL
whoops http://annsomerville.net/2015/01/31/new-story-lost-in-transcription/
Okay, final warning: KNOCK. IT. OFF.
Jeez, DA. Come for the wanky anonymous hate comments, stay for the free advertisement by trolls :)
Bless your heart, Trista. Yes, I do have a new novella out, people. It’s off topic for DA though as it’s not romance.
Sausage isn’t the analogy I’d have chosen if I were to send a wanky anonymous comment, but wine. Here in Australia, we make and sell a lot of wine. Even the cheap stuff is pretty drinkable. When I go into a bottleshop (dunno what Americans call them – liquour stores?), say, looking for a red wine, I will have dozens to choose from even in the smallest outlet. I’ll look for names I know, where I’ve had a good experience before, and I might pay as much as $3 extra for the privilege. Maybe as much $10 over if it’s a gift. But in the end, if I don’t get a wine I know, I will pay less and still get a reasonable product. I’ve been stung by spending big on the principle of you get what you pay for, and pleasantly surprised by real cheapies.
As the base cost rises, I get more discerning. But then I buy less. So we buy less whisky than wine, but spend more on better when we do buy whisky, because the base investment is already high.
So I can either spend $70 on a drinkable bottle of single malt, or the same amount for 12 bottles of decent reds. It all depends on what I want – ie, what is the value I need in that situation. If I want a scotch, a glass of red won’t do. If I’m going to a party, I’m not taking the Talisker.
If I really want the new Terry Pratchett, Ann Leckie won’t do. But if I just want some m/m, I will go to the bargain bin at Smashwords. Or I might trawl through the bargains listed here to see if something new sounds fasinating, but I won’t pay more than $2 for it. I won’t expect the *value* of a new Pratchett or Ursula K LeGuin, but I might get something close to if I’m lucky. And that author will then become a name I’ll look for and maybe pay a little more for next time.
But if I’m looking for a new genre story, a new to me author has *no* value and neither does their book, until I consume it. All the whining about the cost of production and how haaaaard it is to write (oh cry me a fucking river) in the world won’t change that. At that point new authors and new books are completely interchangeable, and it just depends whether I want white wine, red, or a nice dram of single malt.
Ugh, this is so frustrating — someone hides behind anonymity sending in super inflammatory remarks through the site email because they can’t even be chuffed to post here themselves, blaming everyone here, and manages to completely derail conversation.
Because you know what? You cannot reason with unreasonable people, period — anything you say to them just becomes excuses for them to argue against and continue to make the conversation all about themselves.
If someone actually wanted to be successful they’d be working towards it, learning the business and soaking up all of the incredibly generous information successful authors have been offering for years, not throwing a tantrum anonymously on a blog because the world is not showering them with rewards they are so richly entitled to.
There have been excellent posts here, and one tantrum-throwing coward should hardly be the focal point, especially because absolutely nothing can be said to them to change their mind or make them reasonable. It sucks, because for the most part here people are incredibly reasonable, and patient, and compassionate, and incredibly giving, and that will still be blown off as “mean girl” and “cool kids club” by someone who never emotionally left high school.
So. Subscriptions — apart from KU, do authors see a lot of rewards currently from things like Scribd and Oyster, and has it increased or decreased over the last few years? I don’t expect someone to stick with something that isn’t working for them, but I’m always interested in the publishing business and (oddly enough) how to give authors good returns on their investments. I know that as a reader this is not my obligation (it is NOT), but I actually want to. It’s why I wind up tweeting or emailing folks at odd hours asking if Kobo coupons come out of the author’s cut (the answer is they do not).
What can I say? I like to help people who make the things I like be successful. It’s almost like most people are like that (and the folks I like, well, they don’t tend to tell the world that they owe them bigtime for existing and make up conspiracy theories as to why they are not making what they feel is their due!).
For me it’s simple. I don’t care about the price when it comes to assessing the value of a book. If it’s good, and it’s $5, I’ll buy it. If it’s good and it’s $10, I’ll buy it.
TPA is full of it. And box sets and subscriptions help sell lots of books – especially the $0.99 box sets.
One great example: I bought the “Darkly Dreaming” anthology for $0.99 while it was still out. That was my introduction to Grace Draven with her “Master of the Crows.” I have since purchased everything else that Grace Draven has written and published that I could locate. So obviously the $0.99 box set worked exactly the way it was meant to: Draven was a NTM author when I opened that box set – and I’ve since become a fan.
I have hesitated writing this comment because the whole idea that I, as a customer, am personally responsible for the success or failure of any business venture makes me absolutely rage-y and I fear that this may turn into a rant. I will try to control myself. This will also be tl;dr.
The first thing is this – being an author is a business venture whether you are self-published or not. If you are with a publisher then you are entering into a contract to provide your book to a publisher who will in turn provide you with assistance to sell it. Like any supplier to a company, you negotiate how much the company is going to pay you for your product and you then give up all control over how much they are going to charge for said product and the publisher assumes all risk associated with any losses if the book doesn’t sell enough to recover their costs (and the reality is that publishers lose money on a good portion of the books that they publish – in any other business those loss ratios would not be acceptable). If you aren’t satisfied with the terms, then you look for your other options. If you self publish, then you are running to businesses – writing and publishing and you are responsible for everything including the risk that your publishing business isn’t going to recover the costs and you personally will lose money. If you can’t handle that risk of loss, then my simple advice is this – don’t get into the publishing business.
The second thing is this, the majority of business ventures fail or are only marginally successful. If a business can’t attract people to buy their products or services or to continue to buy their products or services, hey will fail. Successful business owners work their asses off constantly to promote their business and to ensure customer loyalty by delivering good products or services and they don’t rest on their laurels and they are constantly reevaluating their business models to figure out how to make their products “worth” more to consumers.
In none of this is the consumer ever “responsible” for any of these decisions or for the success of any business – we have absolutely no say on the decisions that any business owner makes. Consumers have all sorts of reasons why they may or may not choose to buy a product or service or support a particular business. Price may be a factor, the quality might be a factor so might the fact that an employee (or worse the business owner) insulted the customer or someone that the customer knows. The idea of “build it and they will come” is complete and utter bullshit – just ask Target who today are commencing the liquidation of all of their Canadian stores and who are going to lose billions because they came into this market with exactly that attitude.
The upshot of this for those authors who are whinging about and lashing out readers/bloggers who don’t support them – perhaps your time would be better spent writing your next book, promoting yourself and your business or doing research on how successful businesses have achieved their success. If you can’t handle the risk that you might lose any money, on finding a publisher who will pay you what you think you deserve. If you can’t handle the thought that someone might actually criticize you or your work, then I really don’t know what to say because none of us in the real world are immune from criticism and none of us are immune from failure.
@Lindsay, you’re the sort of reader I love.
To answer your question: As an author, I receive the same profit from lending a book via Scribd or Oyster as I do from selling it via other retailers. I get a fair number of Scribd lendings (the number has been steady; I bring out ebooks regularly), and my titles are quite visible in their catalogue. Not much traffic from Oyster, but it’s still early days.
As a reader, I love Scribd, and I feel good about the fact that its authors are receiving fair pay.
@Susanna Kearsley:
This is excellent advice, coated in gold. Thank you.
@Dusk Peterson: Thank you very much, that helps a lot! I’ve been using KU along with Scribd partly because it seemed like every book on my wishlist was on KU at one point (although they don’t tell you that on the wishlist page), but I’m listening carefully to what authors say about payment there and making my own decisions on stuff. Since they’ve started adding picture books, though, KU has been a tremendous win — my nephew likes to have me re-read plenty of books, but he also likes the chance to read brand new ones, too! Plus I get to enjoy kids books. ;)
I really enjoy Scribd, and while I may not make use of it every month, it’s definitely good to hear it pays so very fairly — knowing that, I would likely cut KU usage before Scribd if I had to choose between them, even though I don’t do most of my reading on mobile or desktop screens. If they had e-reader compatibility stuff I wouldn’t look back.
@Isobel Carr: But I think that’s actually the problem – some readers DO see books as interchangeable widgets, thus the reason they balk at paying any price over $1.99. There are simply so many books that if one is priced too high, there are plenty of alternatives out there. No, those alternatives may not be the *exact* same book or story, but especially if the writer is not a particular favorite or is outright new to the reader, they don’t see that they’ve given up anything. The sheer glut of books on the market has caused them to become almost a commodity product.
How few authors are there now that have enough name recognition and mass following that they can charge more for their books and know that readers are more than willing to pay the up-cost? When I think about which writers I follow faithfully and am willing to pay top dollar for their latest release, the number is actually pretty low. Not that I think all books should be so cheap, just that there are few writers who can inspire me to cross my own personally set book budget line.
@Lynn M: Perhaps a concrete example of how price factors into my buying decisions might explain my perspective on price being a factor. Last year, a bestselling author whom I generally enjoy released her latest book in a long running series. At that point I had read all of her books and the reviews for the latest were pretty positive, so the book was on my wishlist and I intended to buy it – I had holidays coming and this would have been a really good holiday read. The ebook version was $18.99 + 13% HST = $21.46. The hardcover was a few dollars more, but I seldom by print books, and there are only a couple of authors who I still buy in hardcover. I looked at the price of the ebook and my reaction was literally WTF are they thinking. I then looked at my wishlist of books and, instead of paying the ridiculous price for that book, I purchased four other books that month (two of which came on sale for $4.99, were authors whom I had never read before, and were not on my wishlist, but which turned out to be excellent reads). From the value perspective, I believe that I got more value for my money from the three books that I purchased that month than I would have received if I had purchased the expensive book. The bonus is that I also discovered two new authors. I may decide to purchase the book someday (maybe five years from now when the next one comes out), or I may borrow it from a friend or from the library, but it now sits somewhere way down the ranking on my wishlist. This is just one example of how price can factor into my buying decision.
@Lindsay, regarding a choice between KU and Scribd: Any author who is in KU via Kindle Direct Publishing isn’t in Scribe, and vice versa, because KU is only available to KDP authors and publishers who are willing to sell their ebooks exclusively through Amazon. Larger publishers who get their ebooks onto Kindle by other means may be at both KU and Scribe – I’m not sure whether any of those big publishers have signed up for KU.
Worth checking, at any rate. It’s very considerate of you to be thinking of such matters.