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E-Book Pricing, your wallet's perspective.


                                                


Today's post is about E-book pricing in general. How much is too much? How much is too little? One thing I can definitely say is that the Kindle version of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS at $14.99 is TOO MUCH. So's the $35.00 for the hardcover. I enjoyed that book, so thank God for libraries or I never would have had the chance to read it. I do plan on owning it, but until the price goes down, or it comes out in paperback, my wallet's staying in my pocket.

That's all well and good for George R.R. Martin. His addicting series and huge following will keep him from being hurt from my reluctance to purchase his book at such a large price. But what about the debut and mid-list authors? What prices am I willing to pay to try someone new? Or keep following a series I liked?

On the other hand, authors and publishers need to make money. Is there possibility for a compromise? Is there a price readers are willing to pay that will still keep editors, cover artists, and authors fed so they can keep putting out awesome stories?

 For me, I think 7.99 is my limit, but that's mostly because A.) I'm poor and B.) Mass market paperbacks are my preferred mode of reading and paying more than Mass Market Paperback price for an e-book is repugnant to me since e-book is my 2nd choice of format.

Right now e-book prices for my novel, BITE ME, YOUR GRACE are between $5.79 and $6.49, which isn't too crazy, thank goodness.

How about you? What's the most you are willing to pay for an e-book?

Comments

  1. I am terrible but I am an old-fashioned girl and I will pay for a print book over an e-book because I like something tangible that won't disappear when my laptop dies (as has happened) or get repossessed at the whims of some electronic powers-that-be or disappear because I didn't download it before the system was revamped and everything on my 'shelf' disappeared. I will (and do) buy the specials that are on sale for $1 or $2 just to support the author but I utilize a couple of local libraries quite frequently and enter contests all over the place. (And we won't discuss in detail that I got so annoyed waiting for that particular series to continue that I gave up on it because I have no time to re-read the first titles in the series!) Unfortunately, due to my appetite for books...I would not be able to afford to buy all of the books that I want to read at any given time...and especially not at those prices! Maybe if I win the lotto...

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  2. I have paid as much as $10.37 for the Kindle version of a book I wanted to read. However, I usually spend less on my digital reads--anywhere from 99 cents to $6.50.

    I used to be a print purist, but condo living and its space restrictions have made a devoted ereader of me. Plus, the backlight doesn't keep the DH awake when I have to finish "just one more chapter..."

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  3. I don't have a set price I'll pay for an ebook. The cost of producing them is a little less, but publishers still have to pay formatters and editors and copyeditors and graphic artists and --oh, yeah--the author. So I'll pay full price. If its a book I want to read, I'll buy it. If it's a new author (new to me), a sale might be a good incentive to take a chance.

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  4. Me too, Mia! I've spent 10 bucks on a series I was hooked on. And yes, Shana, I LOVE when a new author has a sale and I get to try them for a low price.

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  5. I like my print books. I use to be an avid Stephen King fan, buying all his books as soon as they came out. But I was no longer working outside the home and his last book was like $26. That was it for me. I then waited for the paperbacks which were still not cheap. It got to where I was waiting for it to be in used book stores. It kind of changed me. I still like to keep up with authors current books, but I am a lot more careful and have more patience now. I know ebooks can be cheaper but I'm still hooked on print books lol.

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  6. I guess it really depends on the situation. I definitely think that they should be less than print books, but do understand that there is costs in producing and distributing them, plus authors definitely deserve to be paid for their hard work! I think, for me, really it depends on the length of the book and if I am a fan of the author. For a regular, full length novel from an author that I am a fan of, I would pay up to about a dollar or so less than the print version preferably (but probably not more than $8-$10).

    If it is a novella, I think $2.99-$3.99 is good. Short stories, I probably won't pay more than 99-cents or $1.99 at most. I think at most, I would pay about $1 per 30-50 pages or so for short stories (I have actually seen stories that were only like 14 to 25 pages being charged $2.99 or more! No way would I pay that!) One thing that really effects my spending is the fact that I am disabled. I can't spend as much on books as I could when I was working, even though I now can read a lot more :(

    I am converting over to more ebooks these days (not enough space for them all in print). There are still a some series that I buy in print because I started them before switching to ebooks, but I am picking up digitals of them whenever I catch sales too.

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