How much do you think an eBook should cost?

[jongibbs]

At Saturday's GSHW meeting, I met Don D'Auria, editor of Samhain publishing's new horror line, Samhain Horror.

Among the many thought provoking facts and figures he gave out during his talk, I was particularly interested in this one: eBooks now account for 50% of fiction books sold. No doubt, the percentage refers to quantity, as opposed to

Comments

[mutive]

I went for "other" as it really depends on the book.

If it's something that I've desperately wanted to read, I'll probably pay maybe...$30 max? (The most I've spent is $30, so I'll go with that number...) But a lot, really. For stuff that I'm faintly curious about, but not really, I might only pay $0.99.

I think that for your average, mass market eBook, I'd probably pay around $4.99. That's a bit cheaper than what I buy paperbacks for, but not much, and they're pretty equivalent in my mind. But I also only tend to buy paperbacks if I already know the author and think the story looks interesting. (And/or have read a really glowing review from someone I trust.)

I suspect that a clever eBook pricing strategy will be to have a "teaser" that is either free or $0.99, and then have more books at the $2.99-$4.99 sweet spot to get readers who want more. (As I would totally spend $0.99 on a writer I've never heard about, who had an interesting sounding blurb, but would be less inclined to spend much more on an unknown.)

[jongibbs]

That teaser idea is interesting. It's something you can't easily do with a printed book.

[mutive]

Yeah, and I think (for me) that's really the kicker. If I got, say, a 50 page (enough to make me think it wasn't just a brilliant opening) teaser for free (or very little), I could see paying a fair amount for an eBook (or at least about as much as I pay now for a paperback). I like reading. I enjoy a good story. But risking $4.99 on an unknown is a bit much for me.

Alternately, I would be willing to risk $0.99 (or less) if the story sounded good. And I'd be willing to pay more if I got into the book.

I think that's why a lot of eBook authors have one out for $0.99 and the rest out for a bit more. The idea is that you can try one out and if you love it, buy the rest. (And if you don't, then at least the reader isn't out much.)

[rymrytr]

One of the reasons I bought an inexpensive Nook (besides the fact that almost all my 'reading' is audio), is that Barnes & Noble have a free sample of nearly every book they sell.

I won't even pay 99 cents if they don't give me the equivalent of the blurb on the back cover, as in printed books. The volume of free and low cost books is high and the gamble on a $9.99 is too much for an unknown quantity; that is, if one can not pickup the book and browse through than it's a pig-in-a-poke(sack).

I would however, pay more than $9.99 if it is a book I'm sure of... perhaps another Steven Saylor's 'Gordianus the Finder' type. An ordinary private detective type, living in Rome with the Emperors and a rich girlfriend and a slum apartment and occasionally, collecting his fee! Historical Fiction at it's best.

So, (although this doesn't help much), it all depends! :o)

[mutive]

That said, I've found the blurbs that I get with the Kindle (which usually also gives them out) to be too short. A lot of the time they're 10 pages or so, and I suspect that most authors are clever enough to polish these until they shine. (Then again, I dislike most still, so maybe not?)

How long are the Nook samples? If they're good, I may need to try that as my next eReader when the Kindle finally dies...

[rymrytr]

Well, I went online with my Nook that has the 4 inch by 5 inch screen and downloaded the free sample of Dune (40th Anniversary Edition) by Frank Herbert ($14.99).

The "free sample" is 32 pages, with the actual story beginning on page 16.

So, it's not actually a 'blurb', but just the first few chapters of each book...

[mutive]

Hmmm...that is pretty significant. (And is probably enough to get me to change eReaders when my Kindle dies.) 32 pages seems enough to make a reasonable decision as to whether I love the story or want all the characters to die in flames (or am bored, which is worse). So as a reader, that would work for me, and would probably actually slant my tastes towards more expensive novels.

[rymrytr]

Just to reiterate, the first part of the "free" stuff is always the over, chapter list, publishing stuff and occasionally, ads... then the real writing begins. But, as you say, it is always enough to see if the book is going anywhere. :o)

I have Nook for PC (free download) but don't recall if it required that I own a Nook or not.

It's been a while since I did the research in buying one for my Sister's Birthday last year... but I remember the original Nook had the advantage of being able to putting a micro SD Card in the back (have to open the back cover) and it plays Audio Books.

The Simple Touch, that I bought for myself, takes the same SD Card, but can be inserted in a slot on the outside. I download free PDF and other formats, to put on the card.

Then the other nooks had features that I didn't need.

I'm not being to clear today; Hospice was here today and my Mom is a bit worse, so my mind is a'flutter and a'clutter. :o)

[mutive]

Ah, well, that does make the free stuff less useful. *sigh* But, hey, even a few pages is something (the number of books I have or have not bought due to the "look inside" function is pretty high). But, honestly, I think that more is better. For one, some books really do take some time to get started (and while I'm up for lingering in a world for a while if it's beautiful, if the plot hasn't started after the first 10 freebie pages, I probably won't buy), and for another, some of the time things just fall apart after a point and I'm a savvy enough reader to know this...

I'm sorry to hear about your Mom. :( You were pretty clear, though, despite that. ;)