Ugh. I saw a blog review for an awesome book and I so wanted to snag a copy so I could get lost in the world. So I went to Amazon. And the ebook is $9.99. Argh.
Yeah, I know, you've heard it all before. But I guess I'll keep repeating it until either my book budget gets loads healthier or something changes in the way traditional publishing prices their ebooks.
Come to think of it, I'll probably still bitch if I ever have loads of money. It's the principle of the thing. And it's driving me away from reading traditionally published books - new, anyway. I still pick up hardcopy traditional books used.
Unfortunately, used books don't make the author a damned bit of money. Which makes me kind of sad.
And authors really aren't making that much on the sale of the book originally. Which is irritating, but a reality of traditional publishing.
But, as a self-employed, self-publisher who is also an avid reader, I have to get my reading fix where I can. Which leaves out new trad-pub books in any format unless I can find them in the thrift shops. (I smooth over my conscience by writing reviews where I can.)
Surely, I can't be the only one. Readers have a limited amount of money to spend, for the most part. So, I'm guessing, they either buy traditional and read less, or they eschew traditional and surf the waves looking for bargains. Or maybe they do a mix of both.
I picked up six books last week for a grand total of 99c. Five freebies and one 99center. One was a dud, sure, but it wasn't the one I paid for, so it's all good. Paying for duds pisses me off, but I can get over it quicker when they're 99c than if they were $9.99. If I accidentally drop a $1 bill through a hole in my pocket, I'm way less irritated than if it had been a $10.
Anyway, the book I mentioned originally lost a sale. And they lost a review. I'm sure no one cares about one little reader and one little review. But like I said, I can't be the only one who feels this way. Ten readers lost? A hundred? It starts to add up when you think about it. But I guess they aren't thinking about it. So sad.
Do you stick to a book budget? How do you choose where to spend your limited funds?
This is why I still use the library. There are VERY few authors I will spend that kind of money on. In fact, I can count them on one hand and have a finger or two left over. I won't pay $9.99 for paperback so why would I pay it for an ebook? Heck, when books are available in hardback, they only cost $5-7 more, as a rule. Granted, I pay $14.95 for audio books but that's because it's my subscription cost at Audible and that comes in cheaper than full price audio books. Those suckers ARE expensive to produce, unlike ebooks. What gets me is when the ebook cost MORE than the friggin' paperback?!?! WTF?
ReplyDeleteSo yeah, I hear your Ranty McRant and agree.
See, I don't use the libraries here. One is only open two days a week and for like two hours each time and I can never remember what days/times they are. The other is more about all the other things than books and they keep begging for a levy increase so they can build a new building. When no one used the one they have for actual book stuffs. Argh. Plus, all the books I donated to them and only one ever made it on the shelf, and they spelled my name wrong in the 'new releases'. So, no, not a friend of the library system here.
ReplyDeleteSorry. Another rant on top of my McRant.
I totally get your Audible need and their cost. And $15 isn't so bad for all you get. Hell, that's cheaper than a lot of hardcovers. And yeah, that whole 'ebook is more than paperback' thing burns my butt.
Yeah, I never buy new trad pubs any more. The amount they charge is outrageous, especially in ebooks.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit it, but all my business goes to one small used-book store. There are ebooks I want to read, but I have a terrible time reading on my PC. Besides having trouble focusing, I want to edit everything! LOL!
Bingo, Deb.
DeleteHey, nothing to hate there. If you've got a go-to shop, that's awesome. My local used book store changed her hours and I'm never in town when she's open. Of course, these days, I hit Wallyworld and get the hell our of town.
One of these days, Santa is going to have to get you an ereader. I had the same problem reading ebooks on my PC, but the ereader stops that. Mostly. But that's my fault, because I also use my ereaders when I'm editing.