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?
Showing posts with label publishers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publishers. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Overpriced Ebooks
Yesterday on FB, I saw someone I respect posting about how much they're enjoying a series of books I've been interested in reading. Since I don't have anything new on my Kindle, I thought it would be a good time to pick up the first in that series. Hopped on over to Amazon. Looked up the first in the series...
$9.99 for the ebook. $10.37 for the paperback.
Gah.
And I am once again reminded of why I don't buy traditionally published books. (Except for the occasional Harlequin by a certain author I know). The total screwing of the American reader really pisses me off. Especially since it's me they're screwing. Without even a kiss on the cheek or a twenty on the nightstand.
Right now, I am in the position to buy a $10 book here and there. (Not too often, though. I have an editor to pay.) If I really want to. It's the principle of the thing, though.
Putting out an ebook costs way less than putting out a paperback. And if you're putting out both, some of the costs are spread over both - cover art, editing, etc. - so the cost of the ebook is actually less than if you were only putting out an ebook.
Traditional publishers are using their ebook sales to prop up their dwindling paperback sales. But not everyone who wants to buy books can afford $10 a pop, so fewer people buy the books at all. And then the publishers bitch that ebook sales are down. They're cutting off their noses to spite their faces. One person buys a $10 book, they get $10. Three people buy a $5 book, they get $15. Why can't they see this?
Paperback sales are down, regardless of how they spin the numbers. Fewer and fewer people want to buy and hang onto all that mass. Shelves are overflowing as it is. Luggage is no longer filled with books for vacations because one ereader can carry hundreds of books for a fraction of the weight. Headed for an appointment? Slide the ereader into your purse instead of a hardcopy so you don't have to lug around a heavy purse.
Don't get me wrong. I love paperbacks. Old paperbacks. They're cheap and they're made better to boot. New paperbacks? Not so much. And don't get me started on hardcovers. I love them, too, but I can no longer handle holding something that big for as long as it takes me to read one. (Craptastic wrists, doncha know.) Hell, sometimes a big paperback is too much and I need Aspercreme to finish the book.
Most of my books are available in paperback. I almost never sell one. Mostly, I have paperbacks available so I can hand them out as promotional things or occasionally hand sell one. I haven't created paperbacks for my last two books because I'm beginning to wonder what the point of them is. And all of my paperbacks are priced as low as I can make them and still make a tiny profit.
My ebooks are all still priced at $2.99. I've been playing with the idea of raising the prices. Not a lot. Certainly nowhere near $9.99. Maybe a dollar hike for most of them, with a $2 hike for a couple. I haven't done it yet. I might not do it at all. And every time I see a $9.99 ebook, it makes me not want to raise my prices at all. Just to stand my ground against overpriced ebooks.
Like the stand I make refusing to buy overpriced ebooks. Not that anyone notices. I don't spend enough to hit anyone in the pocketbook by refusing to purchase their stuff. Maybe if we all put our foot down and said 'No way am I paying $10 for an ebook', the powers that be would notice.
Eh, probably not. They'd just use it as further evidence that ebook sales are down so ebooks are just a fad. Meh.
And so, my money will be spent on reasonably priced independent authors for the foreseeable future. There are loads of them to choose from. Or I'll buy used paperbacks for super cheap. Either way, I'm reading and I'm winning.
What about you?
$9.99 for the ebook. $10.37 for the paperback.
Gah.
And I am once again reminded of why I don't buy traditionally published books. (Except for the occasional Harlequin by a certain author I know). The total screwing of the American reader really pisses me off. Especially since it's me they're screwing. Without even a kiss on the cheek or a twenty on the nightstand.
Right now, I am in the position to buy a $10 book here and there. (Not too often, though. I have an editor to pay.) If I really want to. It's the principle of the thing, though.
Putting out an ebook costs way less than putting out a paperback. And if you're putting out both, some of the costs are spread over both - cover art, editing, etc. - so the cost of the ebook is actually less than if you were only putting out an ebook.
Traditional publishers are using their ebook sales to prop up their dwindling paperback sales. But not everyone who wants to buy books can afford $10 a pop, so fewer people buy the books at all. And then the publishers bitch that ebook sales are down. They're cutting off their noses to spite their faces. One person buys a $10 book, they get $10. Three people buy a $5 book, they get $15. Why can't they see this?
Paperback sales are down, regardless of how they spin the numbers. Fewer and fewer people want to buy and hang onto all that mass. Shelves are overflowing as it is. Luggage is no longer filled with books for vacations because one ereader can carry hundreds of books for a fraction of the weight. Headed for an appointment? Slide the ereader into your purse instead of a hardcopy so you don't have to lug around a heavy purse.
Don't get me wrong. I love paperbacks. Old paperbacks. They're cheap and they're made better to boot. New paperbacks? Not so much. And don't get me started on hardcovers. I love them, too, but I can no longer handle holding something that big for as long as it takes me to read one. (Craptastic wrists, doncha know.) Hell, sometimes a big paperback is too much and I need Aspercreme to finish the book.
Most of my books are available in paperback. I almost never sell one. Mostly, I have paperbacks available so I can hand them out as promotional things or occasionally hand sell one. I haven't created paperbacks for my last two books because I'm beginning to wonder what the point of them is. And all of my paperbacks are priced as low as I can make them and still make a tiny profit.
My ebooks are all still priced at $2.99. I've been playing with the idea of raising the prices. Not a lot. Certainly nowhere near $9.99. Maybe a dollar hike for most of them, with a $2 hike for a couple. I haven't done it yet. I might not do it at all. And every time I see a $9.99 ebook, it makes me not want to raise my prices at all. Just to stand my ground against overpriced ebooks.
Like the stand I make refusing to buy overpriced ebooks. Not that anyone notices. I don't spend enough to hit anyone in the pocketbook by refusing to purchase their stuff. Maybe if we all put our foot down and said 'No way am I paying $10 for an ebook', the powers that be would notice.
Eh, probably not. They'd just use it as further evidence that ebook sales are down so ebooks are just a fad. Meh.
And so, my money will be spent on reasonably priced independent authors for the foreseeable future. There are loads of them to choose from. Or I'll buy used paperbacks for super cheap. Either way, I'm reading and I'm winning.
What about you?
Thursday, January 30, 2014
The Five Stages of Writerly Grief
You all probably know about the stages of grief, but if you don't here's a good article on the typical Five Stages of Grief and Loss. Today, I'm going to use those to illustrate what happens when a writer gets rejected - because hey, we all grieve those losses like any other. Sure, no one died, but it's a loss and it's painful.
First a little backstory - because I do love me some backstory*...
So anyway, after waiting a little over 16 months for this publisher who shall remain nameless** to make a decision one way or the other about Djinnocide, I received my lovely form rejection in the email yesterday afternoon. And the rest of the afternoon went something like this:
Stage One: Denial and Isolation. Okay, so I didn't hit the denial. I got rejected and that was that. The isolation part, though, went into full swing. After shooting off a few emails to those people who've been waiting with me for this, I grabbed my trusty limb saw and headed out into the woods to be by myself. Hubs later joined me, which didn't help with the isolation, but he got some of the bigger limbs, so it's all good. And then when he'd had enough, I isolated myself some more.
Stage Two: Anger. Yeah, I recognized this morning, I'm smack in the middle of this phase. Honestly, I thought Anger was farther down the ladder, so I would almost be done with this grieving thing, but I'm not. I'm still just pissed.
Stage Three: Bargaining. I think I've been jumping around on the stages because I'm pretty sure I hit the whole bargaining thing in my head while I was hacking away at the deadwood. Mostly, for me, this phase means I'm trying to figure out in my head what I could've done to make my work more publishable. "I'll rewrite the beginning. I can change it! Just give me a chance!" But no, the bargaining never really works. If they thought that some minor change would've made the manuscript something they'd buy, they would've suggested it.
Stage Four: Depression. Yep, I went through this one last night for a brief period. (Which is why I thought Anger was farther down the list.) Know what I did to stop it? I wrote a thousand words, ate a chocolate-chip peanut butter bar sundae with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, then wrote another fifteen hundred words. Fuck the depression phase. Pointless and unproductive wad of crap that it is. I got work to do.
Stage Five: Acceptance. I accepted as soon as I got the rejection that it was over. I refuse to accept that Djinnocide will never sell. Fuck that and fuck them. (I told you I was still in Anger, didn't I?) I will not be bowed by this. It's a setback. It sucks - hard. But I will not accept that this book or any others I've written are unpublishable. I will be published. Even if I have to do it my own goddamn self.
(Anger is the most fun stage of grief. Really it is.)
Right now, other than the anger - which is slowly petering out - I'm over it. Like I said, I got work to do. I'm smack in the middle of a rewrite, plus, now that my book is unencumbered, I can query with wild abandon again - with a new title and new query letter. To that end, I renewed my premium subscription to QueryTracker.
I will not be held down or held back. I'm going out into the world to kick some ass. Who's with me?
:Cue scene from Animal House where Bluto gives a thoroughly confusing pep-talk and runs from the frat house:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7vtWB4owdE
"Let's do it!!!"
*Which could conceivably be why I'm not published, but screw it. I like my stories and that's all there is to it.
** Really. Those of you who know the name, keep it to yourselves. They're just doing their jobs and shouldn't be berated publicly for not wanting to publish my awesomeness.
First a little backstory - because I do love me some backstory*...
So anyway, after waiting a little over 16 months for this publisher who shall remain nameless** to make a decision one way or the other about Djinnocide, I received my lovely form rejection in the email yesterday afternoon. And the rest of the afternoon went something like this:
Stage One: Denial and Isolation. Okay, so I didn't hit the denial. I got rejected and that was that. The isolation part, though, went into full swing. After shooting off a few emails to those people who've been waiting with me for this, I grabbed my trusty limb saw and headed out into the woods to be by myself. Hubs later joined me, which didn't help with the isolation, but he got some of the bigger limbs, so it's all good. And then when he'd had enough, I isolated myself some more.
Stage Two: Anger. Yeah, I recognized this morning, I'm smack in the middle of this phase. Honestly, I thought Anger was farther down the ladder, so I would almost be done with this grieving thing, but I'm not. I'm still just pissed.
Stage Three: Bargaining. I think I've been jumping around on the stages because I'm pretty sure I hit the whole bargaining thing in my head while I was hacking away at the deadwood. Mostly, for me, this phase means I'm trying to figure out in my head what I could've done to make my work more publishable. "I'll rewrite the beginning. I can change it! Just give me a chance!" But no, the bargaining never really works. If they thought that some minor change would've made the manuscript something they'd buy, they would've suggested it.
Stage Four: Depression. Yep, I went through this one last night for a brief period. (Which is why I thought Anger was farther down the list.) Know what I did to stop it? I wrote a thousand words, ate a chocolate-chip peanut butter bar sundae with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, then wrote another fifteen hundred words. Fuck the depression phase. Pointless and unproductive wad of crap that it is. I got work to do.
Stage Five: Acceptance. I accepted as soon as I got the rejection that it was over. I refuse to accept that Djinnocide will never sell. Fuck that and fuck them. (I told you I was still in Anger, didn't I?) I will not be bowed by this. It's a setback. It sucks - hard. But I will not accept that this book or any others I've written are unpublishable. I will be published. Even if I have to do it my own goddamn self.
(Anger is the most fun stage of grief. Really it is.)
Right now, other than the anger - which is slowly petering out - I'm over it. Like I said, I got work to do. I'm smack in the middle of a rewrite, plus, now that my book is unencumbered, I can query with wild abandon again - with a new title and new query letter. To that end, I renewed my premium subscription to QueryTracker.
I will not be held down or held back. I'm going out into the world to kick some ass. Who's with me?
:Cue scene from Animal House where Bluto gives a thoroughly confusing pep-talk and runs from the frat house:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7vtWB4owdE
"Let's do it!!!"
*Which could conceivably be why I'm not published, but screw it. I like my stories and that's all there is to it.
** Really. Those of you who know the name, keep it to yourselves. They're just doing their jobs and shouldn't be berated publicly for not wanting to publish my awesomeness.
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