Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
It’s been a very long time since I’ve sold anything at 99 cents. I’d read some blog posts that advised against it. I’d heard readers say that it was tough finding anything good at 99 cents.
Then I started reading those same things…but it was now arguing against a $1.99 cent price point. The best, most recent examination I’ve got on the subject is this post by writer Molly Greene: “Ebook Pricing: What’s The Perfect Number?”
The entire post is worth a read. Here is an excerpt where Molly quotes Smashwords CEO and founder Mark Coker on various price points:
Per Coker, “I see untapped opportunity [at the $3.99 price point], where indies may be able to raise prices but not suffer unit decline.” He concludes “some authors are underpricing.” Smashwords data also reveals …
- $.99 remains popular, but shows a big drop compared to their 2012 study.
- $.99 to $1.99 underperforms in terms of earnings. (Per Coker, $1.99 is “a black hole.”)
- $2.99 is the most common price point with indies.
- $2.99 to $6.99 is the sweet spot for maximum earnings.
- Indies have virtually abandoned the $9.99 price point compared to 2012’s study.
I totally agree about the problems surrounding the $1.99 pricing. I may have listed a book at that price once, briefly, but I yanked it out of there quickly.
Personally, I’ve found that keeping one of my books free is helpful. I currently have the two most recently self-published books at $3.99, where they tend to still sell well, and an older title at $2.99. (And yes, one of my books is currently free, as usual.)
I can’t really even remember the last time I ran a book at $.99, which must mean it was a couple of years ago. Since I have a book for free, I didn’t really see the point of running another book so low.
But I decided I’d run a very, very short 99 cent experiment. It was, actually, fewer than 24 hours long. I figured January was always a nice time to have a small spike of income (January being the month I’d receive income from November sales). If there was a spike. Sales have been steady for me this fall and I’ve not really seen that slump I’ve been hearing about, so I decided to give it a go and run it for my latest title.
The nice thing, though, about running a 99 cent sale is that you have a degree of control over the start and end of the sale. When I make a book free, for instance, I’m listing it as free on Smashwords, then allowing Amazon to price match that price. Sometimes, it takes days for Amazon to catch on. Then, when I’m ready to shift the free sale to another book, I raise the price on Smashwords. Sometimes it takes the various retailers days to get the message to raise the price (Sony, I’m looking at you). So Amazon continues to match the free price while it’s still getting the message that some retailer out there continues to list it at $0. I don’t have complete control over the start and stop of that promotion.
For a $.99 cent sale, I just click over to my book’s Kindle Direct Publishing bookshelf and adjust the price to $.99. Amazon has a pop-up window with a disclaimer that it may take as many as twelve hours for the change to take effect. It only took a couple of hours.
I ran the sale on a newer title and watched as it cracked the top 2,000 of the Amazon bestseller list—before the sale, it was bouncing between the top 8,000—12,000. Then I went back into the bookshelf and raised the price to $3.99 again.
“Bait and switch?” asked my husband, eyebrows raised, when I told him that the books were selling like hotcakes at $3.99.
“No way! I didn’t falsely advertise one price and make the reader pay a higher one. I just paid for brief visibility.”
And that’s what it feels like to me—that I’ve sacrificed income for visibility. And the sales for the other titles also increased.
This sale occurred on Friday night through Saturday afternoon. Writing this on Sunday afternoon, the book is still in the top 4,000. This type of thing is clearly good for a spike in sales instead of a long-term strategy. Regardless, I’m sure I’ll be glad to get the proceeds when the Christmas bills arrive in January. :)
Now for my usual proviso—this won’t work the same for everyone. And not everyone will want to list a book that they’ve invested a lot of time and energy in at $.99, even temporarily. But for someone who might have several self-published books out (I have four right now) and who wants the ability to control the dates of a sale—this might be a good experiment to try.
Have you experimented with the price points for your books? What is your comfort zone, in terms of pricing?
I have three novels at $3.99 and two at $0.99, plus a free short story. This works well for me.
From the emails I receive, the first book a new reader starts with (of my books) is the $0.99 one. If s/he enjoys it, s/he goes on to buy the higher priced novels. Win-win. :)
Elizabeth – Thanks for bringing up this important question. As you say, it’s nice to have some control over how a book is priced. That way an author can keep her or his brand ‘out there,’ get more sales, etc.. I think one of the most important things to do is to pay really close attention to what the numbers say and look at patterns. For a writer that can be difficult, since most of the fiction writers I know (‘though certainly not all!) are not by nature ‘data people.’ But it’s important to see the patterns if one’s going to do strategic pricing.
Oh, I would just love to get to this point altogether with my manuscript. But this is very interesting to me.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I’m self-publishing Lady Raven next year, and I want to price it appropriately. My ebooks with WiDo go between $0.99 and $2.99, depending on promotions, so I’ll probably set my Kindle edition of Lady Raven at $2.99, with some $0.99 promotions at the launch and when it comes time to release the sequel.
I also have some e-serial ideas, and my plan is to make the first instalment of those free on a permanent basis.
I definitely think a lot of larger publishers need to wake up a bit with regard to ebook pricing. I’ve seen Kindle editions of books costing as much as a paperback novel, and in some cases, they’re actually more expensive than the print edition.
Vicki–Interesting. I think when I have another self-pub release (should be Februaryish, Marchish), I’ll put another book up for .99…maybe the one that’s 2.99 currently.
Paul–I hear that $3.99 is a good intro price for new releases, but without another self-pubbed book on your shelf, I’d agree with you that $2.99 might be a good price (and then maybe its sequel could debut at 3.99?)
I *love* the idea of an e-serial to help bring in readers (with a low-priced/free installment).
Yep, I’m in that very same boat with my trad-published books. Penguin has them for the same price in print as ebook. Boggles the mind.
Margot–Oh, you’re so right. No, most of us aren’t analytical or data people. I’m trying…getting better. But it’s tough. It’s tough to be a businessperson, period.
Karen –You’re getting closer every day!
Hi Elizabeth .. it’s interesting from a buyers point of view this ebook thing – for want of anything else to call it.
I rather more frequently than I should probably – bearing in mind the number I have to read – buy a lot of Kindle books at low prices … If I want something I buy it ..
.. but I won’t pay an arm and a leg for Kindle book .. some are still up at the book mark-ups – then they get ditched … and some just won’t work for ebooks .. so I need the print version …
One day .. I shall cross the line – cheers Hilary
It’ll be a while before I can work on my e-serial ideas, and I’m considering holding one back to use it to query a literary agent.
Hello Elizabeth! Thank you so much for the shout-out re: my ebook pricing post. It is an interesting and complicated issue, compounded by timing, marketing strategy, and the number of titles an author has for sale. Like many others, I’m a baby getting my feet wet and look to authors like yourself who’ve had experience in pricing trends and seasonal sale variations to show the rest of us the way! Thanks so much for your support and your wonderful blog.
This is excellent information. I ran a book at $1.99 once, and it fell into that black hole. I may try $.99 after Christmas.
Thank you!
On Amazon there’s the 30/70 percent royalty thing to take into account, so I would agree that about 2.99 is a sweet spot.
Sarah Allen
(From Sarah, with Joy)
Since I’m self-pubbing my book in January, I’m fascinated by this. I think I’ll start with $2.99. Then, when I have another book out, I’ll feel like I can play a bit more. But reading posts like this from vets like you really helps. Thanks!
Hilary–Thanks for coming by!
I’m with you–I really resent paying the same price for digital that I pay for print. For one thing, we usually can’t share an ebook and it’s got so much DRM on it from the publishers that sometimes we can’t share it between devices.
Paul –That sounds like a great idea. Unless…could you release it *and* query it? Or too worried an agent might pass on an already published work (worked well for Hugh Howey, I know, but he’s a special case).
Molly–Thanks for coming by, Molly, and for the great post. You’re right–several variables to consider…I do think that number of books published/available for sale is key.
Sarah–Definitely. That’s one reason I’d say that the .99 price point is only good in small doses, unless you’ve got a lot of books for sale. You’ll get a lower royalty rate on a very low price. But it’s a good way to “pay” for visibility in the short term.
Julie–I think that’s a great strategy for a first book in a series.
I’d definitely worry that an agent would pass on an already-published work.
I’d also write each of them differently for an agent, as full novels, than I would for a serial format.
Paul–Yeah, I probably would, too. Well, depends on the agent. If you’re shooting for Kristin Nelson, I know she doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. Others would (including my own agent, I think).
Carol–Good luck!
As a writer you first have to determine your work’s worth and value especially so as an indie author. Don’t hold yourself cheap.
I love it when my favorite authors have a $.99 cents or free. Who doesn’t like a sale?
That happens with traditionally published authors now and then. It’s never a long sale but it’s a great way to pick up books in the series I’ve missed. I also recognize the trad publishers generally do it when the next book is due to release soon and yah, it gets readers attention.
As to personal reading choices…I choose by interest and of course I look for sales. But if it’s a book I want to read I buy it at full price. There are a few authors who have a good series going and I don’t want to wait 6 months for it to be released to paperback and occasionally I will buy hardback.It’s been 2 years since I’ve done that.
when I’m cruising ebooks I tend to look first at the $2.99-$3.99 range, particularly from those self or indie published. I find those books are usually well edited and good story lines.
I think you’ve made some good points here.
Sia McKye Over Coffee
Sia –Good point. Don’t undervalue the work. Not a good idea to have a debut novel at .99, for sure.
I’m with you, as a reader. I’m a loyal series reader and will buy in hardback, if I need to, to get the book I’m interested in (but the cheap part of me *hates* to pay full retail for a hardback!) I like to see ebooks at 2.99 or 3.99, although I’ll reluctantly buy at a higher price.