99 Cent eBooks

[tartysuz]

Thanks to kadymae for calling attention to this item:

Crime Writer Makes a Killing With 99 Cent E-Books

As I was discussing with baker_kitty and rpm45, the prospect of very low-priced books really challenges publishers to be clear about what they're selling.

Many readers might think that the majority cost of the book is in the physical aspects, namely the printing, materials and distribution. This leads to the notion that eBooks should be cheaper because they aren't physical. However, this completely overlooks the cost of editorial and copyediting.

Personally, I'm prepared to pay for a well-edited book, but are publishers going to be savvy enough to sell the value of these services?

Aside: The 99-cent price point is brilliant. It's the iconic price of an iTunes song.

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I thought the Guardian article on this was pretty interesting in giving the author's strategy for the decision. I think that there are probably going to be various pricing models in the future, depending on whether one is an indie author, being published by a small press, or by a major commercial firm.

[tartysuz.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link to that article! There may be a whole class of writers creating a kind of neo-penny dreadful market. However, I can't imagine that there won't be various levels of prestige publishing, just as there are different cars to suite different budgets, different purposes and different aspirations.

[yourlibrarian]

I like that comparison, to the price and class levels of cars. I think you're right.