The ebook price debate

I've been reading a great deal about ebook prices and how $0.99 is bad, etc.  I have, maybe, a slightly different take on all this.

 

First, I think it should be the author's decision.  And quite honestly, I feel that saying we shouldn't do $0.99 books benefits the big publishers more than it does the Independent Author.  Why?  Because they don't want to compete with lower priced books.  If Indie Authors publish at higher prices, then someone making a decision between an unknown and an established author (or someone new from an established publisher), then they are more likely to go with the 'known' factor.

 

So, this should be the author's choice and it has nothing to do with the quality of the work.  Only the material itself can be used to judge if the book is good or bad.   Don't make the mistake of using anything but the writing as a way to determine quality.  I think too many people want to make decisions without actually having to work at reading something.

 

However. . . .

My personal choice is that price should be an indication of length.  My lower priced pieces are shorter works and I would not expect anyone to pay novel-length price for them.  I also do not expect to pay $2.99 for short work, fiction or nonfiction.

In that respect, I think authors should be honest with their readers about length of works.  I am glad to see Amazon has approximate length on many of the items.  They are using the standard of about 250 words per page -- a good count for most paperbacks with dialogue.  I am not going to spend $5 for 4 pages of words.  When author overprice their work for the length, I feel they're being dishonest.

And this brings me to the 2YN series.  I purposely put them at $0.99 cents for two important reasons.

First, though they are going to vary in length, none of them will be a full book length. 

Second, I want the work to be accessible to people who are looking for help in writing and don't have a lot of income to spare.  $0.99 a month (or so) isn't unreasonable.  I do it to help, just like the many other things I do to help new writers.  (Here is the link to the first set.  Set two will be out next week.)

 

So, don't judge an offering by the price.  Judge by what it is.