Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal had a piece about cheap e-books.
I’ve heard more than a few people bemoan the race toward the bottom when it comes to pricing stories on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other sites selling e-books.
While I understand where these people are coming from (it can be hard to stomach that something you may spend years writing is seen as overpriced if you charge more than $2.99 for it), it doesn’t surprise me.
Factory Life
I’ve worked in manufacturing, making automobile air conditioner compressors, printing T-shirts, and even making the body parts of collectible dolls. (Yes, you read that last one right–body parts for collectible dolls!)
In every case, the goal was to make piles of stock as cheaply as possible.
The competition, after all, was out to offer the same thing for less, so it was important to beat them. In many cases, that meant the quality of what we created wasn’t the best. We shot for good enough.
Eventually, with the exception of the collectible doll parts, other companies were able to produce what we did for less. And after gaining a reputation for being affordable, we could no longer say we were the best quality out there because we engaged in the wrong race.
When racing toward the bottom, you can rarely beat what can be made in another country for next to nothing.
When you race toward being the cheapest, if you lose, you’re usually screwed.
Writing Is a Little Different
I know many people have complained that even an e-book full of typos should be worth more than $.99. After all, it’s not a product–it’s a person’s passion!
Publishers don’t like hearing there are legions of fans out there who see anything priced more than $2.99 for an e-book–even from a lone author working a full time job to make ends meet–akin to robbery.
But like it or not, that’s the way it is.
Maybe you get mad at the thought; maybe you realize that you’re not as special as you thought you were when anybody with the wherewithal to put their butt in a chair and produce a novel can sell it as an e-book.
An industry that’s been slow to adapt–one that even scoffed at the thought of e-books and, especially, at self publishing–now scrambles to catch up.
But there’s a difference between e-books and manufacturing: with e-books, a single writer can be in control of their success.
Maybe your writing isn’t on par with a literary master, but there are people out there just wanting a fun story, and maybe you can provide it.
It’s not a factory with three shifts and thousands of employees, it’s you and a lot of hard work.
You at least get a chance.
I’m Babbling
Okay, so this isn’t the most cohesive thing I’ve written on The Juggling Writer, but let’s get back to some of the crappy jobs I’ve had.
The compressors I used to make? They started making custom parts and came up with technology that improved efficiency. They survived by realizing being the cheapest wasn’t the best bet.
…but they got known by one time taking shortcuts and being an affordable part.
The T-shirts I used to print? Realizing that they couldn’t beat larger printers in the race for the cheapest shirts (and definitely couldn’t beat shirts printed in China), they specialized. They started working hard to get licensing deals and putting a little more time into the runs to make as quality a T-shirt that you can produce.
…but they got known by one time doing cheap runs that weren’t the best quality you could buy.
The collectible dolls? Okay, they were always expensive, even though some of the parts were cast using the most affordable resins that were good enough.
I guess sometimes you really can dress something up and make hundreds–even thousands–for something costing mere dollars to produce.
My Point?
I’m not entirely sure what my point is, other than I’ve worked in factories and warehouses where I’ve seen cheap being beat overseas, forcing the companies to go back to quality. I saw an operation so proud of what they produced that the price they commanded became what people paid, even if the parts cost pennies or dollars to produce.
I know it hurts for publishers and some writers to think of selling an e-book for next to nothing, especially when years might go into a great book and a small army of people are behind everything, including the covers.
But that’s the way it is.
One thing’s certain: new writers are being discovered, writers who–like some of the factories and warehouses I’ve worked in–caught the eye of consumers with an affordable product.
Maybe we’ll see a pull back the other way sometime in the not-too-distant future. Perhaps a million-selling e-book author will produce a run of 250 special addition print books worthy of charging $125 a piece for. Maybe somebody discovered by selling e-books for $.99 – $2.99 becomes so popular that they decide to treat writing like some artists treat original paintings–selling single stories for thousands of dollars to collectors eager to be the only person (other than the author and maybe an editor) to read the work.
Like I said–I’m babbling. But in all the strange things going on in publishing, I have to think we’re about to see even more interesting things in the next handful of years.
Granted, most of what we see will probably be gimmicks, but I like to think that somewhere out there somebody’s creating something really special and will share it in ways that leave us thinking, “Why didn’t I think of that?!”
Your Turn
What do you think about cheap e-books and the future of publishing?
Chime in, and don’t worry if you babble a bit!
I understand that a book manufactured, sold, and read on a computer is going to have a lot less overhead than a traditional book. So I accept and even expect low-priced e-books.
At this point I think the market is saturated with with sub-par e-books. There’s no buffer between novice authors and finished books-for-sale. Sure, there are a lot of great e-books on the market, but I’m guessing the there are far more unpolished and downright sloppy e-books. Given this saturation, you have to be an extremely talented writer and / or an extremely talented promoter to have a chance at being noticed and making a living solely through selling your own e-books.
The new market targeted at aspiring authors- “Here’s How to Network, Promote, and Socialize”- is a predictable by-product of the ease of self-publishing. IMO, spending time “interacting” with dozens or hundreds of random strangers on several social networks a day, AND blogging to meet a prescribed “blog quota” several times a week, AND doing your own in-person promotion of your novels takes too much time away from actual writing. Sure, a few aspiring and established authors thrive on this, but I believe those are the exceptions.
OK enough rambling.
I’m a writer first. I still expect agents and publishing houses to promote authors. Being a promoter isn’t even in my top 10 ten list of life priorities. (Maybe #11.)
I definitely agree that there are a lot of subpar ebooks out there. The ebook publishing trend reminds me of independent comic books in the 90s. When the black and white comic book publishing boom hit, the market ended up flooded with some really bad books.
Publishers that could have once jumped in and made a profit a few years prior found themselves only selling a few hundred copies.
It’s a romantic thought, I think, to publish an ebook and actually make decent money. Obviously it can be done, but things are flooded. It’s easier than ever to get out there, but harder than ever to be seen.
Sadly, I agree, this leads to people spending more time online making noise than really striving to write the best books they can. Good enough works if you can jump on Twitter every 2 minutes and tweet about how you just write 73 words.
It’s still a neat time to be a writer, and obviously I’m self publishing some ebooks. With the book I finished last summer, though, I’m taking my time sending it to agents and giving them time to read and decide if it’s their thing.
Maybe I’d do better sending blanket submissions and tweeting about every little thing I do, but I like the silence of writing and striving for the best I can be through prolonged time away from social media.
If the best I get is writing what I love for 50 people who appreciate it. I’d rather have that than desperately fighting for attention in a crowded pool.
As I said on Twitter, I think that at this point to even compete as a new indie you’ve got to price at $2.99 or below. I don’t particularly like that since it seems like the message is that books are worth less than a trip to the movies or even a movie rental. Personally, I think around $5 is a better price point for a novel.
I think the biggest mistake Amanda Hocking is making right now is to keep all her books at rock bottom prices when she’s got enough name recognition that she could easily charge in that $5 range and still sell a bajillion books. It’s still far cheaper than ebooks sold by big publishers and she’s got enough of a following that they’d pay whatever it is that she’s charging.
It’s not only a mistake for her financially but it’s a mistake for the rest of us with fledgling careers. She’s one of the most prominent indies right now and for a lot of people she’s the first indie author they’ve ever heard about. I believe a lot of people buy indie books without even realizing the difference. But she’s being publicly addressed as an indie author and so the first thing some readers learn about indies is that they charge ridiculously low prices. If they don’t have to pay more than $3 for a name brand Hocking book, then why would they pay more for someone they’ve never heard of?
I totally agree with you about Amanda Hocking. [I think] I read that she’s made about $10,000 with print books. Were she to have a limited run of 100 books made, offering a prestigious format worthy of 100 of her die hard fans paying $125 for, she could probably pull it off.
And were she to charge $4.99 an ebook, I’d guess fans would pay.
Barry Eisler recently turned down a 2-book deal worth $500K; instead, opting to go the ebook route. I believe he plans to charge $4.99 an ebook. For his fans, that’s still a great deal.
I’ve bought ebooks for $.99 and some for $9.99…all have been a good deal. The $9.99 ebooks were all from print publishers and it showed in the form of no typos and more professional writing.
This isn’t to knock those producing $.99 ebooks; there are some good things out there. But as a whole, the cheaper books aren’t my thing; you can often tell they were rushed and maybe edited by a friend.
To Wren Emerson, Amanda Hocking’s price point is not hurting you. My guess is the subject matter in which you are writing probably is. Remember, Amanda is writing Paranormal Romances for tweens & teens and there is a HUGE market for that. Especially romance. It’s like Harlequin with supernatural creatures in it and that’s what her target audience wants. Hell, I don’t even think The Hunger Games trilogy has sold a million copies and this is a traditionally published Sci-fi dystopian series. But don’t quote me on that: I looked it up a month ago & it said it sold 150,000 copies since ’08 but that could’ve been misinformation.
Her low price point of 99 cents is just icing on the cake and even she seems to know that. Think of Walmart. They call it the “poor man’s best friend”. And they’re selling in bulk at cheap prices. Maybe you want to be “Barney’s Of New York” or “Macy’s Department Store” but is there a “demand” for that in these times? You have to take into account the times we’re living in right now. Doubt you’ll be successful if you don’t. Learn from Amanda instead of questioning her moves. She’s made millions, okay?
To Wren, stop second guessing Amanda. The tone of your post discredits it. Do as she does or die trying. I think that’s a mistake. Can we learn something from her success? Yes, but only by examining and questioning what she’s done. Not by blindly following in her footsteps.
Amanda Hocking’s moves should absolutely be questioned. Not in the sense that she’s done something wrong, but for science. She’s an example of indie success and there aren’t that many out there. I think it’s a mistake to copy the moves of someone that’s been successful and expect the same results. A number of factors, most of which can’t be identified, have contributed to Amanda Hocking’s success. Do you think that if I were to write Paranormal Romances and price them at $0.99 I’d make millions? No, so clearly those aren’t the only things that made her successful. Can anyone conclusively say that those two things were the largest contibutors to her success? Well you can, but it’s mostely speculation as well. To say that one of the most influential indie authors out there is underpricing the market is a bit of a speculation as well without extensive market research. However, if she is underpricing, then it’s not really a stretch to say that it hurts other indies. She has the market share AND is able to underprice competitors. That’s tough to compete against.
Your Wal-Mart analogy only serves to strengthen Wren’s argument. Wal-mart puts mom and pop shops out of business. It’s not Barneys or Macy’s that most indies want to be…it’s Mom’s Diner and Fred’s Hardware. Their prices are a little higher because they don’t have the customer base. Their product isn’t inferior though.
There will be another Amanda Hocking, and I’d wager that this person’s success story will be very different from Hocking’s. Are you going to tell this person they did it wrong because they didn’t do it like her?
As writers, there are definitely formulas that work. The typical rejection I receive goes something like this: “I loved this–you’re a good writer. But…I don’t know how I’d market this, so I have to pass.”
I’ve been told that my current novel is almost mainstream.
When some friends hear that, they say, “Then get rid of the quirkiness.” To them, it’s all about the sale; for me, it’s about writing what I love to write.
With my last name, I could go from Gronlund to Grønlund, start writing crime fiction set in the parts of Sweden and Denmark where that side of my family comes from, and try to ride the current wave of Scandinavian crime fiction authors. I’ve joked about it, but it’s not something I’d do because–with very few exceptions–I’m not into crime fiction.
I would possibly improve my odds writing what sells (being more like Walmart, cranking out what a larger group of people crave than what I’m currently writing). I could have priced my first novel-length ebook at $.99, but I priced it at $2.99. (Amanda Hocking prices some of her books at $.99 and others at $2.99.) Like Wren, I think $4.99 – $5.99 is a good price. Most of the ebooks I’ve bought have been $9.99, and I still feel like I got a deal.
Having worked in industries that raced toward the bottom and either lost out, or realized the only way to survive was by doing something different, I think $.99 ebooks aren’t the best idea. Unless you were one of the few who did it first, or sell enough to make it worthwhile, the $.99 ebook does cheapen the act of writing.
But I’m not going to complain about it because that’s the situation. If it bothers me, I write for other reasons than money, figure out a way to make the cheap ebook work for me, or figure out something new.
For me, the big thing to take away from all this is the most important thing is to write and do all we can to get things out there. I used to hear people complain about how agents and others were gatekeepers, keeping worthy writers from success. Now I hear people complain that writers are expected to do more for less. I think both statements carry definite truths, but it’s not in my nature to complain that much.
It’s in my nature to write what I want and find an audience for it. I may never have a large enough following to even say I make decent supplemental income from fiction (I’ve made much more money with non-fiction and technical writing), but I’ll always write what I want to write.
Chasing trends and shooting for being the Walmart of writing works for some. For the Kindle millionaires out there, we still have yet to see the massive success of bestsellers on the NYT list. Not saying that will always be the case, but right now, even those making millions with $.99 ebooks are still a far cry from known bestsellers.
The important thing is being true to what you love, and doing all you can to keep doing it until something good happens for you.
I respect the hell out of Hocking. Her books aren’t something I’d read, but she worked hard and figured out something that worked for her. She (and others) priced things at $.99 and they make a lot more money than I’ve made writing. Other writers are more exclusive and can do a limited run of 500 physical books priced at hundreds of dollars and make more than me.
I hope we can all be so lucky to find what works best for us.
Another discussion about e-book pricing.