Friday, July 8, 2011

More ebook stuff

To sort of follow the discussion started on yesterday's POST, I wanted to talk a little more about the price vs. quality of e-books. Now, mind you, I don't want people to assume I think my e-books are of the highest quality--after all, I know I'm just getting started and I'm not going to be a perfect formatter right out of the gate. However, I do have some standards when it comes to the quality of books I read.

I did take a chance on an e-book by an author who's getting a lot of attention selling them for only 99 cents. I try not to be a book snob, but I found the quality lacking. She could have done another edit on the book and had a much better quality story--or paid a freelance editor to do it for her. I read the sample, and wasn't interested in reading on. But again, it's hard to argue with the success she's having. What she's doing seems to be working for her.

Originally, I priced The Wild Queen at $4.99 because I'm trying to raise enough money in book sales to help out my friend. Even then, I knew when my fund-raising summer was over, I'd lower the price to $2.99. Last week, I went ahead and lowered the price anyway, hoping that it would lead to more sales, and, by default, more revenue. So far, all I've gotten out of it is a negative review by someone who missed the underlying plots of the story and misinterpreted the ending. Oh, well. If you want to read the review, it's on Amazon.

The authors who are selling tons of e-books usually have more than one out there. I realize that. And I'm still building my name, my brand, if you will. There's still a huge number of people who have no idea I even exist. Funny, I used to crave anonymity. Still trying to sort out when that all changed. :)

And, almost as if he knew I needed it, my brother sent me a text today: was just thinking of you. just occurred to me how natural it seemed to see you sitting at a book signing.

4 comments:

  1. Cheri - I'm glad you lowered the price, I can afford your book now! I can't wait to dive in. Anyway what you where saying about quality I think is sometimes very true. But I love it when great authors (such as yourself) lower the price, even if it's just for a short time so poor people like me can afford to read without having to wait 3 months for a hold at the library. At the same time, I've discovered some great books from the $.99 that I wouldn't have looked at otherwise.

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  2. Don't worry about the negative review. Positive ones will follow!

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  3. It's funny how I can read all the positive reviews, but the one negative one sticks in my head. Easier said than done, but don't let it bother you. You're sharing something wonderful with the world and you have a lot of people who support you! :)

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