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Writer's Workshop [Public] / Re: A Quandary
« Last post by TimothyEllis on Today at 02:34:22 PM »I'm not ignoring the math at all. As our example, let's use $3.99 as a compromise between the new and experienced author. So, as a reader, I either buy one book for $3.99 (though I would argue a longer book could go for higher than a shorter book) or two books at $3.99 each. With the former, I get the full story (which is also why I would argue a higher-than-normal price point would be acceptable. With the latter, I have to buy a second book to get the full story, which means I spend $7.98. (Again, if the longer single book was priced at, say, $4.99, it's still a better deal for me and the author still gets some extra money.) And there is the strong chance that I'm going to feel like you artificially split the book to force me to spend more. As I indicated in a previous post, while I may buy that second book, the likelihood that I would ever buy a third book from that author is slim to none.
So, you can look at it as, yay, you got $7.98 by selling me two books, but that's where your math ends. On the other hand, you might sell me one book for $3.99 (or a little higher) and if I enjoyed it, which is a full story, then I may buy another book from you, perhaps a third or a fourth or more. So, your options are $3.99 plus $3.99 for a total of $7.98 from me buying your two books or $3.99 plus $3.99 plus $3.99 plus $3.99 and onward if I like your one book and don't feel forced to buy a second or third or fourth.
Why are you taking a reader perspective on this?
We're AUTHORS. This is about AUTHOR INCOME.
As far as the 'forced to buy' thing goes, what difference does it make for a series of 2, and a series of 6 or 12?
You appear to be comparing 2 serial books, with a series of non-serial stories. That's apples and oranges comparison. A pair of books and a series of 6 serial books are the same thing.
I write serial novels. Each new story starts where the last one left off, or within a few days of it. Even across series breaks normally. 82 novels now which are largely just one 4 year long story. There's no 'forced to buy' anywhere in it. People do, because it's a good story, and a new part gets released on a good schedule.
My point is, if you have a natural break point, use it. If you don't, well, I guess you're stuck with one long book that you can list at $5.99 or $6.99--whatever the long fantasy novels list for--and hope for the best.
It doesn't work that way.
Length does NOT define price.
New authors can't command more than $2.99 and realistically sell, regardless of length.
I'm at a $5.99 price point now, averaging 63k. If I put out a 200k novel now, I'd still only get $5.99 for it. Anything more, and it wouldn't sell beyond my diehard fans. And yet, 3 books with the same story would all sell at $5.99 each without any issues.