It's been an interesting discovery. Perhaps it was the lack of pushing the product or maybe it just doesn't matter, but when I dropped the eBook pricing for The Adventures of Reztap to $2.99 I didn't sell a single one. Whereas, in my inital push to get the book out there, I had priced it at $4.99. I sold several at that price, but perhaps that was because of the newness of the book. I really can't say.
I do believe that my marketing leaves much to be desired. It would not appear the price of the book means one wit to whether or not someone will actually purchase it. History suggests if someone has been reached, noticed the book, was interested in that subject and willing to pay a fair price for it then there is a sale. I don't know how else to quantify the results.
I will leave the eBook at $2.99 through the holiday shopping period. After that I will raise it once again to $4.99. It will be interesting to see what the results of this post will be before and after the price is raised.
For your ease of purchasing frenzy which I'm certain will occur after this post, I'm putting the links to both the hard copy and eBook of The Adventures of Reztap below:
Kobo
Amazon (Kindle eBook & paperback)
Diesel
Sony
Barnes and Noble (Nook eBook & paperback)
Apple (iTunes)
Smashwords
Happy purchasing! Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/WinterSolstice/etc.
Artemus
Showing posts with label iTunes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iTunes. Show all posts
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
The Paradigm Shift - eBook Pricing
I've seen many articles relating to how to price eBooks. I've had feedback on how The Adventures of Reztap eBook is priced ($4.99) where the paperback is $12.95. That is about a 62% discount - which seems to be in line with other pricing I've seen.
On the high side, there has been some discussion about $9.99 being the average price for a fiction eBook. I would venture that is also an average couple of more pages than my mdoest entry at 180 pages. Still, I don't think there are an average 360 pages to all those fiction eBooks, so the pricing still seems more than fair from that standpoint.
However, I have also seen articles and stories about pricing the eBook at $2.99. This is the minimum pricing at which the author can still get a 70% royalty on Amazon, so I think that is whre this bottom line pricing figure has emerged from. If you go below $2.99, your royalty drops to 35%. On Amazon, you can't price below $0.99. You can get free eBooks onto Amazon by offering them free elsewhere (like Smashwords) and Amazon finds out and "price matches" your eBook. But that's not a tried and true method; it's just what I've heard. If you enter the KDP Select program, that is a zero cost for your eBook for Prime members, while the author gets a piece of a $600,000 pie - really only about $2 per book checkout by the Prime member.
In the interest of testing, I'm going to drop my eBook to $2.99 on Amazon and Smashwords. This first book is all about discovering what works and what doesn't. It may take a while for the price change to filter out to the other platforms that get the digital eBook from Samashwords (Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Diesel, etc.) I will let you, my intrepid companions on this ePublishing adventure, know what the outcome of the price change is. Be warned, the price changes set may not take effect for a few days - I've already taken steps to change the prices - for instance, now the eBook is unavailable on Amazon until they review the eBook again, a process which could take up to 48 hours.
Other strategies include giving the first book in a series away free to drive sales of other books in the series. Unfortunately, the other books in my series have yet to be written/published, so it doesn't so much apply to me at this time. In a year, that will be a different story and a different blog post.
Happy Pricing!
Artemus
You can download The Adventures of Reztap from Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes (look in iBooks on iPhone or iPad), Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Diesel.
On the high side, there has been some discussion about $9.99 being the average price for a fiction eBook. I would venture that is also an average couple of more pages than my mdoest entry at 180 pages. Still, I don't think there are an average 360 pages to all those fiction eBooks, so the pricing still seems more than fair from that standpoint.
However, I have also seen articles and stories about pricing the eBook at $2.99. This is the minimum pricing at which the author can still get a 70% royalty on Amazon, so I think that is whre this bottom line pricing figure has emerged from. If you go below $2.99, your royalty drops to 35%. On Amazon, you can't price below $0.99. You can get free eBooks onto Amazon by offering them free elsewhere (like Smashwords) and Amazon finds out and "price matches" your eBook. But that's not a tried and true method; it's just what I've heard. If you enter the KDP Select program, that is a zero cost for your eBook for Prime members, while the author gets a piece of a $600,000 pie - really only about $2 per book checkout by the Prime member.
In the interest of testing, I'm going to drop my eBook to $2.99 on Amazon and Smashwords. This first book is all about discovering what works and what doesn't. It may take a while for the price change to filter out to the other platforms that get the digital eBook from Samashwords (Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Diesel, etc.) I will let you, my intrepid companions on this ePublishing adventure, know what the outcome of the price change is. Be warned, the price changes set may not take effect for a few days - I've already taken steps to change the prices - for instance, now the eBook is unavailable on Amazon until they review the eBook again, a process which could take up to 48 hours.
Other strategies include giving the first book in a series away free to drive sales of other books in the series. Unfortunately, the other books in my series have yet to be written/published, so it doesn't so much apply to me at this time. In a year, that will be a different story and a different blog post.
Happy Pricing!
Artemus
You can download The Adventures of Reztap from Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes (look in iBooks on iPhone or iPad), Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Diesel.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
iTunes - Finally!
It is with great fanfare that I announce The Adventures of Reztap is finally available on iTunes! It was a long wait (longer than I aniticpated), but I'm happy it's finally there.
For those wondering exactly how long the wait was, here is the timeline of events for you to reference for your own eBook publishing adventures:
5/12/2012 - eBook first published to Smashwords. Immediately enrolled in Premium channel, but takes a while for approval.
5/30/2012 - Premium status approved. At this point, it is up to the distributors to pick up the electronic data to publish the eBook on their sites.
5/31/2012 - Kobo picks up the data from Smashwords.
6/2/2012 - Opted out of Amazon (Kindle & CreateSpace) since I would be publishing directly there.
6/5/2012 - Diesel picks up the data from Smashwords.
6/19/2012 - Baker & Taylor picks up the data from Smashwords.
6/21/2012 - Sony picks up the data from Smashwords.
7/13/2012 - Barnes and Noble picks up the data from Smashwords.
7/21/2012 - Apple picks up the data from Smashwords.
Every disributor listed here has a schedule for picking up data within a week of its availability on Smashwords - obviously the schedule is a very loose guideline to which they don't adhere very closely. The nice thing is it gives an approximation of when (AFTER picking up the data) you can expect to see the eBook available on the web site and they've been pretty accurate. While it took forever for iTunes to pick up the data for the eBook, it was finally available today (7/26/2012) less than the two weeks it said it might take.
So when distributing through Smashwords, you can anticipate (but not guarantee) that your work will be available with two months of enlisting in the Premium Distribution Channels.
I don't know how other aggregators work, but I look forward to hearing tales of your adventures here soon.
Happy iTuning,
Artemus
For those wondering exactly how long the wait was, here is the timeline of events for you to reference for your own eBook publishing adventures:
5/12/2012 - eBook first published to Smashwords. Immediately enrolled in Premium channel, but takes a while for approval.
5/30/2012 - Premium status approved. At this point, it is up to the distributors to pick up the electronic data to publish the eBook on their sites.
5/31/2012 - Kobo picks up the data from Smashwords.
6/2/2012 - Opted out of Amazon (Kindle & CreateSpace) since I would be publishing directly there.
6/5/2012 - Diesel picks up the data from Smashwords.
6/19/2012 - Baker & Taylor picks up the data from Smashwords.
6/21/2012 - Sony picks up the data from Smashwords.
7/13/2012 - Barnes and Noble picks up the data from Smashwords.
7/21/2012 - Apple picks up the data from Smashwords.
Every disributor listed here has a schedule for picking up data within a week of its availability on Smashwords - obviously the schedule is a very loose guideline to which they don't adhere very closely. The nice thing is it gives an approximation of when (AFTER picking up the data) you can expect to see the eBook available on the web site and they've been pretty accurate. While it took forever for iTunes to pick up the data for the eBook, it was finally available today (7/26/2012) less than the two weeks it said it might take.
So when distributing through Smashwords, you can anticipate (but not guarantee) that your work will be available with two months of enlisting in the Premium Distribution Channels.
I don't know how other aggregators work, but I look forward to hearing tales of your adventures here soon.
Happy iTuning,
Artemus
Thursday, July 5, 2012
A Little Excitement...
Trying to generate a little excitement in the blogosphere with a $1 sale: (It's an Independence Day sale - now through 7/7/2012 get The Adventures of Reztap eBook from Smashwords for just a buck! That's $1 using coupon code ML88M at checkout from https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/161674.) Posted on Facebook, Twitter and here. An audience of maybe 300...of which, how many will notice and pay attention? Will they spread the word?
The inevitable question comes to mind. Does this result in an increase in sales? Will anyone, in fact, actually buy the eBook for that price? It is a standard splashy gimmick that many eBook authors use, usually at the outset of their marketing campaign. I will, of course, keep you informed on whether or not this works or even generates any sales at all. The last week has been pretty dry from a sales standpoint. I also haven't been pushing it much. I have the iTunes launch to wait for and I'm anticipating doing a book promo at ArmadilloCon (not yet confirmed...hotel plus convention costs just squeezing the budget a wee bit much right now.)
Book giveaway results - shipped four books. Free books to readers across the globe (well 3 in the US and one in Great Britain). Haven't heard a thing from them. Nary a sale either. Sales, I'll be quite honest, don't concern as much at this point. But generating a little word of mouth, discussion, etc. THAT is what interests me. Haven't had that yet.
Book reviews are still to come this month. Haven't yet selected/found the reviewers, but that should happen this weekend/next week. Will that generate buzz? I'm not entirely sure how to measure how many people will even read a review once posted. Is there a page viewed count on these pages? So many questions - I will figure out the answers and let you know as soon as I find out!
Until then,
Artemus
The inevitable question comes to mind. Does this result in an increase in sales? Will anyone, in fact, actually buy the eBook for that price? It is a standard splashy gimmick that many eBook authors use, usually at the outset of their marketing campaign. I will, of course, keep you informed on whether or not this works or even generates any sales at all. The last week has been pretty dry from a sales standpoint. I also haven't been pushing it much. I have the iTunes launch to wait for and I'm anticipating doing a book promo at ArmadilloCon (not yet confirmed...hotel plus convention costs just squeezing the budget a wee bit much right now.)
Book giveaway results - shipped four books. Free books to readers across the globe (well 3 in the US and one in Great Britain). Haven't heard a thing from them. Nary a sale either. Sales, I'll be quite honest, don't concern as much at this point. But generating a little word of mouth, discussion, etc. THAT is what interests me. Haven't had that yet.
Book reviews are still to come this month. Haven't yet selected/found the reviewers, but that should happen this weekend/next week. Will that generate buzz? I'm not entirely sure how to measure how many people will even read a review once posted. Is there a page viewed count on these pages? So many questions - I will figure out the answers and let you know as soon as I find out!
Until then,
Artemus
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Successes & Delays
First I'll start with Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/) - the eBook starting place for my adventure. The inital eBook publishing process was relatively painless. Sure there were some growing pains with formatting and what not, but it was not too bad. Someone with my persnicketiness was boudn to work just fine with fine attention to detail.
The path to many online retailers can only be found through an eBook "aggregator" like Smashwords. You do this by listing your eBook through the Premium Distribution Channel for sites like Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Sony, Kobo, and Diesel. Most of these have gone pretty smoothly, but not all. There have been delays based mostly on the way those sites do business. I put The Adventures of Reztap online through the channel on May 12, 2012. Here is where they stand at the various retailers:
Sony (shipped on June 21st) - should appear two weeks after it is shipped. Why it took five weeks to ship, I don't know. Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Barnes & Noble (hasn't shipped yet) - Should appear within a few days of shipment. Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Kobo (shipped May 31st - on the site now!) - Should appear within a few days of shipment. Says it ships daily.
Amazon (opted out - it has been put directly on KDP)
Apple (shipped June 26th) - Ships multiple times per day. Manual review will take take weeks or longer before listing on iTunes.
Diesel (shipped June 5th - on the site now!) - Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Page Foundry (shipped June 13th) - not sure how to get to this. It's a relatively new add-on to the Premium service.
Baker-Taylor (shipped June 19th) - Says it ships every Thursday or Friday. This is where libraries order from. Not sure exactly how that works.
On Amazon (kdp.amazon.com), I uploaded everything (having to reformat both the book and cover), but it was authorized, cleared and listed within 48 hours.
So directly to Smashwords and Amazon, the process was fairly quick. The slow churn through the distribution channels is frighteningly turtlish. I've been marketing a book people can't get to yet on iTunes (they've asked) or Barnes & Noble's Nook for over a month. That's two of the three premium eBook platforms out there.
Lesson learned - don't believe everything you read about how fast an aggregator will get your book on the other web sites. I think theere was some delay on Smashwords part this time, but I've heard delay horror stories after the bbok has shipped, especially to Apple. that's a bit of a bummer, but this is all about the learning process, right?
Keep writing, mi amigos!
Regards.
Artemus
The path to many online retailers can only be found through an eBook "aggregator" like Smashwords. You do this by listing your eBook through the Premium Distribution Channel for sites like Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Sony, Kobo, and Diesel. Most of these have gone pretty smoothly, but not all. There have been delays based mostly on the way those sites do business. I put The Adventures of Reztap online through the channel on May 12, 2012. Here is where they stand at the various retailers:
Sony (shipped on June 21st) - should appear two weeks after it is shipped. Why it took five weeks to ship, I don't know. Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Barnes & Noble (hasn't shipped yet) - Should appear within a few days of shipment. Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Kobo (shipped May 31st - on the site now!) - Should appear within a few days of shipment. Says it ships daily.
Amazon (opted out - it has been put directly on KDP)
Apple (shipped June 26th) - Ships multiple times per day. Manual review will take take weeks or longer before listing on iTunes.
Diesel (shipped June 5th - on the site now!) - Says it ships every Thursday or Friday.
Page Foundry (shipped June 13th) - not sure how to get to this. It's a relatively new add-on to the Premium service.
Baker-Taylor (shipped June 19th) - Says it ships every Thursday or Friday. This is where libraries order from. Not sure exactly how that works.
On Amazon (kdp.amazon.com), I uploaded everything (having to reformat both the book and cover), but it was authorized, cleared and listed within 48 hours.
So directly to Smashwords and Amazon, the process was fairly quick. The slow churn through the distribution channels is frighteningly turtlish. I've been marketing a book people can't get to yet on iTunes (they've asked) or Barnes & Noble's Nook for over a month. That's two of the three premium eBook platforms out there.
Lesson learned - don't believe everything you read about how fast an aggregator will get your book on the other web sites. I think theere was some delay on Smashwords part this time, but I've heard delay horror stories after the bbok has shipped, especially to Apple. that's a bit of a bummer, but this is all about the learning process, right?
Keep writing, mi amigos!
Regards.
Artemus
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