I've been writing this romantic serial novel called Just One Night (purchase links below if you're interested). I've gotten a ton of great feedback, and really the only negative feedback I've gotten has been about the potential future cost.
As serial novels become more popular, we'll see more and more of this conversation, I'm sure. I've touched on the pricing issue before in a long blog post HERE, but I thought this was worth a mention one more time, from a slightly different perspective.
I price my books according to page length, for the most part. I rarely offer promotions or sales on my books because they are so fairly priced as it is. With the romantic serial parts, so far they've been 99¢ because they're about 100 pages long. I've had some readers suggest that if I charge more than 99¢ they will not buy those parts. I've also had some readers say that if I have too many parts in the serial, they won't keep buying.
Here is my official response to those comments:
COMPARISONS |
FANCY STARBUCKS COFFEE |
ELLE CASEY ROMANTIC SERIAL |
How much does it cost? | $3.50-$5.00 | 99¢ – $2.99 depending on length |
How long can you enjoy it? | 10 minutes unless you don't mind cold coffee | 1-3 hours |
How many times can you enjoy it? | Once | As many times as you want |
Does it make you laugh? | Nope | Yes |
Does it make you cry? | Not unless it’s too hot | Maybe |
Does it make you get tingley? | Not unless someone roofied it | Definitely |
I think you see where I'm going with this.
The point is, before you as a reader decide out of hand that you're not going to pay for something, think about what it is you're actually saying. If an author prices by the page count, you cannot get ripped off. You will pay for exactly what you get.
I realize some authors out there are charging $2.99 for a 75 page book. That's not something I'm doing, but is it wrong to do it? No, of course not. They've assigned that value to their work, and readers who agree with the value will pay it. And since these books are on the New York Times and Amazon bestseller lists, I have to believe there are a TON of readers out there who agree.
Who knows? Maybe someday I'll increase my prices. But for today, this is where I stand on the matter, and I hope the vast majority of the readers out there will agree that my work is worth at least a little bit more than a cup of coffee (even though I've priced it significantly less than one.)
PURCHASE LINKS
PART ONE
US: http://amzn.to/1fOqwF8
UK: http://amzn.to/1crXxT8
Canada: http://amzn.to/1fOra5A
Germany: http://amzn.to/OJXFIo
France: http://amzn.to/1lpikyR
Italy: http://amzn.to/1cfC7xU
Spain: http://amzn.to/1fw8Lpt
KOBO: http://bit.ly/1kSst76
BARNES AND NOBLE: http://bit.ly/1g0aO6d
I love Just One Night. My only issue is that I want it all now. But I’m impatient like that. Your price is perfect, your writing is perfect and your “roofie” comment…PERFECT!
Thank you!!
Girl, do not worry over these things. Just do your thing your way. It’s all good.
Thanks for your support. 🙂
I love the series so far! My only issue is I want it all now! Lol! I have a friend that is British and I am bouncing words off him and he’s just laughing! Its been so fun to read so far! The connection is steamy!
So glad you’re enjoying it! 🙂
Freaking out here, it’s April 8th and still no part 3:(
I’m ready to picket B&N.
Wow! This is the exact (winning) argument I had with my husband about buying books via amazon.
husband: you spent $12 in one week on 4 books!?
Me:”umm….you just spent $16 on a 4 pack of craft beer”.
I win.
Well played!