By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund
I've been thinking a lot lately about the price of Ebooks. Since I'm traditionally published, I don't have the luxury of setting the prices of my Ebooks. That means, sometimes I like the prices of my Ebooks and there are times when I don't.
Obviously, most readers are aware by now that traditionally published Ebooks sell at a higher price than self-published books. There are a couple of reasons for the disparity.
1. Self-published authors are "in charge" of setting their own prices. In a free enterprise market, everyone knows that you're better able to drive business your way if you can under-price your competitor. That's why we all go to Walmart to buy milk for $1.98 rather than paying $2.50 at Meijer. Indie books are able to draw shoppers through the lower prices they offer, prices that traditional publishers can't offer on a regular basis. That leads to my next point . . .
2. Traditionally published books have more people involved in the publication process, thus need to generate more revenue in order to pay everyone who had a hand in the book: two or more editors, office staff, the cover design team, the cover model, photographer, the marketing staff, publicist, sales representatives, and more. And let's not forget, the author also has to be paid! No, Ebooks may not require the same "print" costs that a hard copy or paperback may incur, but as you can see, the costs of traditional publication go beyond the price tag of paper and ink.
Let's face it, low indie prices have changed the Ebook market, and so traditionally published authors who are selling their Ebooks at $9.99 are often losing out to indie authors who are selling theirs for $2.99-$4.99.
And then there is a continuous parade of Ebooks that are offered for free. If a voracious reader never wanted to pay a dime for another book, they could feast on a steady diet of books simply by downloading all of the free books.
Yes, sometimes I can't help feeling that my traditionally published Ebooks are priced too high to be competitive in the current market. I whine and moan about it from time to time. And while some traditionally published authors have gone indie so that they can set their own lower prices and retain more of the profit for themselves, for now I'm still reaping many benefits of traditional publication including higher visibility, national recognition, distribution in bookstores all across the country and world, and exposure to a pool of readers who wouldn't know about me if not for traditional publishers ability to explore wider channels.
Part of me also wonders if having such low priced books is really a good thing anyway. Over time, I've noticed a subtle shift in the mind-set of many readers. Since so many of us have grown accustomed to cheaply priced or free Ebooks, we balk if we have to pay full price on any Ebook. In fact, I've had readers comment irritably about the higher price on some of my Ebooks. After reading my free novella, Out of the Storm, which kicks off my historical romance lighthouse series, some readers have been upset that they have to pay $9.99 for the full length Ebooks.
When I get those kinds of negative comments, I want to say, "If you went to Applebees for dinner, I bet you'd pay at least $9.99 for a burger which you'd consume in an hour and have nothing to show for it later."
Or, "When you go to see the new release Jurassic World, you won't hesitate to pay $8.00 per ticket and then at least another $5.00 for popcorn and pop. The movie will last two hours, and what will you have to show for it? And what if you don't like it?"
If you pay $9.99 for an Ebook, what will you have to show for that? Hours of reading pleasure. And a book that you can loan or read over and over. Yes, there may be some books that won't ring your bell. But if you take that chance with movies, why not with books?
In reality, $9.99 for a book whether print or Ebook is a great deal. We can't purchase many other forms of entertainment that cheaply, whether it's going to a restaurant, movie, concert, theater production, sporting event, or even a museum. No other entertainment nowadays is as inexpensive or as fulfilling as the journey a reader can take in a book.
Do I wish the price of my Ebooks were lower? Sometimes. Which is why occasionally I give my publishers permission to offer my books on sale (like The Vow and An Uncertain Choice are for a limited time). But at the same time, I want readers to appreciate the bargain value that they're already getting in a book at full price and be just as willing to pay for a book as they are a burger.
How about YOU? Are YOU willing to pay as much for a book as you are for a burger?
Hi, Jody,
ReplyDeleteI'm with you 100%. I've been known to have a few tetchy conversations with friends along the lines of "How can you complain about paying $10 for a book that takes an author months to write when you spend $30 a week on coffees that take thirty seconds to make and three minutes to drink?"
I think that publishers did themselves a long term disservice when they jumped on the "free" e-Book wagon because it conditioned readers, who previously wouldn't have blinked at paying $10 for a book, to expect that sooner or later they wouldn't have to pay anything (or, at the most, only a few dollars). Someone recently complained to me how expensive books were now days. The reality is that the full retail price of books have moved only marginally in the last few years, it's just that her perception of what a book should cost has changed because she's been on a steady diet of picking up $1.99 titles (on sale by traditional publishers, not indie titles) for months.
Traditional publishers are never going to be able to compete with the low overheads of an indie author (even one who avails themselves of topnotch professional services). The only way they can win is by producing books by great authors that people know are worth the investment. And, honestly, by stopping devaluing their products and authors by no longer regularly giving away full length recently released novels for nothing!
I have no problem with spending a lot on an ebook — as long as it's the right book for me. In fact, I view traditionally published books as less of a risk, since the publisher is a (theoretical) guarantor of quality. However, if I'm ambivalent about whether to buy an ebook, the price is an important factor. I have a long term health condition and have to survive on state benefits of £100 a week, out of which I must pay rent, bills and the credit card debt I racked up during the worst points of my illness. I can't afford to pay more than £4/5 for a book when there is a large chance I won't enjoy it; neither can I afford to go to the cinema or buy fancy coffees. When I go to a cheap restaurant and spend £10 on a meal, it's a special occasion — not a regular treat.
ReplyDeleteI agree that people should value authors and their work, but a different pricing strategy can be beneficial, depending on your audience. Hence textbooks are expensive because they have a niche audience who want — and often need — to buy textbooks. If they reduced the price, it probably wouldn't result in an increase in sales. On the other hand, popular fiction may sell significantly more ebooks at £3 than £8, so they can generate more profit by dropping their prices. I've bought several ebooks I wouldn't normally chance buying, because the price was low enough that I wouldn't feel resentful if I hated the book.
The key difference between print books and ebooks here is the book's afterlife: if I hate a print book, I can pass it on to a charity shop who can benefit from selling it. If I hate an ebook, it has no value for me but I can't give it away. I might as well have chucked my money in the bin.
This is why using promotional prices can benefit both the readers and the author: I have taken chances on ebooks and enjoyed them so much that I paid much higher prices for other ebooks by the same author. However, the key difference between what you report people saying and myself is that when I love an author's work, the higher price is a bargain. I would never complain about the price; if I couldn't afford it, I would wait until I'd saved enough money. If I liked the author but considered the price more than I'm willing to pay, I would just leave it.
The problem is, there are no right answers. All we can do is try different things and see what works best for us. I recently published my first ebook, which is a nonfiction organisation guide aimed at a particular type of person. I spent a lot of time pondering how to set the price — I read a lot of conflicting advice, with some people saying a higher price correlated with high quality in readers' minds and others taking the pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap approach. In the end, I went down the middle and priced my fairly short ebook at $4.50/£2.87. Maybe I would sell more if I priced it at 77p, but I'm not sure — especially as I'm not a good networker and marketing doesn't come easily to me. Maybe I would sell more if I bulked out my book with pictures, extra headings, quotes, etc. and tripled the size, but that runs counter to the book's philosophy. All any of us can do is figure out which way we should personally take and change direction if/when it doesn't seem to be working.
By the way Jody, I think you should ignore anyone who likes your work but not enough to pay what it's worth. There are plenty of readers who value ebooks and would happily pay your price. Feedback is only worth considering if you can do anything about it (which you can't as a traditionally published author) and if there is a lot of other evidence that the feedback has a point. Where my own ebook is concerned, I plan to act on any feedback that is backed up by statistics/other feedback but I won't let my actions be determined by people who are not my target audience.
I don't spend that much on an ebook since there are many great traditionally published ebooks that are available for less than $5 (all three of my publishers offer ebooks at great prices). BUT for ebooks that do cost that much and that I really want, I'll order the book in print instead of downloading the ebook version. With the discounts through the major retailer in Canada, the price of a print book is only a little higher than the ebook. And since I like print more than ebooks...
ReplyDeleteI do get your frustrations, Jody. There's a strong possibility that one of my upcoming books will be priced at $10. If that happens, I know my book sales will be doomed. Which means the publisher won't earn as much as if they had priced it lower and at a price that moves books.
Jody, you make some good points.
ReplyDeleteI have one question, though. You say you "give permission" for your publisher to offer your ebooks at a discount sometimes. Do you really give them permission? Or is it sort of like when I ask my children, "Are you going to pick that up?' In other words, the question is rhetorical.
As always, thanks for sharing.
So far, my publishers usually ask me about the sales. My agent also keeps track of the sales so that my books don't have a conflict of interest (a sale on a backlist happening at the release of a front list!) We've asked for sales dates to be switched around as a result of such conflict. I haven't said no to any sales yet, but I do feel that I could and I know my agent would back me on it.
DeleteWe don't eat out much at any place that charges that much for a burger. In fact, we rarely eat out. We don't go to movies, and I don't even remember the last time we even bought one.
ReplyDeleteI'm old fashioned at a young age.lol. I won't even buy ebooks. I had my Kindle die on me, and for three months or so even my freebie books were out there in never land. Yet, inaccessible to me. The one thing I do spend money on besides necessities is real paperback or hardback books. There are certain authors, such as yourself, that I know I will purchase their books.
So being estranged from ebooks, my view is a bit different. Yet, I still wonder if all the models for covers and trailers for books really increase sales. Amazon does give a dollar credit to Prime members. So I did spend .99 once on an ebook that was for sale. I wouldn't have bought it without the credit, however.
I've never considered buying a book from an indie author unless they have gone from being published then to indie. Even then I'm a bit reluctant because certain publishing houses are known for good clean reads, while purchasing indie I'm taking a risk. With the way most spend money, I would definitely think your ebooks are well worth the price if that is the format one prefers. I know I feel your PBs are well worth every penny.
Personally I prefer print books, and I'm happy to pay the price which is usually slightly more than the ebook. I watch for sales, and Deeper Shopping usually offers introductory prices of $9.74 for paperbacks. I'm not a fan of reading on electronic readers, although I do occasionally if it's not lengthy. I find I get much more eye strain from reading ebooks. The old adage, "you get what you pay for" still holds true, and to me a print copy of a book is a treasure! I love perusing my shelves of "real" books, and I love seeing and holding what I paid for!
ReplyDeleteTotally with you on that! I love looking at my rows of beautiful books...something tangible that my money has bought! :)
DeleteJody,
ReplyDeleteThere will always be buyers who are looking for the best deal even if it means buying something substandard. Unless a free eBook is a classic, there's no guarantee "free" equals "good value".
There will always be people who are willing to pay for value because they get a better product. You mentioned milk. We have a Super Wal-Mart in town and we shop there a lot. But the local grocer carries milk produced by a regional dairy and bottled in real glass bottles (returnable, of course). The product costs more, but it's so far superior to other milk that we buy it whenever possible.
You (and other success authors) have name recognition, Jody. That alone is worth the added cost of a $10 eBook. You have lots of fans who won't blink an eye at the price and are waiting on the edges of their seats for every book you publish.
My guess is that the people who complain are either lukewarm fans or not really fans at all. If that's the case, they are outside your market anyway.
Thanks for a thought-provoking post. Best wishes,
Carrie
Wow, not sure what to say about this post as a publisher/writer myself. In the states, all industries operate under a free, capitalistic market. Book publishing is no different. Those able to compete via price, quality, quantity, speed and favorable user experience win.
ReplyDeleteAs "indies" grab the market and hold it through innovation of price, content and risk-taking, traditional publishing will look like the old "vanity" publishing of yester-year.
Yes, yes, yes to everything you said, Jody. And I want to echo Kara's comments, too. I like a good ebook sale like anyone. And sure, as an author, it's fun to see sales numbers spike when we've got an ebook sale going on.
ReplyDeleteBUT...I reeeally struggle with the growing expectation from some readers (and even writers) that they shouldn't have to pay more than a few dollars for an ebook. It's the same story inside the book, whether it's print or ebook, that I put months and months and MONTHS into. And heart. And often tears. ('Cause I'm an emotional writer...what can I say? Haha!) And it still went through rounds of edits with editors and took the work of designers for the cover and formatting and required sales and marketing teams to get out the (virtual) door...
I'll admit, too, that while I'd love to dip my toes into the hybrid publishing waters someday, I think it might be hard for me to price a self-pubbed book so much lower than one of my traditionally pubbed ones...because, frankly, I think my art deserves to sell for more than $3. I think something I spent up to a year pouring my heart into is worth the price of, like you said, a hamburger. Do we really want to condition readers to not place any more worth on a book than a few bucks??
All that said and all my writer angst aside, I do love that cheap books have more people reading these days. And that's awesome! And it'll be interesting to see how publishing shifts as the market continues to change. I just hope we can hold on to the belief that books and stories and art are worth investing in.
For quality work like yours and Jody's, I doubt regular ebook buyers will balk at higher prices for your books. I will pay more for books from authors who I know produce a quality product. Books can be the same as say SO brand verses Ralph Lauren. I'm willing to pay more for my paper books if I love the author! A writers work is worth the investment for me in print anyway. I still can't spend money on ebooks. I'm going against my own age group here, but old fashioned I smell and will always be! :)
DeleteThank you for saying that! :D
DeleteI am willing to pay as much for a book as I am for a burger but not as much as I should be. I don’t think I ever ate a burger that cost more than $8. It is only if I know I will like the book and it is written by one of my favorite authors. I like to buy ebooks when they are on sale or for free. My parents are more willing to let me buy them when they are on sale for like a couple dollars. >< If I am going to buy a book at full price, I would prefer to buy a paper copy instead of an ebook because I like the feeling and smell of a real book. I look at the prices of ebooks which are around $10 and I think it is too much (for me). I keep forgetting that the books need to be at a certain price so the author, publisher, editors, and other parts of publishing a book are paid for their hard work. I read both of Jody Hedlund's two novellas for free recently. After reading them, I wanted to read the rest of her books. I saw that they are around $6-$10 each. I will wait for them to go on sale or borrow some from my library. For some reason I feel $10 is too much for an ebook but not for a physical copy. I come from a family where we spend money only on necessities like food, clothing, bills, taxes, and other things like that. We don’t travel or go on trips much because of the cost of gas and hotels. Once in a while we will go out to a place like McDonalds and I will have a .99 burger (I chose it because of its price and also I like its small size). I have been to the cinema about four times in my life. I am a type of person where I can’t seem to re-read books. I can re-read books I read years ago but not re-read recent ones. I don’t know much about indie authors. I don’t think I have ever read a book by an indie author. I won my Kindle from an online giveaway. Normally my parents won’t let me buy one since it is kind of expensive. I am happy I can read ebooks on it even though I still prefer physical copies. Your books are worth buying and I hope to have all of them on my bookshelf one day. I bought my first ebook, An Uncertain Choice.
ReplyDeleteQUOTE: "I come from a family where we spend money only on necessities like food, clothing, bills, taxes, and other things like that. We don’t travel or go on trips much because of the cost of gas and hotels."
DeleteSeconding this. Though I do reread books, to the point that if I can't spend money on books this week/month, I'll just dig through my existing collection and reread, then read online fiction and periodicals.
I'm experimenting at the moment. I've got a sale on my self-published book, Lady Raven, and it's normal Kindle price is $1.50. I'm at a stage in my career where I need to do everything I can to attract readers.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite burger (and the one Esquire named as the country's best several years ago) is the one at Father's Office in Santa Monica, California. It's ridiculously good, made from a sirloin/bacon compote and topped with arugula and caramelized onions. It's $12.50, so a little more expensive than what you'd get from Applebee's, but worth every penny. My second favorite burger is a local (to Pittsburgh) place called BRGR; it's actually quite similar to the Father's Office burger, and it's about the same cost. But if you're willing to pay another $10, you can add foie gras to it, and oh my god is that like the best most delicious thing ever. With a good, dark Belgian beer (another $8 or so), it's simply amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhich I note because I'm willing to pay a premium for a premium experience. Ebooks are not one. Regardless of the "journey" or whatever. There's no cost of production because there's nothing really there -- reading on a Kindle (or an iPad or whatever) is the same from ebook to ebook and all that changes is the story. Not to say I don't think some stories are better than others (I do), but it's the reading experience I'm thinking of, which goes beyond just the story. When it comes to ebooks, I'm not willing to spend more than $5.99 on anything, and even then that's only when the name on the jpeg is Neil Gaiman or Stephen King.
Will I spend more on a book?
Absolutely! Like, for example, a signed first edition. I'll pay hundreds for a premium edition, like one that is bound in leather and has gilt edges and a satin bookmark built in. I have several of those.
I agree wholeheartedly. I've payed more than $10 for an excellent burger (of which there are many here in the Bay Area, none of which are Esquire's number one, but several of which are on various national top 10 or 20 lists) on many occasions; and I've also paid far more than that for a book I felt was worth it-- Karl Knausgaard's latest, for instance, which I didn't want to even wait for paperback to read. Would I pay $9.99 for a Jody Hedlund ebook? No, but it's just not that valuable to me-- supply and demand don't somehow become meaningless because books are involved.
Delete"There's nothing really there"... Um, the same exact words are in the ebook and paper version of any book. The same amount of time was taken to write those words, edit those words, format those words (for all the ebook file types and the print file), the same work went into cover design, proofreading, copy editing, etc. How is there nothing there? The content, the thing you're paying for, in any book (digital or paper) is the story. That either stays with you or it doesn't. In any format you can go back and read it again and again. That burger can't really be revisted once it's digested.
DeleteWhile some of your points I agree with, some I don't.
ReplyDeleteI don't spend that much money on food. I certainly don't go to the theater, and won't spend that much money on the ephemeral on principle except on rare treat occasions. The cost of everything has gotten kind of ridiculous, but no, it takes a pretty amazing book for me to spend ten PLUS dollars on it when a paperback (which costs more to produce than an ebook) should eventually be available for $5-$8 in the size I actually prefer and in a way that gives royalties to the author. The ebook should never cost more than the paperback and it does not last forever unless you're really good at doing your backups.
I honestly cannot imagine spending $10 on one sandwich unless it was one of those huge, whole-dinner-plate-sized ones. That's exorbitant and a bad deal, and so is an ebook over $10. I think $5-8 is a good price for a small paperback and a good price for an ebook. Then you actually afford to read more than one or two every paycheck. Okay, one. I can spend maybe $15/paycheck on books, and will devour series that way if they let me buy 2-3, but only 1? Pick another book on my want-to-read list.
The only books I make exceptions for are the ones I want that particular book that badly, which has so far been only the Divergent series.
Hi Jody,
ReplyDeleteIt's always easier to adapt to the new reality than wish the world would adapt to your preferences.
Readers are choosing now to spend their money on $2.99-$5.99 ebooks instead of $9.99 ebooks. But they are buying enough additional books to make up the difference in cost.
Many indie authors are able to make a good living, often a great living, selling at those lower prices while producing books that readers rate as highly as traditionally published books.
And if you write fiction, you should know that the claimed 50% of fiction sales that are now digital is only counting traditionally-published books, which are only half of the true number of digital sales; once you include indie sales and Amazon-imprint fiction sales, the actual reader market for fiction splits closer to 67% digital than 50% digital.
So nowadays, two thirds of all fiction purchased is ebook and audio, while print sales only account for a third of fiction (and a big chunk of those print sales are online, too.)
This is especially true in Romance: 70% of all romance sales are now books by indie authors.
So while you might personally prefer to traditionally publish, you're basically working against your own economic interests, unless you're a top bestseller whose publisher dedicates a massive co-op and marketing spend to your books.
I humbly recommend you publish your next book indie, price it at $3.99, and compare your results.
You'll gain more readers and make more money.
As a reader I am willing and do pay $9.99 plus for a good book, but I have to have a lot of confidence in the author to do it. My experience of indy books is that the vast majority of them would not get past the health inspector if sold as hamburger. OK, that's stretching the metaphor, but you get the idea. The quality just isn't there.
ReplyDeleteOf the 3 really good indy authors I've read in the last few years, two of them had extremely weak craft (poor to nonexistent copy editing, POV issues, etc.) and succeeded in spite of these problems because in other ways their books were amazing. The third was fan fiction that couldn't legally be sold at any price. All three would not have gotten past a slush reader at a traditional publisher.
Most indy books I encounter, including at least some from traditionally published authors who've gone indy, have some pretty obvious problems. In my experience, far more do than don't. By contrast, in a traditionally published book, I may or may not like the story or the characters or the voice; but I can rely on a certain level of professionalism. If you randomly selected 10 indy published novels and 10 traditionally published novels from the last year that I'd never seen before, I'd give pretty good odds that I could pick out which were which (maybe with the exception of the romance genre).
I might like some of the indy books better than some of the traditionally published novels, but that would be in spite of their flaws, not because of them.
Paying $9.99 for an Indy book is like paying $9.99 for an Applebee's burger and getting a McDonald's Cheeseburger (not even a quarter pounder) instead. Until indy authors as a whole up their game, or someone figures out how to separate the good from the drek, I'm going to be very resistant to paying AppleBee's prices for probable McDonald's quality.
Applebees built an entire building (a chain of them, in fact), furnished it, filled it with various mechanical devices, connected it to the infrastructural grid, hired a staff, killed and transported a cow, chopped that cow up, cooked it, and served it to you on a plate. You wrote a book which is infinitely reproducible in the form of electronic bits. Which one involves more overhead?
ReplyDeleteNow, of course what actually matters is the *marginal* cost of production of each burger or ebook, and the appropriate price based on that cost of production-- but obviously, the marginal cost of producing each additional hamburger is almost infinitely greater than the marginal cost of producing each additional ebook. If you are working with a traditional publisher, your ebook has a significant sunk cost (which is far less for self-pub or indie-pubbed authors obviously), as does a hamburger-- but from that point forward, the hamburger costs far, far more to make.
I went to school to become an Exercise Physiologist and spent some early years working independently and for a well known exercise facility as a personal trainer. I had a hard time charging clients, what I felt was an exorbitant amount of money, for my services. A mentor of mine asked me what my time and education (that I was still paying off) was worth? I have to admit that it was still hard, but I had invested many years working hard for my education. If I didn't value my time and education, my clients wouldn't either.
ReplyDeleteAs for an author, I believe your time and investment to a story is extremely valuable. Especially when it is God-honoring!! Personally, I am willing to invest more in a book that honors the Lord and offers something of value beyond a quick read. Don't get me wrong, I know there are many indie Christian authors, as well and I am always delighted to get a good book for a lower price.
Now, for practical reasons, this is why I love libraries. I utilize our local library often and if I looove a book, I will invest and add it to my own physical or virtual "library."
I have to say, I fully agree that you should be paid well for your work. But I also don't like paying almost $10 for an e-book. My thinking is that I can spend $5 or $6 more and get the physical copy; it feels more tangible to me to pay the extra to have that in my hand, then a digital one. Plus, I have that book to keep for as long as I take care of it, while I can't guarantee that e-book I bought will always be available. I think e-books really need to be re-thought in the industry as a whole. Because yes, people are seeing them as a lot cheaper, and they're the main place for indi-authors to publish, but the hype seems bigger than the facts. I'm currently in the process of opening a bookstore, and there is so much research that I've found that shows that print books aren't going away ANY time soon. In fact, the #1 way people find new authors, and buy new books, is print versions in bookstores. I've also seen studies that show that print to digital ratio of books sold (units, not dollars) can be as big as 75% print to 25% digital. E-books are not having as much of an impact as people thought they would, and people still think they do. They have impacted mass market, and they've opened up Indie-publishing, but as far as traditional paperback and even hardcover, they haven't really touched. I don't think the hype of needing cheap books is as large as people believe. Is it nice to get free books? Yes, no one's going to argue it's not. But, you as the author deserve to be paid for your work. I don't think traditionally published authors should ever compromise on getting paid for their hard work. Perhaps a sale now and again to bring in new readers, but otherwise you deserve to get paid for your work and if that means that more paperbacks are sold than e-books, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteI really love the discussion here, everyone! While I may not agree with everything being said, it's really been enlightening to hear your various perspectives! Thank you all for sharing! :-)
ReplyDeleteIs it bad that I'm distracted by the fact you only have to pay $8 for a movie ticket? We pay $18.50 for an adult ticket in Australia and don't get me started on popcorn prices!!
ReplyDeleteAll that aside, I agree readers have been conditioned to expect low prices for e-books and that is likely working against traditionally published writers. However, I am much more likely to purchase a hard copy of a traditionally published book than I would for an indie novel. Quality of production is important as well as content for me :)
Agreed, Rel. And your book prices are cheaper than here. A book which retails at $12.99 is $20 by the time it gets to Australia, and $30 here in New Zealand.
DeleteThat's why I buy ebooks.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteIts a similar case in the UK. New Bethany House titles for instance are priced at around £9.50 apeice on Amazon- and that does not include postage now. It is more from other retailers, although older titles might be available second-hand.
DeleteI myself simply cannot afford to or justify paying that much for each book.
That is why I am thankful for reviewing organisations like Netgalley- and to some sense for Kindle Books, which allow me to get hold of titles that would be absurdly expensive normally.
Really great article and it reminded me of a fantastic website someone recommended to me recently called OpenBooks (http://openbooks.com/)
ReplyDeleteIt is a site where you can choose from a huge variety of genres and pay what you want. The site goes with the concept that readers pay what they think the book is worth. You can also share your book download with others and there are no restrictions. There are no complicated forms to fill out and the ebook you want is literally one click away. I cannot recommend this site enough!