Are You Willing to Pay as Much for a Book as You Are for a Burger?

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? 

The Growing Popularity of Novellas

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

If you're like me, you may not have read many novellas in your life. In fact, for a long time I didn't even really know what a novella was.

Over the years, I've learned that a novella is simply a short novel, usually about a quarter of the size of a full length book. It contains all the same elements as a novel–well-drawn characters, interesting plot, love interest (if you're writing romance), and internal character growth. But . . . obviously, the story is much less complicated and moves fairly quickly.

With the advent of ebooks, the publishing industry has been experimenting a lot to discover what works in this new age. And of course that means authors and publishers have experimented with novellas–particularly e-novellas which are available for e-readers but usually not in print.

While e-novellas go through the same editing, cover design, and formatting process as full length novels, the shorter word count obviously cuts back on some of the time and cost involved in the process. So does the fact that the e-novella doesn't have to be printed, sent out to distributors, put in buyer catalogs, etc.

In addition to the fact that novellas are quicker to write and produce, publishers and authors are also seeing some other benefits to e-novellas:

1. Novellas can act as a marketing tool. 

Authors and publishers have quickly realized that one of the best promotional/marketing tools is to offer a book at a discounted price (or perhaps even for free) as a means of attracting attention to the author's other books. Readers see the discounted or free book, read it, then (hopefully) fall in love with the writer and go on to purchase her other books.

While writers may balk at discounting or giving away full length novels that require considerable time and effort, we're more apt to consider putting a novella up for sale. We realize that in the short term, the sale can give us more exposure and sometimes move us up into best-seller ranks.

My publisher has been experimenting with giving away novellas as a way to kick off a series. For example, I just had an e-novella, Out of the Storm, release that introduces my new historical romance lighthouse series. The first full-length novel, Love Unexpected, comes out Dec. 1, but the free novella just released as a way to introduce readers to the series and get them excited about the first book.

2. Novellas help build a backlist.

This has clearly become an age when having multiple books for sale works to an author's advantage. Not too many years ago, once books were out-of-print or no longer on a bookstore shelf, the books basically died (sometimes a quick death!).

But now, those previously published books (also known as a backlist) are continuously available for readers online. Once a reader finishes a current release, they're able to go to any online bookstore, to the author's website, or to Goodreads and easily view and purchase the rest of the author's books.

The ease and availability of past books means that having a multitude of books works to an author's advantage. Readers talk about and continue to promote our older books which in turn helps current books. In a sense, the book promotion becomes cyclical.

Since newer authors don't have a large backlist, novellas can become one way to help build a strong author presence a little faster and that backlist then helps continue to promote current books.

3. Novellas appeal to the busy modern reader.  

The shorter length and the subsequently lower price, make novellas an easy buy.

Let's face it. The modern readers' attention is growing shorter especially since so many things are competing for their limited time. That means readers are more hesitant to pay $10-$15 on a new book that they might not have time to actually read.

But readers are more willing to pay a couple of bucks. If they end up not having the time or end up not liking the author, then they don't feel they've "blown" their money. Thus the shorter, inexpensive book offers an appeal that can put novellas at an advantage over longer more expensive books.

What do you think? Have you read any novellas lately? Do you like or dislike them?

If you haven't read a novella yet, I invite you to try mine, Out of the Storm. It's FREE! See what you think, then come back and let me know. Links to download the ebook: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com

Do Free Ebooks Really Hook New Readers?

*Image Source John Atkinson*

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

Over the past couple of years with the rise of ereaders and ebooks, I've noticed an increasing trend in free ebooks. In fact, most online bookstores have a special place readers can go to browse free ebooks.

Usually authors and publishers offer those free ebooks for a limited time with one main rationale: to HOOK the reader. They want the reader to enjoy that book enough to take some kind of action including leaving a good review, talking about the book with others, and most importantly purchasing the author's already published and future books.

Over the past months, I've chatted with other authors and my publisher about the pros and cons of offering free ebooks. Whenever my publisher has offered my books or other Bethany House books for free, we usually see a short spike in the sales of that particular book after it resumes its cost. Apparently by making the higher end of free lists, the book hits the radars of new readers and draws interest.

However, I personally haven't noticed a spike in sales of my other books during a free promotion. Of course, over time the free ebook does hook some new readers (because fans have told me they read one of my books as a result of a free promotion and went on to purchase the others).

But . . . it's very difficult to breakdown how many sales result from such tactics, the same way it would be difficult to tell sales that result from someone reading my book free at the library and then going to purchase my other books.

The bottom line is that whether a reader gets a free ebook, free library read, or even a free ARC or influencer copy from a publisher, some become fans and some do not.

Even though readers can get free books from the library or through a publisher's review program, those kind of books come with strings attached. Obviously a library book must be returned on a deadline. And if a publisher or author gives ARCs or influencer copies, they usually expect the reader to make some promotional efforts as a result.

But when a reader downloads a free ebook, they have no obligations or deadlines. And I think it's the obligation-free aspect of a free ebook that may be troublesome in hooking new readers.

As I've analyzed my own habits regarding free ebooks, here are a few conclusions I've come to:

1. I always read the books I purchase. In fact, I make myself slog through it even if it's not especially engaging. I figure if I paid for it, I need to get my money's worth. This is usually true of ebooks that I purchase for as low as 99 cents, although I am more willing to give up halfway through on lower costing books.

2. I can download a free ebook and easily forget about it. For one thing, it's not physically staring me in the face like a paper book. But also because I didn't have to invest anything in the book, I have no motivation to actually read it. And with so many other books demanding my attention, it's all too easy to let the free books slide to the bottom of the stack that I'll read "some day."

3. I'm more willing to try debut authors if the book is free. While I may not always highly value a free ebook, I'm more apt to give a new author a try when I can read their book for free or at a low cost.

4. When I finally get around to reading a free ebook, the story has to WOW me in order for me to go over and purchase other books by that author. Once again, I have too many other books sitting around (particularly free books on my Kindle!). So if I'm going to actually purchase a book, I REALLY have to like the author.

In conclusion, free books haven't made me stop buying books of authors I love. I continue to do that. I'm not sitting around expecting to get all my books for free now. But free ebooks certainly don't have the hook power over me that publishers and authors hope for. And if that's true of me, I have to think that's true of other readers as well.

What do YOU think of free ebooks? Do free ebooks hook you into taking some kind of action like purchasing other books of an author or leaving a review? Do you value a free ebook as much as one you purchased?