(This post originally appeared on the Veronica's Nap blog of author Sharon Bially, who is head of our book publicity program.)
My husband is in the food business, so the debate over whether higher prices mean better quality is constant in our household. Pricier restaurants are usually better, right? And those underpriced gems? Why are they underpriced if they’re really gems?
The same debate is raging in the book world right now. An eBook priced at $9.99 has got to better than one at $2.99. And let’s not even talk about those 99-cent “dollar dreadfuls.”
But… wait. Haven’t you ever been disappointed — disgusted, even — by a meal you’ve paid a lot for? Or delighted to discover a cheap neighborhood café where someone’s uncle or grandma is cooking up family recipes with a dash of love?
(Don’t even get me started about what actually goes on in the kitchens of those pricey joints. You don’t want to know.)
The parallels are eye-opening. Fancy restaurants have fancier amenities and higher overhead costs to cover. Many are run by corporations backed by investors demanding profits and growth. And if you step back and analyze why certain categories of books are more expensive for the most part, you’ll realize that a lot of it has to do with corporate profit margins and bottom line.
Is that what you want shaping your reading choices or your impression of a book?
It’s true that there are plenty of dollar dreadfuls out there. But there’s just as much cr*p available for far more than $9.99.
Unfortunately, it seems a lot of readers don’t make that connection and assume that a book’s low price equates to poor quality. A friend of mine recently asked, “What can you expect from a book that costs $2.99?” That widespread bias is misleading, and sad.
It also hurts authors. Pricing has a big impact on book sales. Simply put, more readers buy lower-cost books. Unless a book is some sort of blockbuster or buzzed-about trend-setter, many of its potential readers will hesitate or hold back at higher price points. Those who don’t may be the type of sophisticated, discriminating readers every writer dreams of appealing to, but do we as authors really want — and can we really afford — to be discriminant about who reads our books?
With no bookstore presence, no New York Times review or media platform to help spread the word about Veronica’s Nap, I’d personally rather price the eBook on the low side, cast a wide net, sell more copies and increase the probability of reaching the individuals who will truly care about it.
Smart shoppers will understand the importance of other signs of quality, such as my cover blurbs (including one by a National Book Award winner), a peek at the content inside and rave reviews by book bloggers and Amazon customers.
Like the scent of a home-cooked meal wafting out from that modest-looking, mom-and-pop restaurant down the street, these speak for themselves.
