E-Books: Price and Value

E-book pricing has been a topic of debate for several years. Which price is best? What price is the customer willing and able to pay? What can the government and courts do? This can be confusing for authors and lead to confusion.

What can an independent author do when the big publishing companies, courts and online retailers continue to fight it out? While no one knows everything, common sense, some price experimentation, and some industry knowledge can help you decide the right price for your ebook. There is no one price that is right for every book.

These are some questions you should ask when setting the price of your e-book.

How valuable is your book?

Before you decide on the price, you need to know what your book is worth. You wrote a short, erotic novel to be able to compete with all the others. Its value will likely be low as it is not in high demand. If you are writing a thesis on a niche topic with no published book on it, the value of your work may be high even though your audience might be small. Is it possible to spend ten years researching and writing your book or just a few hours. Are your readers able to find the information in your book anywhere else?

An author once said that her one hundred-page history book was too expensive. She responded, “What do I think my book is worth after five years of writing it?” She clearly perceived her book’s worth as high. However, her readers may not view it as valuable because they see a small volume that is easy to read. Also consider the time your reader will spend reading it. Is it worth $9.99 to your reader to spend an hour reading a book? Your reader may value time more than money so he might not want to spend $9.99 on what he perceives as ten hours reading your book. He would rather pay $2.99.

You could be right if you believe your book is worth a higher price. However, your marketing efforts will have to convince your readers of this value.

How much can you charge for an e-book?

Your e-book should never be priced above $9.99 Although some major publishers may allow for higher prices for authors with best-selling books, $9.99 is the maximum price for most people. Amazon determined that $9.99 was the threshold for higher royalties. Amazon will pay 70 percent on books priced between $9.99 and $2.99, while those priced over $9.99 will only receive a 35 percent royalty. This means that a $15.00 book will net you about $5.00, while a $9.99 book will make you $7.00. While I can’t address every e-book retailer pricing model, you can look at each one individually. However, $9.99 is the best price.

Pricing high has the advantage of making more money per book. However, it will also mean you sell less books. Nevertheless, books priced lower might be perceived as having less value, being from unknown authors, poorly written or simply shorter. Anything below $2.99 is a lower quality book for me. Even the author may not see its value.

An e-book price range of $3.00 to $6.99 is acceptable for established authors. This will likely not discourage most readers from purchasing your book. If you are selling a book that readers will value, price it between $7.00 and $9.99. You should either have the information value that is worth buying or be well-known author with thousands of readers.

How many books would you like to sell?

You will need to sell 10 e-books if your book is priced at $0.99. The lower price might make your book more attractive than if it were priced at $9.99. You can sell 10 books for $0.99. Wouldn’t that be better? This means you have 10 more readers who will read your books in the future, so you can price them higher.

What is the price of competition?

Check out other books in the same genre. What are the prices of other romance authors if you’re a new author? Your e-book can be priced higher if your first business book is well-received in the industry. Your price should be at least slightly less than that of other books in the same or similar genres. If Lady Jane Grey is featured in two books, one is less expensive than the other, the likelihood is that yours will be purchased.

Where can your readers buy their books?

Although I doubt that many e-book sellers are spending their time comparing the price of your e book at different online stores, it is important to keep the prices the same across all sites. However, just because your book appears on Amazon does not mean it will be purchased there by your readers. You should sell your book at other sites such as Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google Play, which are all popular places for people who use Android phones and tablets. Do you sell to twenty-year-olds who are likely to purchase at Google Play, or to seniors who may prefer Amazon because it is more familiar? Price your book accordingly to ensure it is available at all locations. A twenty-year-old college student may have little money, so $0.99 might be a better option. However, most e-book sellers will require you to price your book the same at all of their stores.

Are you able to have multiple books, especially a series?

Pricing one book lower if you have multiple books. You might give away the first book of a series if you have written it. If the book is compelling, readers will be more likely to buy the rest of your series. If you have written several books, but not a series of books, I suggest pricing the one you consider the best. This is because people will be most likely to read it again.

Would you consider serializing your book or selling it in chapters?

Books, especially novels, have been serialized for centuries. Recently, however, authors are selling their books in chapters or shorter installments. If you have a shorter book, up to fifty pages, that works well as a standalone piece, then price it at $1.99 and continue the series at the same or slightly higher price. If the reader likes the first book, he will likely buy four at that price. However, if he doesn’t like it, he might buy another for $7.96. You’ll still make $7.96 if they end up buying all four.

Are you a pro at marketing your book

Marketing is key to achieving your bottom line. No matter how high your book’s price, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will read it. It’s possible for someone to stumble across it in an online bookstore and purchase it. However, if you really market it, you will sell more books. Marketing skills will help you promote your book as being valuable and entertaining. Then, perhaps, you can price it higher due to that perceived value. If you don’t have the time or desire to market your book, price it low to offset any marketing effort.

Strategies to Position Yourself as an Expert. Create Wealth and Fame Through Book Writing

Introduction
You can position yourself as an expert on both offline and online by creating books. Your book could reach the White House, Kremlin, or Buckingham Palace. These are some of the most secure places on the planet. A book, which is low in value, sells for $10-20. To make money you will need to sell thousands. These books should be well-written, researched, and have a compelling storyline. The average book sells less than 1,000 copies, so it is important to do everything you can to make your book a bestseller. It is not an easy task, but it is possible.

There are many ways to approach the topic of book writing. Is it better to write a book once you are famous or do you want to write it in order for fame? It’s an egg-and-chicken story. Anyone with a story to share should write a book. While fame is not the main goal, it can be achieved if you use the right strategies during, after and before publication.

Your strategy for becoming an expert should include a book. You can create courses, organize seminars, become a motivational speaker and turn your book into a movie, an eBook or audiobook, as well as launch courses. Writing a book is a key part of your quest for building an expert empire. Writing a book is the best, most bold and easiest way to be regarded as an expert. You will see that the books of famous personalities like Simon Sinek and Tom Peters have helped them to achieve greatness. In Search of Excellence, Tom Peters’ book co-written with Bob Waterman, propelled him to superstardom. Also, Start with Why and Abundance. The Future is Better Than You Think by Simon Sinek & Peter Diamandis.

Why you should write a book
You don’t have to write a book in order to be famous. Fame will follow if you do it right. A book is written to convey a compelling message. John Kremer is an authority on the book industry. He is also the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book, the best-selling book. These are his top 10 reasons to write a book.
1. 1.Become an expert
2. 2. Support a cause
3. Send a message
4. Change lives
5. Attract more customers
6. Build your list
7. 7. Establish an institute
8. Create a tribe
9. 9. Create wealth
10. 10.

It’s hard to find a more thrilling feeling than walking through the iconic libraries, airports, shops, and websites of the world and seeing your book alongside the works of some of the most beloved authors on the planet, such as Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink, and Tim Ferriss. Books are a magnet for our imagination. Emily Dickinson stated that “there is no frigate as a book” and another author stated, “If you drop three pounds of gold and a book, you should pick the gold first.” Charlie “Tremendous,” Jones said, “Of all the things in the world, only two will have the greatest effect on your life: the books you read and the people you meet.” A book is the best thing to give you inner peace and satisfaction. Get up and write your first book.

Writing your book
A book is essentially a story about you, others, events and phenomena. You pick up the threads to share with others in the most powerful way that informs, motivates. A book is a collection of information, ideas and knowledge that you tell as a story. Your story is packaged by asking questions like the ones Brendon Burchard suggested, who is the best-selling author and editor of many books including The Charge, Life Golden Tickets and The Millionaire Messenger.
* Who are YOU? What have you experienced in your life?
* What are you overcoming and how did it happen?
* What were your discoveries along the way?
* What were your successes? What results did they give you?
* What will you teach me now that I can use to improve my life?

Brendon recommends asking secondary questions to help you clarify your ideas.
* An account of my struggle that my audience may relate to is…
* A challenge I’ve overcome in my life and that others may find inspiring or connect with.
* My journey has taught me the most important lessons:
* Achievements and affiliations that I have in my personal life that enhance my credibility include…
* I have lessons that can help people in their topic area and their lives.

Your keys to success
John Locke, who sold 1,000,000 eBooks in five months and then wrote the book about it, suggests that:
1. Make a plan
2. Know your target audience
3. 3.) Take a business approach
4. Make sure you use the correct tools.

These are the Three Ps that Make Your Plan Live
Brendon Burchard is one of the 100 most popular online trainers. He says you will need the following, without going into detail:
* Positioning
* Packaging
* Promo

Three Cs that show you are out there only for your audience
Brendon also recommends the following without going into detail:
*Care
* Compassion
* Consistency

These are the Six Steps to Writing Your Book.
My interaction with friends, alumni members of BWC (Book Writing Clinic) and other people is often dominated by the question “Where do I begin?” This seven-step process can be summarized as follows:
* Step 1: Decide what you want to write about
* Step 2: Determine the Title and Sub-title for your book
* Step 3: Decide the Content
* Step 4: Research Your Book
* Step 5: Choose the Author
* Step 6: Proofread, Edit, and Write Your Book
* Step 7: Publish and Release Your Book to The World

The Six Sections of a Traditional Book
These sections will make up a typical book. But, it is important to note that not everything can be thrown away.
1. 1.
2. 2. Introduction
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. Contents
6. Index

Six Steps to Structure the Book or its Main Contents.
This is the area where most authors would struggle, according to BWC alumni. This approach can be used for any product, not just a book. It is best to limit your book to five to seven chapters if you are a beginner. This is how it works. Divide a notebook into five to seven sections, depending on how many chapters you want to write. Next, write the headings for each section. Then add the five points that you would like to make per chapter. Then begin writing. To avoid repetition, you should not exceed five major points per chapter as a beginner. Your notebook will look like the following if you follow this sequence:
Chapter 1: Point 1. Point 2. Point 2. Point 3.
Chapter 2: Point 1. Point 2. Point 2. Point 3.
Point 1. Point 2. Point 2. Point 3.
Point 1 in Chapter 4. Point 2. Point 2. Point 3.
Chapter 5: Point 1. Point 2. Point 2. Point 3.

The Three-Step Formula to Writing Every Chapter and Sub-Heading
This is the most basic tool that we use to generate ideas. It goes by the frightening name of brainstorming. Brainstorming is an easy way to think about ideas, list them and then group them into buckets. This is how it works:

Step 1: Draw an outline of your main idea and place it in the middle of the circle. For example, “How to make coconut rice delicious”

Step 2: List or write everything you know about coconut Rice. Each idea should stick out from the circumference as legs. It could include coconut rice, rice, fish, etc.

Step 3: Get started brainstorming.

A typical brainstorming session should involve between 5 and 7 people. You should follow the brainstorming rules that I assume you already know. You can read the entire article if you don’t already know. Avoid criticizing ideas, and just keep coming up with new ideas, no matter how crazy. We are now focusing on the quantity of ideas, not their quality. The rule of thumb is that more ideas are better. Once you’ve exhausted all your ideas, eliminate any unworkable or impractical ideas. Next, group similar ideas into buckets. You are now ready to start writing your first book with the ideas you have brainstormed.

7 Mistakes You Must Avoid When Trying to Become an Expert Author
Writing books is a creative endeavor so it is easy to doubt yourself as a beginner. The first thing you do is ask yourself: What credentials do I have? People start to laugh at you when you read your book. I advise you to look at the opposite. Consider the applause that you will get. Consider the opportunities you’ll be able to take advantage of. Brendon Burchard is the founder of Expert Industry Association. He has the following advice to offer new writers who are trying to write their first book. Don’t:
1. Your inner critic will take control.
2. Failure to keep your readers interested.
3. You can write and edit simultaneously.
4. Do not forget to track your results.
5. Don’t add too many irrelevant details.
6. Before you publish,
7. When you are confident enough, stop learning.

This is the fastest way to get your book published
Your chances of getting published by one the three top global publishers as an agent are low for a beginner. You can however use Amazon’s huge resources to get your book out to a worldwide audience using any or all of these:
* Amazon Create Space (for books in physical form)
* Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). (For eBooks)
* Amazon ACX (for audiobooks)

Publish on Demand Service Providers Other than Amazon
Depending on your contract, these independent publishers will publish your book at a price as low as $500.
* Author House
* Greenleaf Book Group Press
* Telemachus Press
* Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
* Trafford

Formats Other Than the Physical Book
You must publish your book in a format that is accessible anywhere on the planet to gain sufficient traction. These are the most common formats.
* PDF
* Epub
* Mobi (Kindle)
* Audio Books
* A Book Made into a Movie

Pricing Your Book
The most challenging and difficult aspect of selling books is pricing. Prices for eBooks range from 99 cents to $25 for hardcovers, while paperbacks average at about $10. Amazon eBooks have a default price of $2.99. However, you can sell your book on your website at any price. In fact, as low as 99 cents. You can set the price of your book. However, self-published authors have the ability to control the pricing. As a rule, the less expensive your book is, the more it will sell. My best advice is to keep your book’s price at one digit unless you have a lot of marketing resources and deep pockets.

Platforms for Marketing Your Book
These are the platforms that allow you to sell eBooks or audio books.
* Your website
* Amazon
*
* Lulu
* Indie Books
* Goodreads
* CD Baby
* Sound Cloud
* iTunes

Your Book Marketing Strategies
You may recall that we mentioned John Locke in the Keys to Success section. He recommended, “have a plan, know who you are targeting, take a business approach, use the right tools, and use them correctly.” The three Ps that make your plan come alive are packaging, promotion and positioning. You’ll reap many benefits if you do your job well from the beginning. Your website and blog should serve as the command posts or home bases for your book marketing strategies. Your Facebook Page, Twitter Handle and LinkedIn Page, as well as YouTube, Vimeo, YouTube, and LinkedIn Pages, will be the subsidiary channels. Each channel should drive prospects to your site to purchase your book. They also position you as an authority in your field.

In a blog post titled “How to Write and Publish a Books to Become a Bestseller Author in Less Than 30 Days”, Jeremy Jones stated that “Writing a book can be the most powerful way to market and promote your self.” You can quickly create content, be read and heard anywhere on the Internet, and get promoted by the most powerful brands in the world: Amazon, Google, iTunes. Jeremy suggests:
1. Answer questions via livecast to create your content once only
2. 2. Capture the video, and then promote it via Google Hangouts/YouTube Live.
3. You can take the same content and make a podcast from it.
4. You can take the same content and make it into a book.

Conclusion
Write to make a difference in the world. Today is the best time to tell the world your story. Tomorrow may not be so far away. Although it may seem overwhelming to a beginner, the information I have provided is not. This is why you need to get help. Unfortunately, this article does not cover the details or specific steps required to implement the strategies and ideas that I have mentioned. You can learn more by signing up for my Expert Empire Program, Book Writing Clinic, or booking a coaching session with me. This will help you get started on writing your first book that could become a New York Times bestseller. The first step in writing your book is the most important. Paul Sweeney said that you know you’ve finished a book if you feel like you have lost a friend.