Value Pricing – One for Self-Pubbers

This post, by Aimee Salter, originally appeared on her Seeking The Write Life site on 6/28/11.

I took a bunch of flack for my previous posts on self-publishing in which I criticized the business model.  I think most self publishing authors thought I was hiding a derision for the industry behind a business-minded opinion piece.
They were wrong.

Self publishing has been on my radar for years and I think it can be done, when it’s done well.  But I also think it’s (currently) difficult and costly to do well.  Also, rife with potential hiccups that could have far-reaching consequences for an author’s career.

But just to prove that I have actually seriously considered the issue, and to maybe help out anyone with the gonads to give it a shot , I’ll tell you one of the things I would do, if I were going to do it.

Assuming you can overcome the obstacles I see in the process to self-publication, there’s a very, very big business decision to be made:

$$  Price  $$

I see a lot of hubbub out there right now about the $1 e-book.  I can see why authors would do it, and I can see why readers would buy it.  It’s really a no-risk purchase for a reader – which in turn equates to more sales for the writer. 

Win-win?

Hmmm… I’m thinking that depends on what you want out of your writing career.

Quick Marketing Lesson

I’m not going to get into the intricacies here, but I want to put a concept in front of you:

When a reader pays a price for a product, their perception is that the product is worth that much.  That means:

1.  If they want something and it costs too much, their perception is that they’re being screwed over and they will look for other ways to find the product cheaper or a cheaper alternative. 

2. If they need something and it’s cheaper than expected, their perception is that they got a bargain.

Agreed?

But here’s the problem:

 

Read the rest of the post on Aimee Salter‘s Seeking The Write Life.