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Pricing

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LoveHistory
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Pricing

Post by LoveHistory » Wed February 18th, 2009, 1:25 am

As a reader, are you ever prejudiced against lower-priced books by unknown authors?

I've heard occasionally (in the music business) that if you don't set your price at the same level as what others charge, people will think something is wrong with your work. Or they will think that you think there is something wrong with your work. And if you don't think it's good, why should they waste time with it? etc...

The pragmatist in me (yes, there is one, she comes up for air once in a while) thinks that is just nuts: cheap can be good.

What's your opinion?

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Post by boswellbaxter » Wed February 18th, 2009, 1:32 am

Not me! I'm always glad to find a cheap book.
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Post by Margaret » Wed February 18th, 2009, 4:49 am

No. I'd be a lot more prejudiced against high-priced fiction by an unknown author! I actually don't buy a lot of fiction by authors I don't know, unless I'm browsing in a bookstore and the book as a whole - cover art, jacket description and a few pages of the book itself - appeal to me. If that's the case, I'm more likely to buy it at a lower price than at a higher price.
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Post by chuck » Wed February 18th, 2009, 6:14 am

I'm trying not to buy new books..... no more shelf space ....I use the library and most of the time I can buy the "new" book used in a couple of months....Exception to the rule if the price is right and I too must be interested the author,subject or era......

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Post by Misfit » Wed February 18th, 2009, 1:21 pm

[quote=""chuck""]I'm trying not to buy new books..... no more shelf space ....I use the library and most of the time I can buy the "new" book used in a couple of months....Exception to the rule if the price is right and I too must be interested the author,subject or era......[/quote]

I'm with Chuck, but not just shelf space, but hard earned cash. I do tend to tread more carefully for a high priced book that never ever drops in price - usually a sign of self-published or POD. I'm not trying to set off another debate but having recently been burned by one of them I'm treating them very carefully.

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LoveHistory
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Post by LoveHistory » Wed February 18th, 2009, 3:02 pm

That makes perfect sense to me, Misfit. One way to avoid getting burned on POD and self-published is to not buy any that don't have a preview or "look inside this book" feature. Won't solve all burnings but it could eliminate a lot of them.

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Post by Misfit » Wed February 18th, 2009, 3:10 pm

[quote=""LoveHistory""]That makes perfect sense to me, Misfit. One way to avoid getting burned on POD and self-published is to not buy any that don't have a preview or "look inside this book" feature. Won't solve all burnings but it could eliminate a lot of them.[/quote]

I do so wish I had done that with the last POD. I noticed afterwards that it was available and I looked through it and most definitely some of the excerpts would have sent me running for the hills.

Although I do have to admit buying a couple of self-pubbed books without knowing they were such and thoroughly enjoyed them.

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Post by LoveHistory » Wed February 18th, 2009, 3:18 pm

Yeah, the problem is for every good self-pub there seem to be at least 20 bad ones.

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Margaret
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Post by Margaret » Wed February 18th, 2009, 11:59 pm

Of the self-published novels sent to me for review, I've found the first two or three pages will almost always tell me if it's worth continuing to read. Sometimes novels are self-published because publishers don't think the subject matter will appeal to readers - for example, if the novel is about a relatively obscure historical personality. Other times, they are self-published because they're just not very readable. Most of the time, the difference becomes obvious pretty quickly.
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Post by michellemoran » Fri February 20th, 2009, 3:38 am

Of the self-published novels sent to me for review, I've found the first two or three pages will almost always tell me if it's worth continuing to read.
I'm pretty sure this is how agents and editors feel, Margaret.

I have to admit to price prejudice. But only if this book is expensive, not cheap.
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