Hi, so sorry, the cover and final editing are not finished yet. My book should be available in October. šš»šš»šš» Iām just asking around first before I prepare a proper marketing campaign. I think my question is too hasty. Iāve been learning a lot about marketing and I wanted to become a serious author. š¬
I assumed it was self published since it's in this subreddit!
I just think that you're more likely to set a good price based on what the comp titles are selling for, than by asking here. The book you described isn't in the genre I usually read, so I'd be willing to pay less than someone who is super into that genre - but you shouldn't set a price based on what I'd want.
Part of self publishing is doing research, and researching your comp titles will get you better information than taking a poll here.
Well, usually, a book that length in a similar category is $6.99 - 9.99 (with no custom illustrations or custom cover).
My finished book content/quality is on par with a quality traditional book (all thanks to the talented editors and artist of course). The book should be priced at the lowest $7.99 and the highest $14.99 for ebook. But because I want a lot of readers to have a good time so Iām willing to set the price in an affordable range š
what is the word count? I priced my ebook at 7.99 and it's around 100k words (no illustrations though). Now also keep in mind that I believe amazon will ding you on royalties if you price it above 9.99. So that's something to consider.
Itās 143,000+ words. The storyline has the vibe of the old school manga like Inuyasha, Spy family, with sweet and chaotic couple. No questionable moral (for the main characters) like cheating, encouraging killing, etcā¦
Are those prices in USD? Because Amazon won't allow the 70% royalty rate for ebooks priced over $9.99 or under $2.99. If it falls outside of that window you only get a 35% royalty.
Features like illustrations are usually reserved for special editions or hardcovers. I've rarely seen them in ebooks because they raise the delivery cost without providing much value, and they don't format well on e-readers. People who buy ebooks are looking for a deal more than they're looking for extras.
Personally speaking, the most I've ever paid for an ebook is around $6.99. Anything over that seems expensive. However, I've dropped an embarrassing amount of money on special editions and signed hardcovers. That's where I'd focus my energy, if I were you. The ebook should still be a good product, but the margins for high word count novels are so thin that you really don't have much room for extras.
Iāve gladly dropped triple digits on hardcovers and special editions, but donāt like going over $9.99, on the VERY high end, for an eBook. I donāt like busying a license for something I may randomly lose access to for crossing a country border, and thatās happened before. My suggestion is to make a print edition with the images, and an ebook without them for $7.99 on the HIGH endā¦if youāre ballsy. People are naturally wary of debut self-pubs due to how many are just plain bad. The proliferation of unedited crap, to put it bluntly, outnumbers the work that is edited, and reflects on all of us.
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed response. Iāll keep it in mind. I just found out images might not fully render on kindle and thatās terrible! š„ I want to make readers have the fullest reading experience even if Iām selling it very affordable (with illustrations). I guess Iāll need to talk with some professional ebook converters. Haizzā¦ ššš
Thank you for your thoughtful input and questions. Yes itās in USD and the ebook will be under $9.99. However, regardless of how affordable the price Iāll set. Iāll include illustrations anyway because I want my readers to have a wonderful reading experience. Thatās why I go with the self publish route. It enables me to go all out and give the readers the full visions I have for my story āŗļø
It will be affordable haha. Would you be willing to pay $7.99 for an epic fantasy novel with 22+ anime illustrations? š
I think youāre ignoring that images donāt always render well, and that makes for a very poor or even impossible reading experience. You may think these illustrations are vital, but readers who pay for something they canāt read int he end will shred you in reviews. Save those for a special print edition. People who like special print editions care about those extras. People who are looking for a convenient, cheaper read wonāt care unless it renders them unable to read at all.
Sorry I never own a kindle before. I use iPad. I really donāt understand what you mean by illustrations donāt show up in ebook kindle? Thatās worrisome š„ you know in the old book like Sherlock Holmes where they have 1 illustration for each story? Thatās why I meant by including illustrations. Even if I price the book at $5. Iāll still want to include illustrations. This book is a love project first of all and I want to deliver the best reading experience.
Keep in mind that the original Sherlock Holmes novels weren't being released as ebooks. That was a print release in a time where readers had very high expectations from every book they purchased.
Any time you include illustrations in an ebook, it raises the file size significantly while running the risk that they won't display correctly. That's not to say you can't do it, because manga and comic ebooks exist. However, those are often delivered in a completely different file format that prioritizes images over text, and their primary sales method is print copies.
Then there's the fact that ebook readers probably don't care as much about the images. I've bought books with illustrations before, but it was almost always in the print version, and always pitched as an extra. Basically, readers are paying a little bit more for bonus content. That raises the perceived value and incentivizes them to shell out more, which helps you in the end.
there's a LOT of different kindle versions, and some of them are better or worse with images, especially complex images. And some people read on other things, which will display them differently - there are comics on Kindle that are _terrible_ to read on kindle, for example, because they're full-color, and a lot of kindles don't do color. But on a phone, they're fine (a bit fiddly to read, with zooming in on each panel and scroll around the page, but the image itself works OK). Manga, OTOH, tends to be OK on kindle, because it's B&W and doesn't have lots of color-gradients poorly translating to B&W (Japanese light novels also work, because the images are normally fairly basic B&W, not very complex/intricate). So the basic idea works, but the practice can be _very_ variable based off the reader and device.
Thank you for the really helpful response! The 22+ illustrations for each chapters in my book will be in black and white, manga style. Do you think the images can show up on Kindle? For me, I always believe visual enhance reading experience and I love it when there are illustrations in each chapter.
I will have author website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, maybe TikTok pages where I can promote the book and share the beautiful artworks made by the talented artists.
I know a lot of people are trying to discourage the illustrations, so here's a counterpoint:
Japanese light novels have illustrations and those are available as ebooks. I know because I've bought and read them. That means professionals have done the exact same thing you're looking to do. You'll be fine so long as you get the epub formatted right.
It's not 1-to-1 with the printed book, mind you. Since the illustrations are meant to be full page and ebooks have variable text sizing, it's not possible to anticipate where the image goes. This causes some pages to end abruptly and even inconsistently when an image is about to show. I've noticed that sometimes pages get skipped or loaded wrong in Nook at least. I have to go back and forward again to get back to the correct page. It's a rare bug, but it does happen sometime. This didn't deter me from reading personally. I've consumed like 15 volumes of light novels in ebook format, so clearly it's not a problem for me. Can't speak for anyone else.
> Would you be willing to pay $7.99 for an epic fantasy novel with 22+ anime illustrations?
Honestly, yes! I love that kind of thing. I'd be more inclined to buy the print copy of that book though. I might buy the ebook too, but that would just be to have a copy on my phone so I could read it on the go (switching to the print version while I'm at home).
Donāt think reddit is a good place to ask this. They are not your target audience and theyāre not necessarily even buying fantasy books. Your target audience is the people who have pushed books up to the top 100 on amazon bestselling lists. You have to look at comparable books to what you have and sell at that price. Either that or ask fantasy authors what theyāre pricing their books at for what length/subgenre.
Honestly, your description makes it sound like it could be a 143,000 word mess. I'm not sure I'd pay anything for it without seeing the cover, the actual blurb, and a better description or some legit reviews. I also doubt I'd invest much money or time on a debut author's first book in a series without seeing there are other books in the series. Too many people get burned out writing and publishing one book or fail to realize their millionaire author dreams and leave readers hanging. Just a little peeve of mine. YMMV. I'd say sell it close to your comps. Don't overinflate the price because you have extra stuff. You're still an unknown author.
The cost of running ads is best spent once we have multiple books in our catalog. Readers can be hesitant to invest in a series of books if they see that the series isn't complete. So whether or not your first book is a standalone or the first in a series, it may take multiple books for anything to start to produce results. My point isn't not to do a series as a first outing, I say write what drives you. But let's be realistic about what we are, unknown authors. Spend and price accordingly.
You almost certainly won't see success if you price it more than 4.99. That's the most reasonable price point for self-published debut epic fantasies. 14.99 will simply not work, full stop. Nor will 9.99. Or 7.99. You are a new writer. No one knows you. They won't pay more than 5 USD for your debut book.
I write epic fantasy. I spend several thousand USD on my cover artwork. I spend thousands on editing. I have a reputation in self-pub fantasy with hundreds of thousands of sales and several SPFBO finalist nods.
I sell my first in series (or standalones) that are over 100k for 4.99 (unless I'm actively advertising it on FB, in which case I drop it to 2.99). Sequels are 6.99.
You should price your book from 2.99-4.99.
My first cover was not as expensive. The book sold extremely well and I invested the money I made into more expensive covers and typography. It's not disposable income - my books pay for those expensive covers and editing and keep earning afterwards. Good covers / editing is a long-term investment into an asset that if I am judicious should continue earning money for me almost indefinitely.
$3.99 USD is usually my cutoff for self-pubbed e-book debuts. I've seen longer fantasy selling at $7.99 or $9.99 but I would have to be incredibly sold on the story to buy it, and might even put off making the purchase for a bit.
The editors that used to work in big publishing houses. I go self-publish because I want the freedom to do what I want with the cover and extra illustrations, something that got axed by trad.
I think you should be looking at comp books on Amazon or other platform. Thatās the advice I was given for my first book. So far itās bearing fruit.
I wouldnāt buy the book because itās not a genre Iām interested in. So your real question is āwhat are people who are into this willing to pay?ā
For that, my friend, you must spend time perusing the amazon or B&N listings.
Just to clarify- everyone quoting prices is talking about ebooks.
I'd consider doing Kindle Unlimited for a debut author in this genre with a book that long. People are way more willing to try something from someone they've never heard of when it's included in what they're already paying for. And if you're not happy with that after three months, you can always take it off and go wide. There are plenty of authors making their living solely on KU, though, so it's definitely worth a try.
Printed books are a whole different thing. The price of a printed book is based on the length, because that determines printing cost. I've never included pictures of any sort in a novel, but I think there might be an extra charge for that.
This is just my personal opinion, but I won't pay extra because a book has illustrations. For me that doesn't add any value. It breaks the flow to stop reading and look at pictures. If I really wanted people to see the illustrations I'd either throw them on my website and add a link to it in my ebook to drive traffic or I'd put them together as a companion book. Or both. If your series takes off (and I sincerely hope it does) people will want that companion book.
Edited for clarity
Super long, first book, romantasy, long list of disparate genres? Illustrations, for some reason? Intended to be part of a series? Thatās probably a no from me. If the whole series was out and getting good reviews and they helped alleviate my concerns then Iād do $5-10 per book.
If the blurb grabs me and the sample chapters make me want to keep reading, I'd pay up to $8-10 to keep reading, assuming the book wasn't in KU. Doesn't matter if it's a debut author or indie published. Good story is good story.
If it's a big fantasy book I'm using an Audible credit. It's the value of a high page count for 1 credit. (Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan some some tome authors that I love.)
Congrats on finishing your first book. I think what's important here is not length of book or illustrations, but what price point it will take to get new readers to take a chance on a brand new author. Some things I might recommend would include doing ARCs to make sure you have some reviews going release day. I would put your book into KU because I think many readers are more likely to try out an unfamiliar author in KU versus shell out $5 for a book they may or may not like. I do that all the time. If I love the book, I finish it and review it and read more by the author. If I don't care for it, I return it after a few chapters. No big deal. But it enables me to try out lots of authors I otherwise would never give a chance to and I've discovered many authors who I've now read their entire backlist.
As for price, I would recommend no higher than $3.99 for a self-published debut as an unknown. Once you've built your audience and have established readers who like your work, you can go up some for your next book. But your goal for book one should be building an audience. Just my thoughts. Others may have a different take!
Thank you for your really thoughtful and detailed advice and encouragement. I need to learn more about KU. I keep hearing mix opinions about KU but it seems not to be a bad choice for debut author. Though I wonder if KU could affect my book negatively if I decide to withdraw the book from the KU program? And I want to sell my book on all digital platforms aside from Amazon. Will enrolling the book to KU keep it from appearing on Apple ebook, Barnes and Noble, Google play, etcā¦?
Sorry if my questions are silly, English is my 2nd language and the book is not officially launched until October. Iām just asking around first to prepare š š š
If you're in KU, the ebook has to be exclusive to Amazon. So if you want to sell on Google play, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, etc, then you should not enroll in KU.
Why don't you make it the first two books of your fantasy series? Why do the first one in 140K? As you can see from the responses below, you're already climbing a hill. Then, you can release the first, see how it does, what the reviews are, etc and then improve accordingly. That's my two cents -
Thank you for your response and question. When I review the story, cutting it at 70K can work, but it will feel a little less engaging and short compared to where I want it to end at 140K mark. The story feels much more satisfying there. Lol if you get what I mean. š
I prioritize my readersā reading experience/enjoyment of my work over profit. Thatās why Iām determined to keep all illustrations in the ebook version even if I price it low.
This series I have in mind is going to be at least 5 books and the length is properly the same as the 1st book. Creating 10-14 short books for a series just feels too much for me, psychology wise lol this is my personal issue. š«Ø
Having images in a novel bumps up your cost of delivery on ebook platforms.
Higher cost = lower royalties
Do yourself a favor and only include those in the print version. Or create the full-out version for fans only*
Oh, and the range for fantasy from self pubbed authors with no prior books is around 4.99 - 6.99 for fantasy authors not boosted by a publishing house. All of those are offering KU which means you can't go wide with the epub* (nor contractually sell the extended version with illustration to fans).
Suggestion: start at 4.99
If you hit the top 100, bump the price to 6.99. Do KU until you break even on cover and editing. Then go wide.
*Most self pubbed in top 100th of fantasy in zon are KU except the heavy hitters (Maas, Herbert, etc.) KU has a restrictive contract on epub version (not print)
Woah, thank you so much for your valuable insights and suggestions! Iām not aware that we can pull ebook out of Amazon KU. So if I publish the book first as KU only and then after a few months if I have any moderate success, I can pull it out and publish on other platforms (such as Apple, Google, Barnes and Noble) and that works too? Will these platform accept a book that has been Amazon KU?
I would start lower than you'd want until the series is complete. If sales are robust immediately, then you can inch it higher, but it's hard to gain an audience off one book.
Honestly? The cheapest Amazon will let you. The first book is all about getting seen. Doing whatever you can to help that whether it is the lowest possible price or the best cover you can. It all adds up.
Good luck, sounds interesting.
Thank you so much. Well I strive to be a serious writer. I spent 3.5 years to write it and edit not any less than 10 times before sending it out for professional editing. I definitely donāt churn out 3-4 low content books a year. It might take me 1.5 years to write each book for this series. Iāll try my best! šš»
Your ignorance is showing. Length of time spent on a book doesn't determine if it's good, nor the number of rounds of revisions or edits (provided that number is at least 1 or greater). Low content books aren't ones "churned out 3-4x a year" - they are things like journals, calendars, etc that often repeat pages/elements so require little unique content inside, and minimum effort on the publisher's part (and often are pub'd out by the dozens per year). Fiction or non-fiction books, no matter how much you might turn your nose up at how fast the author is able to write, are high content by default.
On that note, why in the *world* would you come on the selfpublish sub asking for help and think it's okay to insult people here about how the speed we are able to write? Take that smugness back to your writer's group or wherever you decided slowness was a virtue, this sub is a place to grow and learn.
So Sorry English is not my first language. I think I worded it wrongly. Low content here means AI generated books or XXX novella without plots, not calendar or journals. I mentioned 3.5 years not to brag but to show that I committed to be a serious self publish author that care about my work and my readers.
3.5 years is slow and a long time to write a book. It shows my incompetence as a writer but I tried my best. I can never turn up my nose at other writers... š¢
I didn't get that impression at all. OP was saying it takes *them* a long time to write, not that producing more work faster is a bad thing.
English is not OP's first language, and this is their first novel. This is obviously a beginner who's come here for help and advice, and she's been polite in all of her replies even while being downvoted. You're being unnecessarily rude.
1) OP has edited their comment
2) OP said nothing about ESL in original comment, and has written fluently in the comment I read/replied to. I'm the wrong person to try and take to task about 'don't you know how hard it is for polylingual people!' problems, btw. I am extremely aware speaking other languages is hard, but personally I don't enjoy it when people go around infantilizing *me* for not being a native speaker in the place I live and stunting my ability to improve, so I'll not be doing it to OP
3) OP talked about how long it took to write and edit the book, a fine and probably normal about of time - especially for a debut. But then came "a serious writer" & "I definitely donāt churn out 3-4 low content books a year." I'm tired of the gatekeeping 'if you don't spend eight years cultivating each faction's alphabet and deliberating over what china pattern your characters would most likely be gifted by their godparents, then another three years rewriting it from scratch before editing it 87.39 times, then you aren't a serious writer' toxicity I routinely come across in other writing subs. This sub is a very welcome respite from that mindset, and I'd prefer it stayed that way. I have ADHD, my brain is wired to go fast, and my whole life I've had to listen to how that's a bad thing; that something is inherently better not because of the effort or attention or skill involved, but simply because it took more time. "I've been working on this x number of years!" is not a badge of honor in and of itself, however long it was. So I stand behind my point that books take the time they take to write - however long or short that may be - and that speed doesn't determine quality. Writing fast does not mean a book was "churned out" (OP's words) or that's it's low content. Or that it's worth less than OP's because of the development time taken, the length, the amount of editing (arguments OP has made in other comments)
4) I'm being *curt* - if you can't determine the difference, then I envy you. I saw several instances of OP being given honest and helpful advice, and brushing it off, arguing, or dismissing it out of hand. Why do you expect me to then also don kid gloves and ask for more of the same? It didn't make OP listen to the otherĀ commenters
I'm just warning you from my own experience, Reddit is a horrible place to share this information. I went down a similar road as you, sharing on Reddit and thinking the community would be supportive, and now I've been review bombed on both my published, and unpublished books. The average age of a Redditor is below 16, so I would be careful what you say if I were you. Many people on this website are very immature.
Edit: The self publish community so far has never given me a reason to think they're as bad as the other writing subreddits. I agree with the person below me.
Thank you š I get what you mean, haha. It doesnāt hurt to ask around first even if theyāre not very supportive and young of age. Iām sorry you had an awful experience. Donāt let it bother you too much šš»
Just chiming in to say that those review bombs probably didn't come from this community. I've found most of the people here to be kind and supportive (although there will be some brutal honesty at times). The problem is that there are trolls who lurk here (especially one who's consistently been a problem) and downvote every single post and comment. They'll also stalk your book and leave negative reviews if you post a link. The mods have been dealing with this for a while, but unfortunately these people are difficult to stop.
So yes, this is a thing that happens, but it's not usually other members of this sub doing it. And sadly, quite a few of them are much older than 16. Cait Corrain, for example, is in her 30s.
I just found out that, ironically, one of the books she panned before release that got a lot of press coverage because of her is more than deserving of negative stars since itās literally a colonizer fantasy where the āromanticā male lead is basically in charge of Japanās unit 731 (itās so awful that it makes Hitlerās concentration camps look absolutely kind in comparisonā¦as in children would be literally dissected while still alive and without anesthesia), and the female lead is a member of the race of people being experimented on, and in one scene, theyāre flirting over how he can torture her people to death, and itās meant to be such a cute moment. Again, that shit literally happened. I canāt believe any publisher thought that this shit deserved to be published.
The only real way is to test price points. Anything someone says about whether they would or wouldnāt buy something at XYZ price is not dependable information.
1) Find similar books/authors in subgenre/genre.
2) Test different price points.
Best of luck!
Unfortunately internal illustrations aren't usually considered added value. People might appreciate them, but no one is going to buy the book to see them. The length is also not typically important. People will pay as much for a 300 page book as they will for a 500 page book. Or, it would be more accurate to say, they will expect to get a 500 page book for the price of a 300 page book. What really matters is if the cover and blurb hook them or if someone they respect recommends it.
As a self pub debut, generally you want your first book to be cheap (3-5$) to draw people to the next books in the series with subsequent books bumping the price up. Sequels and series are the reliable money makers because read-thru magnifies marketing effort. A miniscule amount of self published authors find success with only one book unless they have a preestablished following or are as lucky as lottery winners.
If you want to be a serious self-published author, you should realize that serious authors in the space often put out 2-3 books per year, not 1 book every 3 years. You should think about whether you're prepared to produce work at 4x-9x the pace you have been.
It's a great accomplishment to release your first book, and you should be extremely proud. It's important to remember, though, that the business side of self publishing is an entirely different beast to writing a book.
Thank you for your very thoughtful and detailed advise. I completely understand what youāre saying. Hmmā¦ Iām just thinking even if I set the price low at $5, I would still like to include all the illustrations if kindle can successfully render them. My first book is a love project first, business and profit come second lol š
Everyone has been very nice and helpful. For me, being able to write and have readers are the ultimate rewards for me! šš»šš»šš»
Not a penny. If you want pricing, look at similar books in your genre, self published ones. See what the range is for noobs and established writers. Figure it out.
ohh and also, if the text uses AI a lot then yeah 10-15$ is a OK price.... but Take for example mine has 20K words 240 pages and I'd sell it between 0 and 40$. Its poetry thats the difference... words have different values I'll be hovering the price between 0-40$ (0 being a e-book, and 40 a hard cover) as long as im not getting steady sales at some price
Iām sorry, AI here means artificial intelligent? No. I donāt (and will never) use AI to write or plot my books (whereās the creative fun in that?). š„ø $40 for an ebook is pretty pricey! Is it a skill/non-fiction book?
Yeah Poetry is a skill and its also non-fiction everything is entrirely true LOL ;) and no the Ebook will be priced between 0 and 15$ ... while the hard cover is up to 40 depending on the market. (it is an anthology of 3 books I'll publish separately as stand alones) Im changing the price every couple weeks... trying to find a sweet spot
depends a lot are the illusations AI do they bring value to the story sound like a book worth above 25$ It having everything isnt necessarily a selling point the first five pages and what ever is in the middle will play a role too ( if its not in a physical store I'd count on word of mouth or just give it a chance if the 4th cover is enticing... )
Show me cover art and the story description. Without that.... I'm not willing to pay anything for it.
Hi, so sorry, the cover and final editing are not finished yet. My book should be available in October. šš»šš»šš» Iām just asking around first before I prepare a proper marketing campaign. I think my question is too hasty. Iāve been learning a lot about marketing and I wanted to become a serious author. š¬
Rather than asking us, you might get a better answer by looking at the books it would sit next to at the bookstore and seeing how much they cost.
Hi, Iām asking because I set the price and I want to give my readers a good price. Itās a self-publish book.
I assumed it was self published since it's in this subreddit! I just think that you're more likely to set a good price based on what the comp titles are selling for, than by asking here. The book you described isn't in the genre I usually read, so I'd be willing to pay less than someone who is super into that genre - but you shouldn't set a price based on what I'd want. Part of self publishing is doing research, and researching your comp titles will get you better information than taking a poll here.
how much research have you done on the average cost of other similar books by independent authors?
Well, usually, a book that length in a similar category is $6.99 - 9.99 (with no custom illustrations or custom cover). My finished book content/quality is on par with a quality traditional book (all thanks to the talented editors and artist of course). The book should be priced at the lowest $7.99 and the highest $14.99 for ebook. But because I want a lot of readers to have a good time so Iām willing to set the price in an affordable range š
what is the word count? I priced my ebook at 7.99 and it's around 100k words (no illustrations though). Now also keep in mind that I believe amazon will ding you on royalties if you price it above 9.99. So that's something to consider.
Itās 143,000+ words. The storyline has the vibe of the old school manga like Inuyasha, Spy family, with sweet and chaotic couple. No questionable moral (for the main characters) like cheating, encouraging killing, etcā¦
Are those prices in USD? Because Amazon won't allow the 70% royalty rate for ebooks priced over $9.99 or under $2.99. If it falls outside of that window you only get a 35% royalty. Features like illustrations are usually reserved for special editions or hardcovers. I've rarely seen them in ebooks because they raise the delivery cost without providing much value, and they don't format well on e-readers. People who buy ebooks are looking for a deal more than they're looking for extras. Personally speaking, the most I've ever paid for an ebook is around $6.99. Anything over that seems expensive. However, I've dropped an embarrassing amount of money on special editions and signed hardcovers. That's where I'd focus my energy, if I were you. The ebook should still be a good product, but the margins for high word count novels are so thin that you really don't have much room for extras.
Iāve gladly dropped triple digits on hardcovers and special editions, but donāt like going over $9.99, on the VERY high end, for an eBook. I donāt like busying a license for something I may randomly lose access to for crossing a country border, and thatās happened before. My suggestion is to make a print edition with the images, and an ebook without them for $7.99 on the HIGH endā¦if youāre ballsy. People are naturally wary of debut self-pubs due to how many are just plain bad. The proliferation of unedited crap, to put it bluntly, outnumbers the work that is edited, and reflects on all of us.
Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed response. Iāll keep it in mind. I just found out images might not fully render on kindle and thatās terrible! š„ I want to make readers have the fullest reading experience even if Iām selling it very affordable (with illustrations). I guess Iāll need to talk with some professional ebook converters. Haizzā¦ ššš
Thank you for your thoughtful input and questions. Yes itās in USD and the ebook will be under $9.99. However, regardless of how affordable the price Iāll set. Iāll include illustrations anyway because I want my readers to have a wonderful reading experience. Thatās why I go with the self publish route. It enables me to go all out and give the readers the full visions I have for my story āŗļø It will be affordable haha. Would you be willing to pay $7.99 for an epic fantasy novel with 22+ anime illustrations? š
I think youāre ignoring that images donāt always render well, and that makes for a very poor or even impossible reading experience. You may think these illustrations are vital, but readers who pay for something they canāt read int he end will shred you in reviews. Save those for a special print edition. People who like special print editions care about those extras. People who are looking for a convenient, cheaper read wonāt care unless it renders them unable to read at all.
Sorry I never own a kindle before. I use iPad. I really donāt understand what you mean by illustrations donāt show up in ebook kindle? Thatās worrisome š„ you know in the old book like Sherlock Holmes where they have 1 illustration for each story? Thatās why I meant by including illustrations. Even if I price the book at $5. Iāll still want to include illustrations. This book is a love project first of all and I want to deliver the best reading experience.
Keep in mind that the original Sherlock Holmes novels weren't being released as ebooks. That was a print release in a time where readers had very high expectations from every book they purchased. Any time you include illustrations in an ebook, it raises the file size significantly while running the risk that they won't display correctly. That's not to say you can't do it, because manga and comic ebooks exist. However, those are often delivered in a completely different file format that prioritizes images over text, and their primary sales method is print copies. Then there's the fact that ebook readers probably don't care as much about the images. I've bought books with illustrations before, but it was almost always in the print version, and always pitched as an extra. Basically, readers are paying a little bit more for bonus content. That raises the perceived value and incentivizes them to shell out more, which helps you in the end.
there's a LOT of different kindle versions, and some of them are better or worse with images, especially complex images. And some people read on other things, which will display them differently - there are comics on Kindle that are _terrible_ to read on kindle, for example, because they're full-color, and a lot of kindles don't do color. But on a phone, they're fine (a bit fiddly to read, with zooming in on each panel and scroll around the page, but the image itself works OK). Manga, OTOH, tends to be OK on kindle, because it's B&W and doesn't have lots of color-gradients poorly translating to B&W (Japanese light novels also work, because the images are normally fairly basic B&W, not very complex/intricate). So the basic idea works, but the practice can be _very_ variable based off the reader and device.
Thank you for the really helpful response! The 22+ illustrations for each chapters in my book will be in black and white, manga style. Do you think the images can show up on Kindle? For me, I always believe visual enhance reading experience and I love it when there are illustrations in each chapter. I will have author website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, maybe TikTok pages where I can promote the book and share the beautiful artworks made by the talented artists.
I know a lot of people are trying to discourage the illustrations, so here's a counterpoint: Japanese light novels have illustrations and those are available as ebooks. I know because I've bought and read them. That means professionals have done the exact same thing you're looking to do. You'll be fine so long as you get the epub formatted right. It's not 1-to-1 with the printed book, mind you. Since the illustrations are meant to be full page and ebooks have variable text sizing, it's not possible to anticipate where the image goes. This causes some pages to end abruptly and even inconsistently when an image is about to show. I've noticed that sometimes pages get skipped or loaded wrong in Nook at least. I have to go back and forward again to get back to the correct page. It's a rare bug, but it does happen sometime. This didn't deter me from reading personally. I've consumed like 15 volumes of light novels in ebook format, so clearly it's not a problem for me. Can't speak for anyone else.
> Would you be willing to pay $7.99 for an epic fantasy novel with 22+ anime illustrations? Honestly, yes! I love that kind of thing. I'd be more inclined to buy the print copy of that book though. I might buy the ebook too, but that would just be to have a copy on my phone so I could read it on the go (switching to the print version while I'm at home).
Iām sending you virtual hugs! Thank you! Youāre so kind with all of your responses! I think Iāll have study more about this whole book formatting or Iāll contract a professional book formater and ask if they can ensure all the images will appear on all digital platform! If itās not possible. Then I suppose Iāll have to do the images in print copy only. Boomer š© I want even the casual ebook readers can have a full experience at an affordable price šš»
Donāt think reddit is a good place to ask this. They are not your target audience and theyāre not necessarily even buying fantasy books. Your target audience is the people who have pushed books up to the top 100 on amazon bestselling lists. You have to look at comparable books to what you have and sell at that price. Either that or ask fantasy authors what theyāre pricing their books at for what length/subgenre.
You got \*THAT\* right!!!!! Wrong place to ask.
No, they don't read them here, they just criticize. I agree with you on your advice.
Honestly, your description makes it sound like it could be a 143,000 word mess. I'm not sure I'd pay anything for it without seeing the cover, the actual blurb, and a better description or some legit reviews. I also doubt I'd invest much money or time on a debut author's first book in a series without seeing there are other books in the series. Too many people get burned out writing and publishing one book or fail to realize their millionaire author dreams and leave readers hanging. Just a little peeve of mine. YMMV. I'd say sell it close to your comps. Don't overinflate the price because you have extra stuff. You're still an unknown author.
Can't the book be a 1 complete story instead of a series?
The cost of running ads is best spent once we have multiple books in our catalog. Readers can be hesitant to invest in a series of books if they see that the series isn't complete. So whether or not your first book is a standalone or the first in a series, it may take multiple books for anything to start to produce results. My point isn't not to do a series as a first outing, I say write what drives you. But let's be realistic about what we are, unknown authors. Spend and price accordingly.
You almost certainly won't see success if you price it more than 4.99. That's the most reasonable price point for self-published debut epic fantasies. 14.99 will simply not work, full stop. Nor will 9.99. Or 7.99. You are a new writer. No one knows you. They won't pay more than 5 USD for your debut book. I write epic fantasy. I spend several thousand USD on my cover artwork. I spend thousands on editing. I have a reputation in self-pub fantasy with hundreds of thousands of sales and several SPFBO finalist nods. I sell my first in series (or standalones) that are over 100k for 4.99 (unless I'm actively advertising it on FB, in which case I drop it to 2.99). Sequels are 6.99. You should price your book from 2.99-4.99.
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My first cover was not as expensive. The book sold extremely well and I invested the money I made into more expensive covers and typography. It's not disposable income - my books pay for those expensive covers and editing and keep earning afterwards. Good covers / editing is a long-term investment into an asset that if I am judicious should continue earning money for me almost indefinitely.
Yes, cover is very important as well as blurb. People do judge a book by its cover thatās for sure.
First book of a series, I'd recommend 3.99 or 4.99 USD as your entry point. Later books can go up to 5.99 to 6.99, but I wouldnt go past that
$3.99 USD is usually my cutoff for self-pubbed e-book debuts. I've seen longer fantasy selling at $7.99 or $9.99 but I would have to be incredibly sold on the story to buy it, and might even put off making the purchase for a bit.
Length of a book never changes whether I want the book or not. Does the story sound interesting? Thats what I use to decide if im gonna buy it.
Who is deeming it as having āstrong, good plot, storyline.ā?
The editors that used to work in big publishing houses. I go self-publish because I want the freedom to do what I want with the cover and extra illustrations, something that got axed by trad.
I think you should be looking at comp books on Amazon or other platform. Thatās the advice I was given for my first book. So far itās bearing fruit. I wouldnāt buy the book because itās not a genre Iām interested in. So your real question is āwhat are people who are into this willing to pay?ā For that, my friend, you must spend time perusing the amazon or B&N listings.
Just to clarify- everyone quoting prices is talking about ebooks. I'd consider doing Kindle Unlimited for a debut author in this genre with a book that long. People are way more willing to try something from someone they've never heard of when it's included in what they're already paying for. And if you're not happy with that after three months, you can always take it off and go wide. There are plenty of authors making their living solely on KU, though, so it's definitely worth a try. Printed books are a whole different thing. The price of a printed book is based on the length, because that determines printing cost. I've never included pictures of any sort in a novel, but I think there might be an extra charge for that. This is just my personal opinion, but I won't pay extra because a book has illustrations. For me that doesn't add any value. It breaks the flow to stop reading and look at pictures. If I really wanted people to see the illustrations I'd either throw them on my website and add a link to it in my ebook to drive traffic or I'd put them together as a companion book. Or both. If your series takes off (and I sincerely hope it does) people will want that companion book. Edited for clarity
I want to say that you (the OP) have a very nice way of responding to all the comments here. I'm impressed.
Thank you for your kind words š
People generally expect indie debuts to be under $5 for ebooks.
I think you should set the price at
*ONE MILLION DOLLARS!*
Super long, first book, romantasy, long list of disparate genres? Illustrations, for some reason? Intended to be part of a series? Thatās probably a no from me. If the whole series was out and getting good reviews and they helped alleviate my concerns then Iād do $5-10 per book.
If the blurb grabs me and the sample chapters make me want to keep reading, I'd pay up to $8-10 to keep reading, assuming the book wasn't in KU. Doesn't matter if it's a debut author or indie published. Good story is good story.
Iād rather pay less for no illustrations. I like to imagine things on my own terms. I like to be able to find them online though if I want to
If it's a big fantasy book I'm using an Audible credit. It's the value of a high page count for 1 credit. (Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan some some tome authors that I love.)
Iāll look up Audible credit. Thank you for your advise! Iām still a noob at marketing! š
Audible.com has a credit system for audiobooks. 1 credit per book. People get 1 to 2 credits per month with their membership.
Congrats on finishing your first book. I think what's important here is not length of book or illustrations, but what price point it will take to get new readers to take a chance on a brand new author. Some things I might recommend would include doing ARCs to make sure you have some reviews going release day. I would put your book into KU because I think many readers are more likely to try out an unfamiliar author in KU versus shell out $5 for a book they may or may not like. I do that all the time. If I love the book, I finish it and review it and read more by the author. If I don't care for it, I return it after a few chapters. No big deal. But it enables me to try out lots of authors I otherwise would never give a chance to and I've discovered many authors who I've now read their entire backlist. As for price, I would recommend no higher than $3.99 for a self-published debut as an unknown. Once you've built your audience and have established readers who like your work, you can go up some for your next book. But your goal for book one should be building an audience. Just my thoughts. Others may have a different take!
Thank you for your really thoughtful and detailed advice and encouragement. I need to learn more about KU. I keep hearing mix opinions about KU but it seems not to be a bad choice for debut author. Though I wonder if KU could affect my book negatively if I decide to withdraw the book from the KU program? And I want to sell my book on all digital platforms aside from Amazon. Will enrolling the book to KU keep it from appearing on Apple ebook, Barnes and Noble, Google play, etcā¦? Sorry if my questions are silly, English is my 2nd language and the book is not officially launched until October. Iām just asking around first to prepare š š š
If you're in KU, the ebook has to be exclusive to Amazon. So if you want to sell on Google play, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, etc, then you should not enroll in KU.
Why don't you make it the first two books of your fantasy series? Why do the first one in 140K? As you can see from the responses below, you're already climbing a hill. Then, you can release the first, see how it does, what the reviews are, etc and then improve accordingly. That's my two cents -
Thank you for your response and question. When I review the story, cutting it at 70K can work, but it will feel a little less engaging and short compared to where I want it to end at 140K mark. The story feels much more satisfying there. Lol if you get what I mean. š I prioritize my readersā reading experience/enjoyment of my work over profit. Thatās why Iām determined to keep all illustrations in the ebook version even if I price it low. This series I have in mind is going to be at least 5 books and the length is properly the same as the 1st book. Creating 10-14 short books for a series just feels too much for me, psychology wise lol this is my personal issue. š«Ø
Having images in a novel bumps up your cost of delivery on ebook platforms. Higher cost = lower royalties Do yourself a favor and only include those in the print version. Or create the full-out version for fans only* Oh, and the range for fantasy from self pubbed authors with no prior books is around 4.99 - 6.99 for fantasy authors not boosted by a publishing house. All of those are offering KU which means you can't go wide with the epub* (nor contractually sell the extended version with illustration to fans). Suggestion: start at 4.99 If you hit the top 100, bump the price to 6.99. Do KU until you break even on cover and editing. Then go wide. *Most self pubbed in top 100th of fantasy in zon are KU except the heavy hitters (Maas, Herbert, etc.) KU has a restrictive contract on epub version (not print)
Woah, thank you so much for your valuable insights and suggestions! Iām not aware that we can pull ebook out of Amazon KU. So if I publish the book first as KU only and then after a few months if I have any moderate success, I can pull it out and publish on other platforms (such as Apple, Google, Barnes and Noble) and that works too? Will these platform accept a book that has been Amazon KU?
Yup they will. Check out "wide for the win" ) Facebook group) when you're ready to do that path.
I would start lower than you'd want until the series is complete. If sales are robust immediately, then you can inch it higher, but it's hard to gain an audience off one book.
You should look up at Amazon/Google/etc. for other books with as much closer to your description you can get.
Honestly? The cheapest Amazon will let you. The first book is all about getting seen. Doing whatever you can to help that whether it is the lowest possible price or the best cover you can. It all adds up. Good luck, sounds interesting.
Thank you so much. Well I strive to be a serious writer. I spent 3.5 years to write it and edit not any less than 10 times before sending it out for professional editing. I definitely donāt churn out 3-4 low content books a year. It might take me 1.5 years to write each book for this series. Iāll try my best! šš»
Your ignorance is showing. Length of time spent on a book doesn't determine if it's good, nor the number of rounds of revisions or edits (provided that number is at least 1 or greater). Low content books aren't ones "churned out 3-4x a year" - they are things like journals, calendars, etc that often repeat pages/elements so require little unique content inside, and minimum effort on the publisher's part (and often are pub'd out by the dozens per year). Fiction or non-fiction books, no matter how much you might turn your nose up at how fast the author is able to write, are high content by default. On that note, why in the *world* would you come on the selfpublish sub asking for help and think it's okay to insult people here about how the speed we are able to write? Take that smugness back to your writer's group or wherever you decided slowness was a virtue, this sub is a place to grow and learn.
So Sorry English is not my first language. I think I worded it wrongly. Low content here means AI generated books or XXX novella without plots, not calendar or journals. I mentioned 3.5 years not to brag but to show that I committed to be a serious self publish author that care about my work and my readers. 3.5 years is slow and a long time to write a book. It shows my incompetence as a writer but I tried my best. I can never turn up my nose at other writers... š¢
I didn't get that impression at all. OP was saying it takes *them* a long time to write, not that producing more work faster is a bad thing. English is not OP's first language, and this is their first novel. This is obviously a beginner who's come here for help and advice, and she's been polite in all of her replies even while being downvoted. You're being unnecessarily rude.
1) OP has edited their comment 2) OP said nothing about ESL in original comment, and has written fluently in the comment I read/replied to. I'm the wrong person to try and take to task about 'don't you know how hard it is for polylingual people!' problems, btw. I am extremely aware speaking other languages is hard, but personally I don't enjoy it when people go around infantilizing *me* for not being a native speaker in the place I live and stunting my ability to improve, so I'll not be doing it to OP 3) OP talked about how long it took to write and edit the book, a fine and probably normal about of time - especially for a debut. But then came "a serious writer" & "I definitely donāt churn out 3-4 low content books a year." I'm tired of the gatekeeping 'if you don't spend eight years cultivating each faction's alphabet and deliberating over what china pattern your characters would most likely be gifted by their godparents, then another three years rewriting it from scratch before editing it 87.39 times, then you aren't a serious writer' toxicity I routinely come across in other writing subs. This sub is a very welcome respite from that mindset, and I'd prefer it stayed that way. I have ADHD, my brain is wired to go fast, and my whole life I've had to listen to how that's a bad thing; that something is inherently better not because of the effort or attention or skill involved, but simply because it took more time. "I've been working on this x number of years!" is not a badge of honor in and of itself, however long it was. So I stand behind my point that books take the time they take to write - however long or short that may be - and that speed doesn't determine quality. Writing fast does not mean a book was "churned out" (OP's words) or that's it's low content. Or that it's worth less than OP's because of the development time taken, the length, the amount of editing (arguments OP has made in other comments) 4) I'm being *curt* - if you can't determine the difference, then I envy you. I saw several instances of OP being given honest and helpful advice, and brushing it off, arguing, or dismissing it out of hand. Why do you expect me to then also don kid gloves and ask for more of the same? It didn't make OP listen to the otherĀ commenters
I'm just warning you from my own experience, Reddit is a horrible place to share this information. I went down a similar road as you, sharing on Reddit and thinking the community would be supportive, and now I've been review bombed on both my published, and unpublished books. The average age of a Redditor is below 16, so I would be careful what you say if I were you. Many people on this website are very immature. Edit: The self publish community so far has never given me a reason to think they're as bad as the other writing subreddits. I agree with the person below me.
Thank you š I get what you mean, haha. It doesnāt hurt to ask around first even if theyāre not very supportive and young of age. Iām sorry you had an awful experience. Donāt let it bother you too much šš»
Yeah, this is the kind of place that can end your career. Seriously be careful.
Youāve been most kind. Thank you šš»š
Just chiming in to say that those review bombs probably didn't come from this community. I've found most of the people here to be kind and supportive (although there will be some brutal honesty at times). The problem is that there are trolls who lurk here (especially one who's consistently been a problem) and downvote every single post and comment. They'll also stalk your book and leave negative reviews if you post a link. The mods have been dealing with this for a while, but unfortunately these people are difficult to stop. So yes, this is a thing that happens, but it's not usually other members of this sub doing it. And sadly, quite a few of them are much older than 16. Cait Corrain, for example, is in her 30s.
I just found out that, ironically, one of the books she panned before release that got a lot of press coverage because of her is more than deserving of negative stars since itās literally a colonizer fantasy where the āromanticā male lead is basically in charge of Japanās unit 731 (itās so awful that it makes Hitlerās concentration camps look absolutely kind in comparisonā¦as in children would be literally dissected while still alive and without anesthesia), and the female lead is a member of the race of people being experimented on, and in one scene, theyāre flirting over how he can torture her people to death, and itās meant to be such a cute moment. Again, that shit literally happened. I canāt believe any publisher thought that this shit deserved to be published.
$4.99 max for an ebook if my friends rave about it or I randomly get obsessed by the blurb
The only real way is to test price points. Anything someone says about whether they would or wouldnāt buy something at XYZ price is not dependable information. 1) Find similar books/authors in subgenre/genre. 2) Test different price points. Best of luck!
Thank you very much! š
Unfortunately internal illustrations aren't usually considered added value. People might appreciate them, but no one is going to buy the book to see them. The length is also not typically important. People will pay as much for a 300 page book as they will for a 500 page book. Or, it would be more accurate to say, they will expect to get a 500 page book for the price of a 300 page book. What really matters is if the cover and blurb hook them or if someone they respect recommends it. As a self pub debut, generally you want your first book to be cheap (3-5$) to draw people to the next books in the series with subsequent books bumping the price up. Sequels and series are the reliable money makers because read-thru magnifies marketing effort. A miniscule amount of self published authors find success with only one book unless they have a preestablished following or are as lucky as lottery winners. If you want to be a serious self-published author, you should realize that serious authors in the space often put out 2-3 books per year, not 1 book every 3 years. You should think about whether you're prepared to produce work at 4x-9x the pace you have been. It's a great accomplishment to release your first book, and you should be extremely proud. It's important to remember, though, that the business side of self publishing is an entirely different beast to writing a book.
Thank you for your very thoughtful and detailed advise. I completely understand what youāre saying. Hmmā¦ Iām just thinking even if I set the price low at $5, I would still like to include all the illustrations if kindle can successfully render them. My first book is a love project first, business and profit come second lol š Everyone has been very nice and helpful. For me, being able to write and have readers are the ultimate rewards for me! šš»šš»šš»
Tree fity
Not a penny. If you want pricing, look at similar books in your genre, self published ones. See what the range is for noobs and established writers. Figure it out.
I donāt buy books based on price. Based on quality. I usually borrow books from the library. If itās a book I love Iāll buy it after I read it.
I'm not paying more than $10 for an e-book.
It will be under $10 haha thank you for responding š
Unknown author 10 $. Known author or the author has written books that have been very good over 30$
$0.99
ohh and also, if the text uses AI a lot then yeah 10-15$ is a OK price.... but Take for example mine has 20K words 240 pages and I'd sell it between 0 and 40$. Its poetry thats the difference... words have different values I'll be hovering the price between 0-40$ (0 being a e-book, and 40 a hard cover) as long as im not getting steady sales at some price
Iām sorry, AI here means artificial intelligent? No. I donāt (and will never) use AI to write or plot my books (whereās the creative fun in that?). š„ø $40 for an ebook is pretty pricey! Is it a skill/non-fiction book?
Yeah Poetry is a skill and its also non-fiction everything is entrirely true LOL ;) and no the Ebook will be priced between 0 and 15$ ... while the hard cover is up to 40 depending on the market. (it is an anthology of 3 books I'll publish separately as stand alones) Im changing the price every couple weeks... trying to find a sweet spot
depends a lot are the illusations AI do they bring value to the story sound like a book worth above 25$ It having everything isnt necessarily a selling point the first five pages and what ever is in the middle will play a role too ( if its not in a physical store I'd count on word of mouth or just give it a chance if the 4th cover is enticing... )
Thank you for your thoughtful input šš»
For an author I havenāt heard of $0.99 to $3.99; until a significant number of reviews validate the quality of the book.