Digital author lowers book price, reaps success

Sudbury, Massachusetts – It was summer 2010 and Bo Bennett had decided to publish an eBook version of a book he’d published in print form in 2004. Creating the eBook edition was a challenge, but Bennett, a self-taught programmer, worked through the complications and brought out the eBook version of Year to Success in October 2010.

Priced at $9.99, Bennett’s book sold an average of one copy per week for about a year, reaping an estimated profit of $25 a month. Some authors might have been satisfied: passive income of $300 a year is nice. But Bennett wondered what more could be done to sell the book.

He didn’t think the content needed changing. He had strong reviews, including one from Donald Trump, a website,a blog, a PR kit, and downloadable samples. What he ended up doing seemed counterintuitive. The change Bennett made just before December of last year, was to lower the book’s price. And not just a little: he started charging $2.99– less that a third of the original price.

Setting the price of an eBook is a challenging task. Writers have often poured their hearts and their time into their work, and they treasure it. So, naturally, they think the price should reflect their concept of its value. Bennett says this is not the right question.

“If you ask me what my book is worth, I’ll tell you it’s worth a fortune. A more practical question asks how much buyers will realistically pay for a particular book,” Bennett said.

So what happened when Bennett dropped the price from $9.99 to $2.99? Did the book sell enough copies to increase his earnings? The answer is a resounding “yes!” With the new price of $2.99, sales increased to about 20 copies per week, resulting in earnings of $175 a month, projected to reach $2,100 a year.

An additional factor that Bennett suggests eBook authors consider is the commissions paid by retailers such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. These companies pay higher royalties on books that are priced between $2.99 and $9.99, so putting a higher price on a book could earn an author less money, even if he or she sold exactly the same number of copies.

Bennett issues this caveat, however: “I am not suggesting that the $2.99 price-point will work for everyone. It worked for me. I am suggesting that experimenting with different price points will help you find the best price point.”

In a related development, the Digital Book World announced earlier this month that 85 ebooks have been approved as QED-worthy, including the title Where the Heart Listens by Eve Sullivan, an editorial assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and founder of Parents Forum.

The QED, which stands for Quality, Excellence, Design, is a quality assurance program that was conducted on all ebooks entered into the Publishing Innovation Awards (PIAs), an awards program honoring the most innovative ebooks, enhanced ebooks, and book apps in several categories.

Ebooks submitted for consideration of the QED seal underwent a 13-point design review with an eye toward readability across multiple devices and in multiple formats. The QED was judged on criteria established on the recommendation of the Publishing Innovation Awards advisory council, who are respected leaders in the digital production and design space. (To view a list of the titles that have received the QED seal so far and the methodology for their review visit: http://bit.ly/qedseal).

“We consider the QED the ‘Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval™’ for ebooks — a mark of quality that publishers, authors, and content creators can proudly bear to assure readers can buy with confidence,” said David Blansfield, president, F+W Media, parent company to Digital Book World. “Ebook sales are growing dramatically and readers need to know what they’re buying will render well regardless of device — tablet, e-reader, smartphone or PC — before they buy.”

“Over a month after we completed the conversion, Ms. Sullivan mentioned she wished to submit her book to the Publishing Innovation Awards,” said Bennett. “The ebook was submitted exactly as we originally converted it, without a single additional change. While we’ve always stood behind the quality of our conversions, it’s affirming to know that an example of our ‘standard ebook conversion’ is recognized as meeting the criteria for excellence established by an esteemed panel.”

QED recipients will be celebrated in New York on Monday, January 23, during the opening ceremonies for Digital Book World, during which the winners of the second annual Publishing Innovation Awards will be publicly announced.

“I am delighted to have this recognition for Where the Heart Listens,” said Sullivan, who will be attending the ceremonies in New York. “As the daughter of an advertising man from the Mad Men era, I know how good design can promote effective communication. I am very grateful for this award, as it will bring Parents Forum’s mission — to foster honest, respectful and caring communications in families — to wider attention.”

“We are glad Ms. Sullivan decided to submit her ebook for consideration,” said Bennett, “And even more thrilled to congratulate her on receiving the QED seal for her ebook.”