Does Size Matter?

I read stories of all different lengths. I also write stories of all different lengths. When it comes time to buy an e-book I see prices all over the place. Children’s books from $.99 to $15.00 and none of them are very long (thought of course one must keep in mind the cost of ilustrations). Your whopper of an epic fantasy is likewise priced all over the place. Some authors (myself included) put out short stories and novelettes for a buck or two. Does the length of a book affect the amount of money you are willing to spend? Do you buy shorter works? Sound off in the comments!

6 thoughts on “Does Size Matter?”

  1. The length of a book does influence my buying it for a higher price. Though I will admit that I am pressed to pay more than $4.99 for an ebook. I know that it does not translate directly into sales but if I love a book, no matter it is free or $4.99 I will promote the heck out of it. I hope that does help.

  2. Yes, I must admit that size matters. The Amazon “singles” are very short and I’m happy to pay up to $1.99 for those. If it’s a full-length novel I will pay more. If it’s a book I really want (by a favorite author), I’ll spend up to $10 – $12. For a book by someone I haven’t read before, I agree that $4.99 is a good price point.

    1. Thanks Beth! I’ve always kind of looked at it like this. A short story is a song, a novelette is an EP, a novel is an LP. I’d pay about the equivalent for each one of those.

  3. I feel that for anything that is below 10,000 words, 99 cents is max. 10K to 25K maybe $1.99. I’m just basing that on how I like to price my own ebooks. I’m with the previous commentor, in that I would not want to pay more than 5 dollars for an ebook. For that kind of money and up, I kind of expect a physical book in my hands.

    Of course, illustrated ebooks would be a different animal. But, I’ve never bought one of those.

    If you really have something exceptional, I’d say all bets are off. But how do you know? And how do you convince the consumer of it too?

    1. I think those are fair price points. I would pay up to $8-$10 for the right e-book, particularly reference books.

      That last part is the real sticking point.

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