Pricing for eBooks
It's taken me about a year, but I think I've got it figured out. I'm sure other KDP authors will have their own ideas as far as pricing goes, and if you're one of them, I hope you'll let me know in the comments what's been working for you.
Last year, I took my first step into Kindle Direct Publishing with "Fool's Gold," a Coyote Cal weird western previously published by Pulp Empire. It's a short story (6,000 words), so I set the price as low as I could on Amazon (99 cents). Since its release, I've sold over 160 copies and given away a few thousand via free promotions.
I put together a collection of previously published flash fiction, 1 Dozen, and set the price at $1.99. Twelve stories (13,000 words) seemed to warrant a higher price. I did the same with Alienated (18,000 words). So far, I've sold 78 copies of 1 Dozen and 25 of Alienated, and I've given away hundreds via free promotions.
This year, I compiled an omnibus of 5 Coyote Cal weird westerns (28,000 words) and set the price at $2.99. I've sold 4 copies and haven't scheduled any promotions. Once in a while, I'll give away one of the individual tales in the hopes that folks will want to buy the collection. So far, that hasn't worked; but they've bought plenty of the other 99-cent stories.
I modeled my price plan after Musa Publishing's, where short stories are $0.99, novellas are $2.99, and novels are $4.99 or more. With my titles, anything under 10,000 words is $0.99; if it's between 10,000-20,000 words, it's $1.99; and if it's more than 20,000 words, it's $2.99. Again, all 27 of my titles have been published elsewhere, so anything I make off them now is a bonus: 900 sales and counting, not to mention the free downloads that have put my work on Kindles around the world.
But seeing as there is no eBook price plan set in stone, what do you think? Are my prices competitive? What prices have you or your publisher set for your titles?