Sunday, September 7, 2014

To Serialize or Not To Serialize, That is THEE Question

In writing circles, there is a question and debate about whether it is worth it to serialize a story? The pro's and con's are debated and what might surprise readers is just how much heat a writer/author might have to take from the public. Readers either love or hate serials.

For those who like reading and/or writing serials is this...

First, I need to share some math. This math, at first, will seem a bit confusing. But bear with me...

You see, for those of us who are self-published through various outlets (primarily AMZN), there is a % that the distributor (online retailer) gets on every sale of our products (our books/stories).

For the sake of brevity, we'll just deal w/ the AMZN KDP model. There are two options to choose from currently. I can publish a story priced in the range of $0.99 all the way up to $200 at a percentage of 35%.

OR

I can publish a story priced in the range of $2.99 - $9.99 at a percentage of 70%.

See what happens there?

For anything I price under $2.99, I'm only going to earn 35% of the price. To really spell that out for you, take a look at this. Again, math (I apologize! But necessary for the sake of this blog...)

EARNINGS VIA KDP (In $)
·         0.99 = .346 (35%)
·         1.49 = .521 (35%)
·         1.99 = .696 (35%)
·         2.49 = .871 (35%)

·         2.99 = 2.09 (70%)

I, for one, have no problem deeply discounting my stories as I work full-time in another profession and writing is a part-time hobby/job. But for those who are writing full-time to earn a living, you can quickly see the quandry.

Unless a story is priced at $2.99 or higher, we're making peanuts for our pages and wordcount. I'm sympathetic to the reader who complains that they don't want to pay more than $3-$5 for an eBook. The logic is pretty sound. I base a lot of how I do business based on my own buying and purchase behavior. Very few authors get my purchase on an eBook that sells for more than $5, no matter the page-count. I just can't justify it, there is far too big a market with so many more options. 

Of late, the success of serializing stories has taken a quick uptick in certain genres. Especially erotic fiction  and erotic romance.

One self-pubbed author (who shall remain unnamed) is doing exceptionally well with their serials. This is their current pricing for two series:

0 + .99 + 2.99 + 2.99 = $6.97 (reader cost)
                0 + 0.35 + 2.09 + 2.09 = $4.53 (author earnings)
.99 + .99 + 2.99 + 2.99 = $7.96 (reader cost)
                0.35 + 0.35 + 2.09 + 2.09 = $4.88 (author earnings)

So, I'm asking you... Dear Readers. What do you think? I already know that there are those who just don't like serialized reads. That's fine. To each their own. But for those who, like myself, like serialized reading, what do you think about this?

Would you rather have the first one be FREE and then pay more for the subsequent parts? Many authors will increase page/wordcount for the 2nd, 3rd and final part so that the pricing is fair. 

OR

Would you prefer that the cost is more spread out with a gradual increase? Take a look at these examples and tell me what you think. Three things to think about:

  1. First, this is for a 4-part story with a total word-count of around 40,000 wordcount (approximately 150 eReader pages). 
  2. Second, what is the most you feel comfortable paying for that? 
  3. Third, what total $ amount do you believe is fair for the author to earn? 

0 + .99 + .99 + 2.99 = $4.97 (Reader/Customer Price)
0 + 0.35 + 0.35 + 2.09 = $2.79 (Author’s Earnings)

0 + .99 + 1.49 + 2.99 = $5.47
            0 + 0.35 + 0.52 + 2.09 = $2.96

0 + .99 + 1.99 + 2.99 = $5.97
0 + 0.35 + 0.70 + 2.09 = $3.14

.99 + .99 + 1.49 + 2.99 = $6.46
0.35 + 0.35 + 0.52 + 2.09 = $3.31

.99 + .99 + 1.99 + 2.99 = $6.96
                0.35 + 0.35 + 0.70 + 2.09 = $3.49

.99 + 1.99 + 1.99 + 2.99 = $7.96
                0.35 + 0.70 + 0.70 + 2.09 = $3.84

.99 + 1.99 + 2.49 + 2.99 = $8.46
                0.35 + 0.70 + 0.87 + 2.09 = $4.01

Feel free to comment or email me (rubymaddenerotica@gmail.com). Or swing by my FaceBook page and comment. 

Ruby