Aussie Readers discussion

The topic was sparked in the recently aquired book thread...So, I thought to take it one step more..

How much would you pay for a book on your ereader of choice? And what IF that book was out of print and only could be loctated on the ereader now?

I usually try not to go over $9us but there has been about two books that I gave in and purchased at an higher price. One was kinda hard to get and the other i preordered..They were both more closer to the $15us price tag.

I've paid as much as $AU17 for recently published ebooks, which isn't too bad if the hardcover is $30-40.

I've also acquired many classics for free, or just a few dollars, in electronic format, so it all balances out.

This is a psychological barrier for me, having worked my first job in a bookshop and spending years acquiring some beautiful volumes I can't help feel an ebook is something less than a paper one. Most I've ever spent on a single book was $319 way back in 1995. Nonfiction costs a lot more than fiction but I would still hesitate at anything over $20 for electronic copies of anything unless it was a compilation (like a trilogy set). Even then, with real books a set costs less than the items individually yet with ebooks the opposite seems to be true. An anomaly I cannot understand. I guess the only rule that makes sense is never pay more for the ebook than its paper equivalent, after all they haven't actually printed it!

I read mostly novels, and I do get reluctant to buy an ebook if it's over $10. However, as a writer, I know how little authors get back for their books, so I try and pay full price when I can. I do feel guilty if the book I want is only .99 cents, as it seems so cheap. However, there are plenty of readers out there who think they should be no more than that.
My blog this week is on that very subject. You can check it out at the link below if you want a read:
http://www.lynnestringer.com/uncatego...

Michael wrote: " I guess the only rule that makes sense is never pay more for the ebook than its paper equivalent, after all they haven't actually printed it! ..."

I'd have to agree with that as a good rule of thumb.

I buy all my ebooks on Amazon and I seem to have developed a few rough groundrules for myself; >US$10 only for very special/desirable acquisitions, between $US5-10 for new releases and anything less than US$5 is fair game and I allow myself to purchase at will. I know this doesn't really add up in practice!!

But in the back of my mind, I am always thinking about the fact that it is not a book that I am buying, anyway - it is a highly restricted and restrictive licence to read. The book does not belong to me. I can't lend it to anyone and I can't even be 100% certain that it will remain on my bookshelf. I'm referring here to what may or may not be an urban myth of people losing their entire collections when they move into a different Amazon 'jurisdiction'.

I'm very stingy then! An electronic file is not a book IMHO - as in Andrea's words; I can't lend it to a friend, I can't give it away at a book club/chat meet; and it can vanish into the ether at any time! My rule of thumb is no more than $3...

It is extremely convenient to read ebooks and I love that part of it; but it doesn't have the smell of a real book, the feel, the ability to flick back the pages to an earlier part - so my reluctance to pay the same as I'd pay for a paper book is very strong. Whether that will change I don't know.

I'm happy to pay as much as for a hard copy of the same book, since I only ever read them once anyway, and I don't have to find shelf space or a new owner for them. That said, I wouldn't want to pay more than about A$15. I have a bunch of books in my browser's favourites and regularly check prices. If I find the price has dropped on one of them I'll usually buy it immediately.

With the Kindle you're somehow meant to be able to lend a book for only 14 days then it "comes back" to you.

I have paid up to $15.00 for electronic books, but they have not been possible to purchase for less. Reprints, special English translations that have not been available in print and such books.

I often search ebay for print books, second hand, that I want, and always find them cheaper than Amazon. I don't mind a book going through someone else's hands. Kind of adds to the charm of the book, although some books, you can't beat that new scent and expectation - that no one has been there before you.

A book in electronic format will never be a real book, and I only read books in electronic format that I can't read for the same price in print, ( still don't own a kindle or ebook reader but read on my laptop) therefore the book must be cheaper, but someone else said higher above

although publishers do have reduced costs if they are electronic versions (being printed paper)- it is the writers who suffer from reduced prices of those electronic books, yet they spent the same amount of time on both electronic and paper versions.

I think it is a good thing that the large publishers have tried to keep some type of benchmark for their electronic books, which Amazon has tried to wipe out, but failed to do at the moment, thankfully, and in turn helps maintain the entire publishing industry.

If every book was forced to be reduced to 99cents or a couple of dollars on Kindle, there would be few writers.

Laura wrote: "With the Kindle you're somehow meant to be able to lend a book for only 14 days then it "comes back" to you."

I don't know how the whole lending thing works, except that some books on kindle can be lent, at least once. Then other books in one of Amazon's other programs can be read from a type of library --- users pay a monthly fee and can read so many books for free.

I've just pre-ordered 2 e-books @ $15 each. I am happy to pay this as is half the price of the Physical version - is a big name author and I really really want to read them!!! Having said that I have also pre-ordered a couple of other new-releases and they are under $6.

for older books, not new releases, I would pay $5 - $6 if I really need to read them. But I also find lots of e-books on kindle and kobo that are either free or under $2 and am happy to get them

I will do that too Sally. If I really want a brand new book I will pay up to about $15 for the e book. Usually though I look for approx $5 or less. I have to admit to having a couple of more expensive ones at the moment on pre-order because then I get them on publication day:)

Sharon - Yeah that reading books for free seems to only be a US thing...i think? Isn't it called Kindle Unlimited or something like that?

I've never lent anyone books before but the 14 days only is a turn off especially if it's a bigger book.

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Interesting to see all the different answers coming in :) I do agree with people who said it's not really a book....I mean it sorta is but it's not in the way we know them as.

Phrynne wrote: "I will do that too Sally. If I really want a brand new book I will pay up to about $15 for the e book. Usually though I look for approx $5 or less. I have to admit to having a couple of more expens..."
two books that I want are released just before we go on holidays in March - I got the e-book versions because, as you said, they download on the day, and it can take up to 2 weeks for a book to be mailed to me and didn't want to risk them not arriving before we went :)

Laura wrote: "Sharon - Yeah that reading books for free seems to only be a US thing...i think? Isn't it called Kindle Unlimited or something like that?

I've never lent anyone books before but the 14 days only i..."

No Laura - that is a paid thing - I am talking about free kindle and kobo books without joining any plan, like this list of top 100 best sellers on Amazon USA - there is a list for paid and a list for free:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/...

I don't even lend my real books so not going to be too worried about lending e-books

Ah, that was my bad wording...i know it's a paid service to read the books..but there is lots of them so it's kinda free books but not..sorry for the confusion.

I hope this is still about e-readers....I love them. I have paid up to $17 for title that I really really wanted to read.
As I live in a large rural town selections of out of the ordinary reads are limited to either via post which can now take.....well....how long??? or instant on an e-reader. Library books, well I am just over books with breakfast, lunch and dinner on the pages. I resorted to wearing cloth gloves....a bit of a Michael Jackson thing with germs.

I use the library's e-reader, Bolinda and Kobo via Angus & Robertson. If the e-book is not from their own contracts, I think this maybe why they can be more expensive. Australian titles are more expensive than from US or Britain.

When I retired, I sold hundreds of paper backs I had collected over the years. In the tropics, silverfish love paper. The ones I kept I have reread and will probably do so again.

Hard copies that I purchase now as soon as I have finished reading them I give them away.

Cheers Jeanette

Up to $5 generally for ebooks but for something fairly new that I really want, I have paid $9-$11. Any more than that and I wait a while to see if it will come down and it usually does.

For paperbacks that I really want and think I'll keep or share with family I will pay up to $18-20. Last year I only bought a handful at that price and overall for all the books I bought I averaged less than $5/book.

I will generally pay around $8 US on the Kindle store. But I will preorder books from authors I love, paying full price, usually up to $15 US or so. I know I can buy them at Kmart reasonably cheap once they've been out for a while, but certain authors I just can't wait to read. I also like to feel as though I'm supporting their work. But don't get me wrong, I will only spend $1-2 on an unknown author unless it really pulls me in with the description and/or reviews.

I don't mind paying up to $20 for an eBook - particularly if it's a favourite author and I'm desperate to read the new book. I do often buy the paperback version later as well, if it's an all time favourite re-reader, but I've pretty well converted to the eBook thing.

I'm overseas and have my kindle with me :)

Leonie wrote: "I don't mind paying up to $20 for an eBook - particularly if it's a favourite author and I'm desperate to read the new book. I do often buy the paperback version later as well, if it's an all time ..."

Kindles are great for travelling aren't they - when we went overseas last year I took 2 physical books (for take-offs when they make you turn everything off) but had over 300 more on my kindle - no way you could take 300 real books with you - and as I am a mood reader I had enough choice for whatever my mood was :)

Many authors offer their first book (especially in series) for free the idea being you love it, are hooked and will buy more in the series. I have done that a few times and been happy to buy more :)

Sally906 wrote: "Many authors offer their first book (especially in series) for free the idea being you love it, are hooked and will buy more in the series. I have done that a few times and been happy to buy more :)"

Ditto Sally!

Yes, the Kindle is certainly a great item to own when traveling anywhere. Took mine away just this week..I could select anything and not worry about what exactly because the Kindle offers so many books to pick from without the umming and arring before going away.

I haven't picked up many free books on the Kindle and actually liked them..Maybe not stumbled onto the right ppl but i don't feel guilty if i don't finish the book since i paid nothing..However, it's a great way (like mentioned) to pull readers in! :)

The sheer number of books out there means writers are forced to offer their books at very low prices. That is a good thing for readers, but writers need to be able to get some return for their efforts. My book Heartland which contains four novellas took about 12 months to write. All that effort and time is on sale for $1.99 for the eBook version.

Excuse me while I find a quiet corner to sob in.

Did you write it for love or money John?

Ryan wrote: "Did you write it for love or money John?"

I did it for love Ryan...and a few other emotions as well. ;)

Australian publishers are so short-sighted. Many of the best recent Australian books are either not available on Amazon/Kindle at all, or are priced almost at parity with the paperback edition. I read all the time, and do still buy the odd print book but almost all my reading is done on Kindle. Here is why: I can't read small print at night and the backlight on the Kindle as well as the resizing text is fantastic. I have absolutely no physical room left anywhere in my life for print books, if I buy one I have to throw another out. I love being able to order a book at 3.00 am and be reading it by 3.30 am. I object to the way publishers are asking for high prices for e-books when they are not really "books" at all, as others here have said. I won't pay over around $15 unless it is a really exceptional title. On the other hand, if it's priced below $4.99 I conclude it isn't a very good book so I don't by that one either.
Australian publishers are so anxious about the impact of the e-book on their business model that they are ensuring that a lot of their authors won't be read at all, at least not within a reasonble time of when the book is published. They seem to think if readers like a particular author enough they will pay whatever the publisher wants. When you take into account that the author gets so little from each print book sale it is not hard to see why both authors and readers are abandoning the traditional print book.

John wrote: "The sheer number of books out there means writers are forced to offer their books at very low prices. That is a good thing for readers, but writers need to be able to get some return for their effo..."

Hullo John, I felt so sorry for you weeping in the corner that I went straight to Amazon and bought your book. It was over $2.00 US. I am also about to publish a collection of short stories set in Central Australia so I want to see how your novellas grasp the emotions and experiences of inland Australia. Haven't had time to read it yet. But there are a few things I would say about your book right away. There are two other books with the same title immediately next to yours. You do have a subtitle so that is good but maybe the title itself could be more distinctive. The cover is boring with the monotone dark brown and rough graphics, and obviously is unprofessional. There is not much info about you apart from the list of occupations you've had and your Weebly website mentions poetry only (Weebly itself is not a great place for a writer's website anyway). The front page is crowded and badly laid out, especially the Louisa Publishing logo, and the location of the headings eg Chapter Titles on the far left is clumsy. The blurb on the Amazon clickon page is too long and the summaries of each story are also too detailed; and you have used very broad categories in the Categories list so your book is competing with thousands of others. There is a category for Australia and Oceania which doesn't have many entries, it might be good if you could reconsider one of your categories to include that. Am really looking forward to reading the book, but the indie publishing scene is so crowded that your book needs to be better prepared if it is going to stand out from the competition. It's a hard slog, that's for sure, but if Australian authors are going to take full advantage of the new publishing opportunities it is important that the e-book looks great and functions well in such a busy market. Very best of luck to you, though, and keep writing!

Thank you for getting the book and taking the time to check it out Annette. I hope you find something to enjoy inside the book. The colour (red-brown) used on the cover was deliberate (to represent the red centre). Most of the work, including graphics, was done by me because of the high costs of using professionals. You are correct about it being important for the book to look good, but the stories themselves are the most important things (I think). I was going to have a shirtless vampire with a six-pack on the cover, because every second book cover I see has that, but decided not too... Thank you for your honest words and I hope your Central Australia books do well. Please let me know when they are out and I'll check them out. :)

John wrote: "Thank you for getting the book and taking the time to check it out Annette. I hope you find something to enjoy inside the book. The colour (red-brown) used on the cover was deliberate (to represent..."
Ah, thanks so much for not putting the shirtless vampire with a six-pack on the cover. All the same, the mechanisms which make books sell seem not to rely much on what is written in them in this digital age. I could go on about this but it needs a different thread. Am looking forward to reading your book and appreciate your kind comments.

You're welcome to the kind comments Annette. I've taken in all the points you made.

I love the access to free (or close to free) classics that the Kindle app on my iPad offers. I'll also try out new authors when their books are on special ($3 or less), but I'm still a physical book person. If I enjoy the book and know that I'll want to read it again, I'll purchase the physical book as well.

Yes, I do have too many books with at least one bookcase in every room, but I'm lucky enough to have the space to keep them.

Jude wrote: "I love the access to free (or close to free) classics that the Kindle app on my iPad offers. I'll also try out new authors when their books are on special ($3 or less), but I'm still a physical boo..."

Jude, you shouldn't need to pay for any of the old classics ... unless held my some strange copyright law that has somehow been extended... almost every classic that I can think of, older than 60 years is available for free on Gutenberg or if it doesn't have it from other sites, such as US and Candadian and Australian sites for free. You shouldn't have to spend a cent on the classics.

I notice that Amazon do have some of the classics for sale on there, but that is actually against Amazon's policy for anyone to sell public domain works on their site. So not sure how that is happening - but generally all classics are now in the public domain and if you search you can download them for free across the Internet.

Nearly all my reading is done on my Kindle. I particularly appreciate the resizable text and the access to books never published in Australia. I'm reluctant to pay more than $5, but will go up to $10 for authors I really like. Over that is just gouging.

If a book is only available in print, I try the library first, and if that doesn't work I add it to my wishlist and check from time to time.

I don't buy print books at all, just finished moving and donating several thousand of them to charity. The ones that are left may soon follow, as I'm finding the print in many of them is too small to read comfortably.

That's one of my problems now Jai - small print in paper books!

Brenda wrote: "That's one of my problems now Jai - small print in paper books!"

I think the ink dries out and shrinks the longer the book sits on the shelf. Perhaps I just don't believe sufficiently :-)

LOL!

I think I probably wouldn't go more than $15-20. It would really depend on the quality of the ebook and whether or not I intend to read it again. I was tempted to price my own ebook, a short story at $0.99 but realised that there were whole ebooks on Amazon going for that price. This is why I decided on mine being free [well, that and the fact that I hadn't published anything else before that] and if I ever intend to publish any more short stories in the ebook format and price them at $0.99, it better be more than worth the value. It would have to be a short story that is dense with the plot and characterisation of an entire novel or come very close to it at least. I'd really hate to feel that I've ripped people off.

Like a lot of others, I buy ebooks because of the convenience. Instead of having to order books online that I cannot find in bookstores and wait for them to be delivered, all I have to do is pay for the ebook and download it after that. With that said, I'll always prefer having the actual thing in my hands. You just can't beat the feel of a real book. I also love the idea of a physical collection of books. There are a few times when I'll sit and stare at my shelf and be proud of the collection I have. I also have a similar policy to films where I prefer buying the physical thing, whether it be a Blu-ray or DVD rather than streaming or downloading it despite the latter's convenience when wanting to watch a film right then and there.

I don't think the feel of real books is all that. My Kindle is lighter and easier to hold with one hand. Plus I don't have to constantly wrestle with the tension in a book's spine wanting to close the pages.

Well, to be fair, I don't own a Kindle [yet!] so I can't really compare. I'm only basing it on the epub files I download to read on my laptop.

Ryan wrote: "I don't think the feel of real books is all that. My Kindle is lighter and easier to hold with one hand. Plus I don't have to constantly wrestle with the tension in a book's spine wanting to close ..."

I agree. It’s just more physically comfortable to read an e-book, especially for very long books. As well, they're more portable.

I do love hard-cover special editions and art books that showcase the best of printing and bookbinding, but I'm gradually replacing my older mass market paperbacks with electronic versions. Some of my ancient paperbacks have become so yellowed that they’re just disgusting!

I haven't gone through my older novels and replaced them with the ebook format..It's a good idea like what you're doing Susan. But do you actually go back to those books and reread them though?

Laura — Yes, I have re-read a few. Seeing a fresh new version on my i-Pad encourages me to revisit the book.

Also, some of the e-books are updated editions. Just a few days ago, I took my 20th anniversary edition of Damned Whores And God's Police off the shelf; it was so yellowed it was gross. It's been replaced by the new 40th anniversary edition (Damned Whores and God's Police) which compiles the previous versions of the book, and also includes new material.

So now I'm enthusiastic about reading it again!

I've just read through this thread, some really interesting points of view. I tend to read more non-fiction on my kindle, and still buy the physical version of novels (most of the time), so it's difficult to say how much I'd pay for each. I do feel psychologically that the value of ebooks is slightly less, because you can't easily lend it and also because of the tactile thing – surely the thing I can hold in my hand is worth more than the thing I can't? But then, the author still put exactly the same amount of work into it, and I still got the same amount of enjoyment/usefulness out of the content. So why shouldn't it be worth the same amount? I guess I'm still deciding!

I won't buy a title if it is priced at .99 cents because I have a deep antipathy towards that price point. If authors won't value their work at a price more than that, then why should I.

I'm more than happy to pay upto $15 for a title - especially if the buzz is good, it has been well received and eformat is the only way to get it.

In the case of established authors, I'll usually default to the print title.

Agreed, Dean. I find the biggest cost to reading is my time rather than my money. If a book is worth less than five bucks it's probably not worth my time to read it.

Rubbish!

Some of my top reads have been less than $5. Some top authors occasionally drop their books to 99 cents to encourage people to read their work.

Dean and Ryan you two will miss out on great reads with an attitude like that. I feel sorry for you

Sally906 wrote: "Rubbish!

Some of my top reads have been less than $5. Some top authors occasionally drop their books to 99 cents to encourage people to read their work.

Dean and Ryan you two will miss out on gr..."

I disagree Sally.

The quality of books in the sub $3 price range - and I'm basing this on my experience as a reader - is patchy at best. Those authors who do go for the 99 cent price range are doing so out of a certain desperation to see their Amazon ranking go up.

I'd love to see examples of top authors dropping their price to the 99 cent price point because I don't know of any who are doing that.

As a trad. published author myself, I know that my publishing house - and many like it - are increasingly avoiding pricing their titles at less than $5 because it is simply not good business. We've worked too long and too hard on my titles to under value them in such a fashion and we are seeking a decent income from them.

The market is slowly beginning to come around to this way of thinking as well, which is why you'll see less titles from established houses being sold at cheap and nasty prices.

Like I said, if an author values their work then I as a reader will value it.

Don't get me wrong Sally. I love it when a $12 book gets dropped to six bucks. But $6 is a world away from 99 cents.