~Blog Poll~ Romance Ebook Pricing Results

Remember when I asked about the sweet spot of romance eBook pricing? I put up a little poll in my sidebar and asked visitors to tell me the MOST they'd pay for a romance eBook. The results are in! 

As you can see, the majority (31%) said they'd pay no more than $4-5 for an eBook. But 17% said $2-3. I consider the $2-3 spot the sweet spot of romance eBook pricing. I think I always have.

To be honest, I was surprised by the fact that less than 8% voted that they'd pay no more than $2. I figured with the influx of free eBooks that those numbers would have a MUCH bigger showing. I wondered just how much the free wave would lower the value of an eBook. 

I wish I'd been able to get results from hundreds of voters but I'm pleased 35 were willing to stop in and let me know what they thought. Thank you, all, very much! This will be a great help in pricing my own eBooks, especially with Heartless' re-release just around the corner. 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing 
♫♪ Linkin Park ~ Somewhere I Belong

~General Updates~ Blog Poll, Heartless, InD'tale

Blog Poll.... 

There's still time to vote in my little blog poll, located in the right hand sidebar on the blogspot end of this blog. What's the most you'd pay for a romance eBook? Is there a perfect price for an eBook?  ► 

Heartless.... 

I'm still waiting on one proofreader's comments and then I'll give this book one final read-through, get it formatted, send it off to the best formatter I know so she can make sure it's perfect, and then upload it to all those lovely eBook retailers. Soon, my lovelies, soon.... 

InD'Tale Magazine.... 

I am now officially a columnist for InD'Tale Magazine! That means when The 11th Commandment reaches its inevitable conclusion, I get to start a new serial romance. SQUEE!! I've already pitched my next idea to my boss and she approved it! Woo-hoo! I can't say anything about it yet, though, so enjoy 11th Commandment while you can and anticipate the next story as much as we are. If you haven't subscribed to InD'Tale yet, what are you waiting for? Subscriptions are FREE!! 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Fireflight ~ Unbreakable

~Blog Poll~ E-book Pricing: Where's the Sweet Spot?

This is a topic that I've seen discussed in multiple forums, usually in a general sense. Since I write romance I want to know what romance readers/writers think. 

What are you willing to pay for a romance eBook? What price makes you click away and look for something else? Do you feel eBooks should be free since there's no printing involved? 

Personally, I won't pay more than $5 and I am more likely to pay that for a historical romance than any other genre. Money's always tight around here, though, so it's unlikely I'll even pay that much unless it's for an author I already adore. I definitely think eBooks should be priced considerably lower than their print counterparts. 

What are your thoughts? What is the perfect price for a romance eBook? $4.99? Less than that? Free? Please take a moment to vote in my little blog poll (top right in the sidebar on the blogspot end of my blog) or comment here. 

To my readers/followers outside the US, I apologize for the USD specificity of the poll. I welcome your comments on the subject of eBook pricing. ☺

Edited 8/21/2012, 10:27am to add: 

I just saw this interesting article, shared by a friend on facebook...

Big Publishers, High Prices Dominate E-Book Best-Sellers (Forbes.com)

What do you think?

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Daughtry ~ Breakdown

Blog Poll : To Use a Pen Name or Not to Use a Pen Name...

...That is the question.

I suppose, as far as life goes, this question is not important. However, I'm curious as to the readers' (and other authors') views on this matter.

I use a pen name. I've never made a secret of that fact. I'm not trying to hide who I am with my pen name. I'm trying to overcome how common my real name is. There are already plenty of Laura J Millers on Amazon alone. A writer, a few singers, some actresses...and the list goes on. So, forget it. I won't be Laura J Miller, author. (In the spirit of full disclosure, my maiden name is Lyons, I use regencyfreak as a user name for almost everything and sometimes I manage my husband's facebook account--he doesn't play the games, I do.)

My new dilemma is this: As Jaimey Grant, I write Regency romances that are connected. I have recently written a fantasy novel that may actually see the publishing light of day. I'm currently working on another fantasy story, a short this time. I am contemplating the use of a different pseudonym. Which leads into my next blog poll question.

Should authors use multiple pen names?

(Yes. No. Only if the genres differ greatly. I don't think it matters.)

Additional questions for consideration:

As a reader (even if you are also an author), do you like when an author uses different pen names for different genres? Or would you rather have the author use the same name for everything they write? Why?

As an author, do you use different pen names for different genres that you write? Or do you prefer to have the same name on every work? Why?

I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thank you for your time and have a lovely day!

Are Self-Published Authors Rejects?

I posted a poll several months ago in regard to self-published authors. The question I asked was, "Do you assume self-published authors have been rejected by traditional publishers?" The results have been in for over a month and I just haven't posted them. Here they are:

Yes, always.	3 (5%)
Usually.	11 (21%)
No, never.	16 (31%)
I don't care. I like books.	21 (41%)

The majority just don't care. A book is a book and they love them. However, some of the comments my previous post received were very interesting. Click here to view the original post.

Self-Publishing Opinion Poll

Just out of curiosity, I have constructed a new blog poll about self-published authors.

Simple question: When you hear that an author is self-published (whether they use a print-on-demand publisher, do everything themselves, or use a service such as iUniverse, Lulu, Booksurge, etc) do you automatically assume they went with self-publishing because they were rejected by a "real" publisher? Does that mean their book is crap or do even the big guys get it wrong once in a while?

Please feel free to discuss the topic below. This is a subject that has been on my mind for several months now...

Updates of a Varied Sort

Well, there are a few matters to update here.

Announcements:

• I have started a blog for Spellbound. All you readers who are interested, please follow to get all the inside dirt on the novel as updates are posted: All the Gossip of Spellbound.
• The blog tour for Joyce DiPastena's new medieval romance Illuminations of the Heart is in full swing. Four prizes are being given away at the end of the tour and you can enter NOW. For details of the tour and rules for entry view the post on my book review site: Romance, Old School. Followers are always welcome and very much appreciated.

Updates:

• My recent blog poll on publisher reviews has ended with 75% voting that this type of review is only of some importance and should be considered with a grain of salt. 25% think they are too biased to be considered at all. Nobody felt they should be treated as normal reviews. Although the voting is over, you can still leave your opinion on the original post: Do Publisher Reviews Matter?
• Spellbound is still available for FREE download from Smashwords.com. Smashwords offers several file formats for many e-readers including Kindle, Palm, and Sony. They also offer PDF and HTML for ordinary computer reading. For details of my offer and the coupon code required for download, check out the original post: Spellbound is FREE Until August 21!

That is all for now. Happy reading, writing and blogging!

Do Publisher Reviews Matter?

So you're published. And you didn't have to self-publish, you found a traditional, if small, publisher. Your book shows up on Amazon and in the little review section, eventually, appears your very first review...from your publisher.

You are excited to have the praise you deserve. But what do the readers think? Do they put any credence in a review written by the person(s) who published the book? Or is the review largely ignored because of the assumption that the publisher loves the book or they wouldn't have published it in the first place?

After my last poll revealed that reviews, for the most part, are at least moderately important to a reader when considering a purchase, I thought to go a little deeper than that and ask about some specific reviews. That is the subject of my next blog poll.

Publisher Reviews: Do They Matter?

Again, to the right you will see the little poll box. Select your answer. Do you always trust publisher reviews? Or do you read them with a grain of salt, simply scanning for additional information about the book? Do you ignore them completely, assuming the publisher would be too biased in the author's favor to offer any helpful information?

If you have a reason for your vote that you would like to share, by all means do so. Comments are always welcome.

Thanx for visiting. As always, happy reading, writing, and blogging!

Poll Results: How Much Importance Do You Place On Reviews?

The results are in!

My second blog poll has ended with 39 total votes. This may not seem like much to some of you, but I'm just getting started here. :o)

Here's the breakdown:

How much importance do you place on reviews?

7% (3) said reviews are essential to their buying decisions.

20% (8) said reviews are important to their buying decisions.

53% (21) said reviews are only moderately important.

17% (7) said they rarely allow reviews to influence them.

0% (0) said they never allow reviews to influence them.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote. Comments are welcome, if you'd care to share what you think of the results.

Reviews and the Reader

I have been curious for quite some time now about reviews. I like to write reviews myself but wonder how much they actually influence a potential buyer. So that is the theme of my second blog poll.

How much importance do you place on reviews? (The poll to the right is anonymous; please be completely honest. If you'd like to share your views, comments are welcome. If there is an answer missing that you feel should be added, let me know.)

On the one hand, I tend to be influenced by the negative ones. If the negative review is poorly written, attacks the author, or is so vague it could have been written for a dozen other products, I ignore it. I have recently found reviews written by people who haven't even read the book. How ethical is that? This gives me a much more cynical outlook of chronically negative reviewers and their reviews. Conversely, I become more interested in the product being slammed.

On the other hand, positive reviews can be off-putting for me. Nobody's perfect. If all the reviews claim perfection the hype builds until the book cannot possibly live up to it.

I try to take each review as it comes, make an educated decision based on the reviewer's review history and the tone of the review.

How much importance do I place on reviews? It all depends on the reviewer, so I would say moderate importance. Please note, this does not mean I would not buy a book with no reviews. If the book sounds interesting, reviews, or the lack thereof, mean nothing.

So that's my opinion. What's yours?

Announcing the Winner of Deception

Personally, I think my first blog poll and contest went rather well. The winner of a signed copy of my upcoming release, Deception, is none other than...

JOYCE DIPASTENA

Congratulations, Joyce! I will be contacting you soon. 

Thank you to everyone who entered my contest. 

Happy reading, writing, and blogging!

The Results Are In

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is a redbud. This “tree” grew near my house in Maryland. In fact, they covered most of the mountainsides in Allegheny County. (I realize that the pictures I include in my posts usually have nothing to do with what I'm posting. They usually have everything to do with how I feel.)

Out of 23 votes in my recent poll (How Important Are Author Photos?) 18 votes were for “so-so” on up to “essential.” Apparently, it is pretty important for an author to allow this connection. Having seen how the results were leaning, I have already updated my profiles accordingly. I do not think I will be putting my picture and bio on my books just yet, however. Maybe someday.

Thank you to all participants! The drawing for Deception will take place May 15^th with the winner being announced the following day.

Happy reading!

I Caved...

The Mackinac Bridge. I took this pic the day after the Corvette show in Mackinaw City last year. I love the Corvette show...

To get back to the subject of this post...

I caved. My author photo poll still has a week to go but the majority vote is for "so-so" on up to "essential." I have started uploading a photo of myself to my various profiles. Some of you may have already seen it on Goodreads and AuthorsDen.

Something you should know about my profile pic. Yes, it is me. The me of ten years ago, the me I want to be again. Someday, someday...

Meanwhile, the poll is still open. I am still curious to hear your views on author photos and you can still enter to win my upcoming release, Deception. Simply post your opinion in a comment on the appropriate blog post. 

On the Importance of Author Photos

How important are author photos?

I have wrestled with this question for several months now. I use a picture of my daughter in all my profiles because I do NOT have a photo of myself that I at all care for. Well, maybe a wedding photo, but that was over ten years ago. Would that be acceptable? A photo from when I was young and thin...and blond. (Blonds really do have more fun, by the way.) I don't do photos--I am unphotogenic. (My spellchecker tells me this is not a word. It also says spellchecker is not a word. Go figure.)

So I leave it to you, the reader of this humble blog. I have added a poll. Choose how important you feel author photos are. Your opinion will decide whether or not I go through the tremendous effort required of me to reveal to YOU what I look like.

Oh, and if you comment to this post offering your opinion, I will draw a name to receive a signed copy of my new release, Deception, a Regency romance--ultimate release date as yet to be determined.

Happy reading, blogging, and polling!

(Poll will be closed May 9th. Winner of Deception will be drawn May 15th.)