~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

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.

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!

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.)