E-Books: Free or Fee?

I think a fee is appropriate – and let the market forces determine if there’s a market for a $10 book – or a $5. But obviously there’s a place for a free book anytime. There’s some strategy involved. Both can drive traffic. Does FREE inspire more or does it cheapen it? Does FEE say “I am valuable” or does it turn people away. There’s another route: FREE with suggested donation to a cause. The author gets to say “hey I’m not making a dime here” but get the goodwill associated with charitable giving.

Most ebooks out there should be free, because they are a worthless repetition of the same get-rich-quick sales letters peppering the net. But an ebook that carries the content quality and informative value of a printed book should cost what a printed book costs minus the printing costs. So, for a good ebook, I’d pay $10 – 15, but I have to be convinced in advance that the book is worth it, which means perusing parts of it just as I can in a bookstore. If it’s easier for the publisher to ship by email, then there should be a cost reduction, but I’d still pay for quality.

Randy: You nicely outline both sides of the free vs fee argument. What I really like though is the charitable giving angle. It gives the content the value it deserves and yet brings the good-will of supporting a good cause.

Brandon: You are right, many free e-books are useless but I have found some excellent ones that would have been well worth the money. The challenge to the writer is just what you have said…providing enough content to get people “hooked” so they feel motivated that parting with their money would bring the appropriate knowledge benefit.

Thanks to both of you for starting the discussion.

Fee or free ebooks depends on the content and the demand for it. I have paid for some but I will not pay for most. There are so many books in the world as a writer I cringe when I honestly believe the world needs more written language thrust upon it.

A great unique valuable book is worth some money. Another pretty good book isn’t worth a fee as an ebook or as a printed book.

At this point I believe I’d be thrilled to have someone read my words. I wrote and published a book in the 80′s that sold over 30,000 out of my home and my co-author. We worked hard to write great content and we relentlessly marketed the finished product. Books for fee is not for wimps or o.k. writers.

Good questions.

I think a fee is fine, but the value better be there. I believe what you see in most of the free e-books are teasers: valuable content that deal much more with convincing you of the big picture rather than showing you how to do something specifically. If you can offer me something substantial, something valuable, then I’ll pay for it.

@Kay: Thanks for participating in the conversation. Today whether through print or through the web (blogs), the world indeed has more written language thrust upon it than ever!

@Brett: It is indeed all about value. That probably goes for printed books too doesn’t it? If people feel there is value they will pay. If they don’t the book is destined to sit on the bookstore shelf!

Free or Fee, I could see a fee being justified if there is a high demand for the book and the physical book is anticipated to be back ordered, or if the printing of the book was to come to an end. Which would be a great method to continue generating profit, however for this to work there would have to be an importance to the book. I see greater value in the book that you can pick up and easily take where ever you desire without the fear of your battery dying on you.
On the other hand e-books have the potential for a market of its own, the possibilities are endless with what can be done compared to the traditional books. A link to a web site could easily be implemented to the text and then be clicked on by the reader to be redirected to the site, or a video could be played to intensify the story line, the text could even be transferred in to audio books. These are a few ways e-books can stand out from the traditional books, and everyone knows there is a price to be paid for specialty goods.

Thanks Aron, you are right, e-books do afford a much more integrated use of various technologies that can engage a reader in ways that the traditional print book can and does not. That’s what makes them so exciting and clearly with time, I think we are going to see a much bigger market for e-books than we see now. The challenge that everyone in the publishing industry is struggling with is the pricing – people do not want to pay the same price for an e-book as they do for a print one. But then, what would a fair price point be? I guess someone needs to find that acceptable consumer price like iTunes did with music and then there will at least be a consistent and sustainable revenue model. Time will tell. Thanks for sharing your thoughts…I appreciate it!