Learn a little about what makes you laugh. Laughter itself is unconscious. While it's possible for us to keep ourselves from laughing (not always successfully), it is very hard for us to produce laughter on demand, and doing so will usually seem 'forced'. Fortunately, laughter is very contagious (we're about 30 times more likely to laugh in the presence of others), and in a social context, it's easy to start laughing when others are laughing. • Studies have shown that three things make us laugh the most: a sense of superiority over someone else behaving 'dumber' than us; a difference between our expectation of something and the actual result; or welcome relief from an. Learn to laugh in boring or unfunny circumstances. It's good to know that the less funny a place is, the easier it becomes to add the element of humorous surprise. It might be easier to get people to laugh about an office workplace than to get people to laugh in a comedy club. • This is why The Office, the NBC show, uses an office as its setting: it's about as boring as it gets. They even process paper. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() One of a kind e-book teaching you how to be funny in just 7 days flat! How to be FUNNY! Author: Stanley Lyndon. Get Ebook Now. Stanley Lyndon 1 ePub eBooks Collection. Stanley Lyndon - How to be Funny.pdf. How boring is that?! We're not used to looking at an office as a funny place, so when it is funny, it's especially funny. Learn to appreciate witty wordplay and puns. A lot of the time, comedy comes from linguistic confusion (unintentional) or linguistic playfulness (intentional). We sometimes find things humorous when there's a gap between our words and our meanings. • Freudian slips are linguistic errors that are believed to expose what you were really thinking rather than what you 'meant' to say, and are often of a sexual nature. • Witty wordplay is more intentional: 'A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.' Or this one, where the words 'hockey' and 'fight' are switched: 'I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out.' Appreciate irony. There's perhaps nothing in comedy more widely cited but more thoroughly misunderstood than irony. Irony occurs when there is a gap between our expectations of a statement, situation, or image and the actual experience of it. • Comedian Jackie Mason illustrates irony with a joke: 'My grandfather always said, 'Don't watch your money; watch your health.' So one day while I was watching my health, someone stole my money. It was my grandfather.' • This joke messes with one of our fundamental expectations: that grandparents are nice, friendly people who are utterly harmless, and that the advice they offer should be sincere.The joke is funny because, in it, we are presented with a grandparent who is rascally, thievish, and double-crossing. Take yourself less. Remember the most embarrassing moments in your life so far, the monumental stuff-ups, the times you refused to make changes, the breakdowns in communications that you played a major part in, and maybe even the time you tried to be funny around your friends and only crickets chirped. These things can be hilarious. • Telling other people about very embarrassing moments in your life is a great way to get them to laugh. Take a page from famous improv comic Colin Mochrie, who said: 'He had the kind of face only a mother could love, if that mother was blind in one eye and had that kind of milky film over the other. But still, he was my identical twin.' Put yourself under the spotlight. Tell self-depracating jokes rather than making jokes at the expense of others. More people will be more willing to laugh. Rodney Dangerfield made fun of both his sanity and his looks with this one: 'I went to the psychiatrist, and he says 'You're crazy.' I tell him I want a second opinion. He says, 'Okay, you're ugly too!' ' • Redd Foxx had this to say about his silly devotion to drugs and alcohol: 'I feel sorry for people who don’t drink or do drugs. Because someday they’re going to be in a hospital bed, dying, and they won’t know why.' • A great joke from Henry Youngman: 'I was so ugly when I was born, the doctor slapped my mother.' Know your audience. Different things make different people laugh. Some people find that sensationalism causes them to laugh; others find that does the trick. Learn which is which, and deliver your jokes and anecdotes so that they apply to many different categories of humor and emotion at once. • Not everyone knows what it's like to ride in a helicopter or be a millionaire or have a baby. But most people know what it's like to go fast, fantasize about money, and love another person deeply. So make your jokes cover more ground by utilizing really basic, but profound, human emotions. • When you're in a group of people you don't know, listen to what subjects they're talking about and what's making them laugh. Are they the witty banter type? The slapstick, or physical comedy type? The better you know someone, the easier it will be to make them.
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The first time you check out materials on the site, instructions will be provided for you to download the software you need. Help Go to where you can take a guided tour, see what devices work with eLibraryNJ, and check out an audiobook or eBook. ELibraryNJ is a project of the Infolink and Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperatives. The mobile app for the Libraries of Middlesex Automation Consortium. New Brunswick Free Public Library Online Resources Location Catalog Policies. 60 Livingston Ave. New Brunswick NJ 08901. (732) 745-5108. Monday - Thursday: 10am-9pm. Friday - Saturday: 10am-5pm. Monmouth County public library system. Includes details on branches, locations, hours, special events, on-line catalog and journal access. Synopsis • 'A no-nonsense, nuts-and-bolts, step-by-step guide on rebuilding all the versions of Ford's staple engine.' -Road and TrackCovers all years and models: 221, 260, 289, HP289, 302, Boss 302, 351W. How to remove the engine from the chassis, strip it down, rebuild it to proper specs, examine each part for wear, and replace the engine on the chassis. • If you have a small-block Ford, then you need this book This detailed guide covers the step-by-step rebuilding process of the popular small-block Ford engine. Parts inspection, diagnosis, reconditioning, and assembly are outlined in simple text. Hundreds of photos, charts, and diagrams visually walk you through the entire rebuild. You ll be able to completely disassemble your engine, recondition the block and cylinder heads, then reassemble and install the engine in your vehicle. There s even a section on how to perform tune-ups to maximize performance and economy. Sections on parts interchanging will help you identify all parts and determine which ones can and can t be swapped. This is truly a hands-on book. ![]() Don t put off your project any longer. Start rebuilding your small-block Ford today ' • If you have a small-block Ford, then you need this book! This detailed guide covers the step-by-step rebuilding process of the popular small-block Ford engine. Parts inspection, diagnosis, reconditioning, and assembly are outlined in simple text. Hundreds of photos, charts, and diagrams visually walk you through the entire rebuild. You'll be able to completely disassemble your engine, recondition the block and cylinder heads, then reassemble and install the engine in your vehicle. There's even a section on how to perform tune-ups to maximize performance and economy. Sections on parts interchanging will help you identify all parts and determine which ones can and can't be swapped. This is truly a 'hands-on' book. Don't put off your project any longer. Start rebuilding your small-block Ford today! A well-known expert was asked what he could learn about the “past life” of an engine during disassembly. He responded, “Everything!” Removing each bolt was his equivalent of turning a page in a book titled “A Detailed History of this Engine.” While you may not have the experience to “read” this much detail, the disassembl steps in this chapter (and the inspection steps in Chapter 3) will act asyour “expert” guide. They’ll provide insights and tips that an expert might tell you if he was guiding you through the entire process. To get the most out of this book, take your time, read each of the upcoming steps thoroughly, and think through the procedure before you begin. If this is your first engine rebuild, it’s essential to take the extra time to become familiar with the components you’re removing. If you already have a good deal of experience with tools and engines, you can move along more quickly. However, regardless of your experience, don’t lose your patience and begin skipping steps; you won’t gain full benefit from the “resident expert” you’re holding in your hands. This Tech Tip is From the Full Book ““. For a comprehensive guide on this entire subject you can visit this link: SHARE THIS ARTICLE: Please feel free to share this post on Facebook / Twitter / Google+ or any automotive Forums or blogs you read. You can use the social sharing buttons to the left, or copy and paste the website link: https://www.chevydiy.com/engine-disassembly-guide-build-chevy-small-block-engines/. Engine Disassembly can tell you a great deal about the “past life” of your engine. Be sure to keep your parts organized during disassembly so you can inspect them further. Keep an Organized Workspace One of the best ways to ensure that your rebuilt engine will provide both top performance and long-term reliability is to establish a comfortable workspace and keep it organized. ![]() The Paperback of the How to Rebuild Small Block Chevy by David Vizard at Barnes & Noble. FREE Shipping on $25 or more! Publish your book with B&N. Jan 01, 1987 How to Rebuild Small Block Chevy has 26 ratings and 1 review. Adam said: Mostly applicable for pre 1985 Small Blocks with a two piece rear main seal, it. Hundreds of photos, charts, and diagrams guide readers through the rebuilding process of their small-block Chevy engine. Each step, from disassembly and inspection. Don’t even attempt this project if you plan on rebuilding your engine while you roll it around on your driveway. You need awell-lit, clean, and relatively dust-free environment. You need a place where you won’t be distracted by telephones, blasting radios, TVs, or a pack of your best friends. You need a clean workbench, a quality engine stand, the proper tools, and most important, you need patience and the unbending will to “do it right.” Rebuilding an engine involves working with hundreds of components. Each part must be properly removed, reconditioned or replaced, and reinstalled. You can make the job considerably easier and stay more organized by obtaining several plastic storage bins from your local hardware store (warehouse stores such as Menards, The Home Depot, and Lowe’s, etc. Are excellent sources). Use small bins for small-part storage; use large bins to keep exhaust manifolds, oil pans, cylinder heads, and other large components off your shop floor. Plastic bins can easily be cleaned to store reconditioned parts, and they can be stacked to take up less space. Use small bins for small part storage and large bins to keep pans, cylinder heads, and other large components off your shop floor. Use plastic zipper bags to keep bolts and other components sorted and identified. Use plastic zipper bags to keep bolts and other small components sorted and identified (the freezer bags even have a printed panel where you can label the parts with a felt-tip marker). Many bolts look very much alike but are not interchangeable. If you’re not intimately familiar with your engine’s hardware, organizing fasteners can save you a lot of time and frustration during reassembly. Make sure to use the Work-A-Long Sheet on pages 157–159 (also available for free download at ) when instructed in the upcoming steps. It will not only help you keep track of your engine’s “particulars,” it will become a valuable permanent record of your engine rebuild. Having it neatly and accurately filled out can even add value to your engine in the eyes of a potential buyer. Finally, many engine accessory brackets, hoses, and wires can become a confusing jumble later on. To avoid this problem, an upcoming step instructs you to take detailed notes and take a couple of photos before and during the disassembly. Don’t limit your picture taking to these specific steps! Take shots at any point during the rebuild that will help maintain an accurate record. A digital camera is perfect, since there are no processing costs and you can take as many as you need, then file them away on your computer along with any accompanying notes about the photos. Remember, in engine building neatness and organization count, big time! Tools and Supplies Needed Aside from an organized workspace, plastic bins and bags, and basic hand tools (see Chapter 1, “Before You Begin,” for more information on basic tools), you’ll need a few specialized tools and supplies to properly disassemble an engine. In addition to the standard array of hand tools, engine disassembly requires several specialized tools. Line wrenches (used to remove air-injector and other metal lines), a 3-bolt puller (required to remove the vibration damper), and rod bolt protectors (to prevent the crankshaft from being damaged) are just a few. Rust Penetrant. To loosen rusted-on exhaust manifold bolts and other stuck fasteners, penetrating lubricants such as WD-40, CRC 5-56, PB Blaster, and others are a big help. These lubricants often make the difference between a broken or rounded-off fastener and successful disassembly. Heavy-Duty Line Wrench. Line wrenches (box end with a slot that allows it to pass over tubing) are required to remove the air-injector lines on exhaust manifolds and the fuel lines from the carb and pump. We recommend Snap-on part RXS18 for the 9/16- inch wrench, or part RXS608 for a complete set. See Sidebar “Snap-on Tools” on page 10 for more info. Valvetrain Organizer. If you’re reusing the rocker arms, valves, springs, and other valvetrain components, you must keep them in order. We recommend a plastic organizer tray, like one from Goodson or Eastwood. You can also quickly make one from a cardboard box (punch 16 holes, label it for front and back, then use the valvestems to “skewer” the springs, rockers, etc.). Vibration Damper Puller. If you try to remove the vibration damper without the right tools, you’ll ruin it. For removal, you’ll need a simple centerbolt puller with three attaching bolts (see Step 32 on page 35). Rod Bolt Protectors. Exposed rod bolts can damage the crank journals during disassembly and reassembly. Short lengths of 3/8-inch rubber hose or plastic protector boots slipped over the bolts are absolutely essential to protect the crankshaft. Goodson and others offer inexpensive protectors. Rod Removal Tool (optional). A tool that attaches to a rod bolt and guides the rod down the bore when removing the pistons is very helpful. B&B Performance offers an inexpensive Pro model or you can make one yourself (see Step 48 on page 38). Engine Stand and Cherry Picker Hoist. These items are a bit expensive but absolutely essential—avoid “cheap” models that don’t roll well or barely hold the engine. Seeing your newly assembled engine lying on the floor is no fun! You can rent a cherry picker, but when you consider how long you’ll need an engine stand, it makes sense to buy one of your own (or borrow one from a patient friend). Generous Supply of Clean Rags. Rags can be purchased from home and business supply warehouses. You’ll need about 25 pounds of “lint-free” cotton rags to complete your engine project. Taking photos of your engine (in addition to marking components) before removing it from your car and during the rebuilding process is a great idea. It will help you maintain an accurate record of your project, plus it can be a big help when you are trying to distinguish one mounting bracket from another. Safety First, Always! Like most jobs, engine disassembly isn’t difficult. All you need are the right tools, patience, and a willingness to learn and think ahead. If you start rushing the job, you’ll make mistakes that will cost you time and money, and you’ll be sorry. If you ignore this particular facet of engine building, you’ll be more than sorry; you could be seriously injured. There isn’t a professional engine builder that can’t tell you at least one story about an inexperienced “over-enthusiast” losing a finger, toe, or eye, or winding up with other mutilations. An engine weighs several hundred pounds; you can’t catch it when it falls! A crankshaft propped up in your garage can tip over easily and cut off a toe. Without proper safety glasses or aface shield, metal shavings, solvent, or other debris can wind up in your eye.Without gloves, you can expose yourself to cancer-causing chemicals. The list is endless. Read the Sidebar, “Shop Safety,” on page 28 before you begin. Think about safety during your entire project. If you know you don’t have the personality to rebuild an engine using the right tools and in a thoughtful and safe manner, you should not start the job. Instead, take your engine to a qualified enginebuilding shop; you’ll get the job finished faster, maybe even cheaper, and certainly safer. Step-by-Step Engine Disassembly Step-1: Ready to Begin Before we pulled the engine for rebuilding, we noted the different brackets and accessories. Note that this AC bracket goes over the valve cover. If we swap to taller valve covers, chances are that this bracket won’t fit anymore. Also, the two intake bolts are a little longer to secure this bracket. Step-2: Record Engine Observations ( Documentation Required) This is a 283 out of a 1966 Chevy II. There are many subtle variations in small-block Chevy engines and their accessories. However, there are more similarities than differences and most of the disassembly steps that follow are applicable to all small-blocks. Regardless of whether your engine has all the accessories attached or is partially stripped, your first step should be to use the Work-A-Long Sheet. Record your knowledge of the engine, including previous operational notes. Also, check off the attached accessories and note any damaged or missing components. This basic information will begin the permanent record of your rebuilding project. Step-3: Record Engine Observations ( Documentation Required) Note the way the alternator bracket mounts to the intake manifold (where the wrench is). If you use an aftermarket intake, be sure there is a mounting hold in the same location. This is why it is a good idea to take photos and notes before disassembly. Step-4: Before Mounting on Stand ( Safety Step) Several components must be removed (or are easier to remove) before you mount the engine on an engine stand. To prevent the engine from falling over while you perform the next few steps—and to prepare to lift the engine onto an engine stand—use a “cherry picker” hoist. Attach a lifting chain to the engine. Raise the hoist just enough to take the slack out of the chain. Chain tension will keep the engine upright. Step-5: Remove Crank Centerbolt ( Documentation Required) Locate the large centerbolt holding the damper and front pulley onto the crankshaft. Note: Some engines do not use a centerbolt; indicate its presence or absence on the Work-A-Long Sheet. If your engine does not have a centerbolt, skip to Step 6. Loosen and remove this bolt with a 1/2-inch-drive breaker bar (or impact wrench). The crankshaft will probably rotate as you attempt to loosen the bolt. Lock the crankshaft by inserting a pry bar or large screwdriver through one of the flexplate holes or in between the ring gear and starter housing (see Step 4). If there is no flywheel or flexplate on your engine (and you don’t have an impact wrench), leave the centerbolt in place, we’ll remove it later. Step-6: Remove Flywheel or Flexplate Make sure the engine is not resting on the ring gear. Loosen and remove the six bolts that retain the flywheel or flexplate. These bolts are also very tight; use a 1/2-inch-drive socket and a long breaker bar. Be careful as you remove the flywheel; don’t let it fall on your fingers! Note that the flywheel bolts use star-type lockwashers and have fine threads. Keep them together in your parts bins or bags. If your engine is equipped with a flywheel and clutch assembly, the pressure plate and clutch disk must be removed first. There will be six bolts holding the clutch disk in place and the bolts should be loosened evenly before being removed. Use care not to drop the pressure plate or clutch disk as you remove it. Step-7: Remove Rear Oil Gallery and Water Jacket Plugs In this step we’ll remove three oil gallery (pipe) plugs and two water jacket core plugs installed in the rear of the block (the large cam plug will be removed later). Note: If you can’t remove any of these core plugs, ask your machine shop to remove them before they clean your block. The gallery plugs: They are extremely tight and often must be drilled and removed with an extractor. However, they can sometimes be loosened with a special 1/4-inch square-drive pipe-plug socket (Snap-on set 211PPPMY). Never use a 1/4-inch drive ratchet or extension; it will break off and remain jammed in the plug! The core plugs: Remove the two core plugs by first driving them in the water jacket with a large 1/2-inch-drive socket (11⁄16 inches usually works). Then work the plugs to one side, grab them with a Vise-Grip or adjustable pliers, and lever them out. Step-8: Mount Engine on Stand You cannot build a quality engine if you have to roll it around on your garage floor! A heavy-duty engine stand is an essential part of your engine-building project. Use a “cherry picker” to lift the engine into position, then attach the engine to the stand using at least grade-5 bolts that thread into the block no less than 1/2 inch. Be sure to get the engine secured and put the lock pin in to hold it steady or tighten the lock bolt/setscrew on the stand. Step-9: Drain Oil ( Safety Step) Make sure the engine is securely mounted on the engine stand. Remove the lift point and/or attaching chains. Before you proceed, consider placing a drip pan on or under your engine stand. If you don’t, engine oil, antifreeze, grease, dirt, rust, and other unpleasant gunk will wind up under foot as you tear your engine apart. Now, drain engine oil from the pan and remove the oil filter. Remember, used engine oil is a toxic waste; keep it off your hands (latex gloves available at most paint stores work nicely) and dispose of it in an environmentally appropriate manner. Step-10: Remove Accessories and Mounting Brackets If your engine is so equipped, begin accessory removal by unbolting the air-conditioning compressor and its mounting bracket. Next, remove the fan, smog pump, power steering pump, and alternator. Unbolt all remaining mounting brackets located on the front of the engine. Step-11: Remove Distributor/Spark Plugs ( Documentation Required) Distributors are positioned to optimize engine-compartment clearance. Record its general position on your Work-A-Long Sheet before you loosen it. Start by removing all spark plug wires. Then unbolt and remove the distributor hold-down clamp. Remove the distributor by twisting and lifting it by the bottom of the housing. Note that, as you lift up, the rotor turns. This is due to the helical gear. Don’t apply excessive force to the rotor, cap, or vacuum-advance housing. Finally, remove the spark plugs. Since the appearance of the insulators can help diagnose some engine malfunctions, you may want to number the spark plugs (masking tape works well) for future reference. While you’re working on top of the engine, strip the intake manifold of the EGR valve, carb, and thermostat housing. Step-12: Apply Penetrant ( Professional Mechanic Tip) Before you attempt to remove any exhaust system bolts and fittings, apply a liberal amount of rust penetrant to each fastener and allow it to soak in for at least 10 minutes. See Sidebar “Removing Stubborn Fasteners” on page 24. If any of the bolts don’t break loose, don’t apply excessive force. Apply more penetrant, and try again. Step-13: Remove Exhaust Manifolds and Air-Injection Lines Before you remove the exhaust manifolds, mark them with an “L” or “1” (left bank) or an “R” or “2” (right bank). Some stock manifolds are already marked (as ours was). Now bend back any locking tabs on the exhaust manifold bolts, and remove the bolts and manifolds. If your engine has them, remove the spark plug heat shields that are attached to the top edge of the block. If you have AIR tubes to remove from the manifold (if using the same manifolds, leave them in place), soak them in penetrant. Then, use a quality 9/16-inch line wrench, such as this thickheaded Snap-on model (part RXS18), to remove the lines. If an injector tube starts to twist with the nut, STOP! Apply more penetrant and work the nut back and forth until it turns freely Step-14: Remove Motor Mounts and Starter Some motor mounts/brackets may be left/right interchangeable, while others are not. If you feel there may be any confusion during reassembly, mark each bracket with a tag or stamp. Remove the front motor mounts and/or mounting brackets from each side of the cylinder block. Next, remove the starter support bracket (if your engine has one). Then remove the two starter attaching bolts. The starter is heavy, so be careful as you remove the final bolt. Step-15: Remove Fuel Pump and Pump Support Plate Remove any fuel lines still attached to the fuel pump. Unscrew the two 3/8-inch pump attaching bolts and remove the fuel pump. Next, remove the two 1/4-inch bolts holding the pump mounting plate to the block. Use a gasket scraper or screwdriver to pry the mounting plate loose. Finally, slide the fuel-pump pushrod out of the block. Set these components aside in your parts bins. Step-16: Remove All Topside Accessories Remove all remaining accessories from the intake manifold, including the carburetor and choke bi-metal housing. Also, remove the oil pressure sender from the rear of the block. Snap-on and other manufacturers offer special sockets for “idiot light” and gauge-type units. However, a deep socket, open-end wrench, or adjustable pliers will remove most types. Don’t apply force to the plastic on small senders, or to the “can” on larger sending units. Step-17: Remove Water Pump Remove the water pump by removing the four bolts that secure it to the engine block. When the bolts are removed, you may need a small pry bar or large screwdriver to break the pump loose from the block, but don’t pry against the timing chain cover— you could easily damage it. Chevrolet used two different length water pumps through the 1960s and early 1970s: a short pump (on the right) and a long pump (on the left). The short pumps were used on engines in Corvettes, Novas, and other engines that were short on space between the pump and the radiator. Be sure to use the same style that you had before, or your brackets and pulleys will be all wrong. Step-18: Remove Valve Covers Remove all remaining components that may still be attached to the valve covers. Then remove the cover bolts and covers. If you have to pry the covers loose, take your time because excessive force can easily bend them. In about 1986, Chevy changed the retaining arrangement of their valve covers. No longer were the four bolts on the outer edge of the cover and head. The bolts were actually moved to the center of the valve cover (such as the grungy model shown). These were much less prone to oil leaks over time. Step-19: Remove Intake Manifold Remove all Remaining bolts attaching the intake manifold to the cylinder heads. Most manifolds will come loose after prying with a screwdriver inserted between the manifold and the end-rails of the block. If your manifold seems to be “really stuck,” STOP! Make sure all the manifold bolts have been removed. When the manifold has been removed, note the heat-riser passage configuration (providing it hasn’t been burned out) of the intake gaskets on your Work-A-Long Sheet for future reference. Step-20: Remove Rocker Arms and Pushrods Remove each of the rocker arms by unscrewing the self-locking nuts. It is recommended that you replace these lock nuts, but try to keep the old ones for your visual inspection. Goodson offers a helpful tray just for valvetrain disassembly. Lift the rocker arm off the stud and pull out the pushrod. Roll each pushrod on a clean, flat surface to make sure none are bent. Mark or label them and note any damage in your Work-Along Sheet for future reference. Step-21: Remove Head Bolts First, make sure the lock-bolt on the engine stand that prevents block rotation is tight. Use a long, 1/2-inchbreaker bar and a 5/8-inch 6-point socket. Break all the head bolts loose, then go back with a short-handled ratchet and remove all but two bolts in each head. Leave one bolt near each end of each cylinder head (four bolts). Unscrew these four remaining bolts only two or three turns. Step-22: Remove Cylinder Heads In most cases, the cylinder head will be stuck to the block with sealing compound and corrosion. To coax it loose, insert a breaker bar or pry bar into one of the intake ports and smoothly apply pressure until the head pops up against the two remaining head bolts. If the head resists prying loose, STOP! Make sure all but two bolts have been removed and the two remaining bolts are loose. After the head is loose, mark it with an “L” or “1” (left bank) or an “R” or “2” (right bank). Now remove the two remaining bolts and lift the head onto your workbench. Use the same technique to remove the other cylinder head. Step-23: Remove and Tag Head Gaskets/Remove Dowel Pins Remove the cylinder head gaskets—they usually remain stuck on the cylinder block. Tag each gasket “LEFT” or “RIGHT” and note its type on your Work-A-Long Sheet. The cylinder heads and gaskets are located on the block by two dowel pins on each deck surface. Most machine shops remove and replace these pins as a matter of course when machine work is performed. If you have the proper tools, you can remove them now. But don’t drive them into the water jackets. They can become stuck below the deck surface or you may even crack the block and render it useless. The best way to remove them is to first tap them with a hammer and brass drift, and then use a 5/16-inch collet-type puller, such as this tool from Goodson. Step-24: Remove Lifters If you’re considering reusing the camshaft and lifters, each lifter must be reinstalled in the same lifter bore, or you will doom the cam to destruction. Label each part upon removal or use a disassembly tray like those from Goodson or Crane Cams. Remove each lifter by using a hooked probe to pull it up, then grasp and remove the lifter body with your fingers and/or needle-nose pliers. Some lifters may also be so worn (mushroomed) that they will not slide out of their bores. If you find any, just pull the lifter up as much as possible, and leave it in the bore. We’ll remove it later. Note the location of any suspect lifters on your Work-A-Long Sheet. Step-25: Remove Oil Pan and Dipstick Before you rotate the engine on your engine stand, remove the fourteen 1/4-inch and four 5/16-inch pan bolts (the larger bolts are located at each end of the pan). If the pan is stuck to the block (most are), insert a gasket scraper or screwdriver between the block and pan rails, but try not to bend the pan. Gently pry on both sides until the pan comes loose. Also, remove the dipstick and dipstick tube by twisting it back and forth by hand. If it doesn’t come out, insert a 5/16 x 1-inch bolt into the tube and use a pair of adjustable pliers to twist it out. Step-26: Remove Crank Pulley ( Documentation Required) Remove the 3/8-inch bolts that hold the crank pulley to the vibration damper. Before you toss the bolts into a bin, carefully inspect them, and indicate whether they have fine (NF), like the bolt on the left, or coarse (NC) threads (right) on your Work-A-Long Sheet. Fine threads are used more often, but there is no way to predict what you’ll find. Step-27: Install Damper Puller ( Documentation Required) You must use a 3-bolt puller to remove the vibration damper. This puller is used in a variety of applications so adding one to your toolbox is a good idea. We got ours from Snap-on. Before you begin, check three important things. First, make sure you’re using the correct puller. Don’t use a puller that grabs the outer ring—you’ll pull the ring right off the damper! Second, make sure the puller draw bolt does not damage threads in the nose of the crankshaft. If you have any doubts, reinstall the crank bolt—without the washer—and allow the draw bolt to push against the head of the crank bolt. Third, make sure the threads on the three attaching bolts match the threads in the damper and that the bolts have been screwed into the damper at least 3/8 inch. Step-28: Remove Vibration Damper When you’re sure the puller is properly installed, tighten the draw bolt. To prevent the crank from turning, insert a wood handle between the crank and the block. The damper will usually break loose with a “pop.” If the draw bolt gets very tight and the damper won’t budge, STOP! Make sure the draw bolt is properly contacting the crank and that the three attaching boltsare not pulling out of the damper (you should have screwed them in at least 3/8 inch). If everything looks okay, continue tightening until the damper comes loose. Step-29: Remove Timing Chain Cover Now, remove the 10-1/4-inch timing chain cover bolts—theyoften use separate startype lockwashers. Place the bolts and lockwashers in your parts bin. If the top dead center (TDC) timing indicator plate is held on with two cover bolts, indicate the attaching bolt locations on your Work-A-Long Sheet. Pry the cover loose by inserting a gasket scraper or screwdriver between the cover and the block; gently pry until the cover comes free. Step-30: Remove Crank Key Remove the vibration-damper locating key in the crank snout by using a 5/16-inch (maximum) non-tapering drift punch. Drive the key toward the front main. As the key moves back in its slot, it will climb out of the crank. When two-thirds of the key is visible, use pliers to pull it free. Note: If the crank slot is enlarged or the key is loose, the crank may be unusable (more on this in Chapter 3). Step-31: Remove Timing Chain and Sprockets Loosen and remove the three bolts that hold the upper sprocket to the camshaft. The sprocket will usually come off with a slight “tug.” If it’s stuck, gently pry each side of the gear with a screwdriver wedged between the sprocket and the block face. The timing chain will come off with the upper sprocket. Sometimes the lower sprocket will slide off of the crankshaft with little effort; however, it is often firmly attached. If yours is tight, a gear puller will be needed to remove it. If you don’t have the proper tool, don’t worry about it; your machine shop will remove the lower sprocket for you (usually at no charge) when they inspect or regrind your crank. Step-32: Remove Camshaft ( Professional Mechanic Tip) Removing the camshaft is easier if you install a “handle” like the ones offered by Goodson. You can also use a long, 3/8-inch NC bolt, or temporarily reinstall the cam sprocket as a handhold. Twist the cam back and forth, as you remove it. Keep the cam centered and prevent it from “falling” against the bearings as it slides out of the block. Step-33: Rotate Engine in Stand ( Professional Mechanic Tip) Most engine short blocks Contain residual coolant, dirt, rust, and other debris that will fall to your garage floor when you rotate the block upside down. If you don’t have a drip pan under your engine stand, spread rags on the floor to catch as much of the spillage as possible. Turning the engine slowly will also help keep the mess contained. Note: If the pump driveshaft falls out, just set it aside for now. Step-34: Remove Pump Pickup If you are planning to install a new or special oil pump (see Sidebar “Oil Pumps” on page 44), now is a good time to remove the pickup from the pump body. If you will be reusing the old pump, do not remove the pickup and skip to Step 35. First, make sure that the pickup tube has not been welded or brazed to the pump cover. If it has, remove the weld with a small die grinder before you proceed. Insert a pry bar into the pickup pipe loop as shown. Twist once or twice while pushing the pickup away from the pump cover. The tube should quickly loosen up enough to be removed by hand. Step-35: Remove Oil Pump Remove the single bolt holding the oilpump to the rear main. Wiggle the pump while you’re pulling upward to free the pump from the two dowel pins in the cap. When loose, continue lifting straight up. In most cases, a plastic attaching sleeve will keep the short pump driveshaft attached to the oil pump. If the shaft separates from the pump, it may fall through the distributor hole and to the floor; this may have happened already when you rotated the engine upside down. Set the pump and driveshaft aside. Step-36: Remove Oil Filter Adapter ( Documentation Required) Remove the two 1/4- or 5/16-inch bolts that hold the oil filter adapter to the block. Note: Your filter adapter may look different from the one pictured here. When the bolts have been removed, lift the adapter free, note the adapter type on your Work-A-Long Sheet, and set it aside in your parts bin. Step-37: Turning the Crankshaft ( Professional Mechanic Tip) In the following steps, you’ll need to rotate the crankshaft to continue disassembly. You can use a handy crank socket, such as this Snap-on example, which allows you to turn the crank in either direction. In a pinch, you can reinstall the crank centerbolt with a spacer (right photo), then use a standard 5/8-inch socket and breaker bar. Step-38: Number Rod and Main Caps ( Important!) Before you begin bottom-end disassembly, it is essential that you number the rod and main caps. They are not interchangeable, and mixing the caps is a sure road to bearing failure. Don’t skip this step even if you notice that the caps are already numbered; some engines come with duplicate numbers! You can use center-punch marks. However, a set of 1/8- or 3/16-inch steel number stamps do a nice job. Regardless of the method you choose, don’t stamp the caps across the parting lines. Position your numbers or punch marks only on the flat areas adjacent to the parting lines. Stamp both halves of the rods, and to ease assembly, stamp the main caps and the block. Number the rods 1 through 8 and the mains 1 through 5. Step-39: What to Do About Excessive Cylinder Ridge ( Important!) If your block has a ridge in the bores deeper than about.008 inch, it will catch the rings during assembly. You can use a ridge reamer to remove the ledge and save the pistons, but this may be false economy (especially when you consider that more good blocks are scrapped by the incorrect use of a ridge reamer than any other single mishap). When a deep ridge has been worn into the bores, the pistons are usually worn out too. So the best solution is simply to drive the pistons out. While the rings or ring grooves may break, the block will not be damaged. To save the pistons, use a top-quality reamer, such as Snap-on’s (part WR30A) or have your machine shop cut the ridge. Step-40: Begin Rod/Piston Removal Begin the rod/piston removal by rotating the crankshaft so that the piston being removed is at BDC; piston is at the bottom of the stroke. Step-41: Loosen Rod Cap Use a long-handled ratchet or breaker bar to loosen the two connecting rod nuts and unscrew them only a few turns. Don’t remove them yet. Step-42: Protect the Journal ( Important!) It is not essential to use a special tool to remove the rods and pistons. However, it is essential to use some method of protecting the crank journal as the rod bolts slide. Rebuilders often install short rubber hoses over the bolts. Companies like Goodson sell a set of rod bolt covers that are very durable and handy. (If you use the removal tool described in Step 44, you should install one sleeve and wrap the tool with tape to protect the crank.) Step-43: Don’t Crack the Bore! ( Critical Inspection) Regardless of the method you select to remove the rods and pistons in the upcoming steps, it is absolutely essential that you keep the big end of the rod centered as it moves down the bore. If it drifts up or down, it can catch on the edge of the cylinder bore. Unfortunately, some engine builders don’t realize the cause of the “hang-up” and deliver several potent hammer blows. This sometimes breaks chunks off the bottom of the cylinder bore, which can convert a perfectly fine block into scrap metal. Don’t let this happen to you! Keep the rod centered as it moves down the bore, and if it gets stuck, make sure you know why before you apply additional force. Step-44: Remove Rods If you do not have a special rod removal tool, use a wooden dowel (an old broom handle works well) that is about 24 inches long. Once the rod is loose from the rod cap, position the dowel on the piston balance pad (see drawing) and drive the piston out. Remember to keep the rod centered. Be ready to catch the piston before it drops to the floor. You can also make a special tool by welding a nut that will go over the rod bolt to a steel rod. Be sure to wrap the rod with tape to prevent scuffing the crank journal. B&B Performance and other companies sell a professional version. Step-45: Replace Rod Caps and Nuts Once the rod/piston is removed, replace both bearing shells, put the cap and nuts back on, and set the assembly aside. Keeping the bearings with the rod can help you “read” possible problems (such a rod misalignment, insufficient oiling, bolt stretch, etc.) when we inspect these components in Chapter 3, “Initial Parts Inspection.” Step-46: Remove Remaining Rods/Pistons Now, jump back to Step 40 and repeat the disassembly procedure for the remaining seven rods and pistons. Step-47: Remove Main Bearing Caps Make sure the main caps have been numbered before you remove them from the block (see Step 38). Using a breaker bar and a 5/8-inch 6-point socket, loosen and remove all ten main-cap bolts. If your engine has 4- bolt main caps, also remove the six side bolts on the three center caps. The main caps are fitted to the block with a slight interference fit and may require a tap or two with a plastic hammer to free them. Keep the bearing shells with their respective caps. Step-48: Remove One-Piece Rear Main Seal If your small-block was manufactured after 1986 and uses a one-piece rear main seal, perform this step; otherwise skip to Step 49. The crank seal appliance must be removed before the crankshaft can be lifted from the block. First, unscrew the two long and two short bolts that hold the seal support on the rear of the block. Then, pry the appliance loose and slide it straight off the end of the crank. Step-49: Remove Crankshaft Lift the crank straight up out of the block; you may have to wiggle it slightly (end to end) as you lift to clear the thrust faces on the rear main bearing. Some of the bearing shells may remain stuck to the crank journals as the crank is lifted free. Before they fall off and get mixed up, remove them—along with any bearing shells remaining in the block—and keep them with their respective main caps (Goodson offers parts tags that are great for use in such a situation). Step-50: Remove Two-Piece Rear Main Seal If your engine is a late-model design with a one-piece rear main seal, jump to Step 51. Use a metal probe or a small screwdriver to pry out the rear main seal halves from both the block and rear main cap. Note the seal type on your Work-A-Long Sheet, and then discard the old seal. Also remove the dipstick tube by tapping it from the oil pan deck surface out. Step-51: Remove Water Jacket Plugs Now, remove the remaining core plugs from the side and front of the block using the same technique described in Step 48. Finally, remove the two water-drain plugs from each side of the block with a 9/16-inch 6-point socket and a 1/2-inch breaker bar. Don’t use a 12-point socket on these plugs; they are usually very tight. Step-52: Remove Remaining Plugs Rotate the engine right-side up. Remove the 1/8- inch pipe plug in the oil pressure access at the front of the block. Next, remove the two 1/4-inch oil gallery plugs at the back of the block using the techniques described in Step 48. A final cup-type plug is located in the oil passage just under the rear main cap. Although most engines are rebuilt without removing this plug, you cannot thoroughly clean the passage with it in place. To remove the plug, insert a 1/4-inch-diameter, 24-inch-long steel rod (found at most hardware stores) into the oil-pressure access at the rear of the block. A few taps with the hammer will drive the plug out. Also, if you have any stuck lifters, that you could not remove earlier, now is the time to drive them down and into the block. Step-53: Cylinder Head Disassembly Many of the steps involved in rebuilding cylinder heads are well outside the capabilities of most home shops. For an overview of these procedures, refer to Chapter 5, “At the Machine Shop.” Because of these technical requirements, you may choose to take your cylinder heads to a qualified shop and leave the disassembly and reconditioning to them. On the other hand, if you have a valvespring compressor and you’d like to disassemble the heads yourself, proceed with Step 54. Step-54: Compressing the Valvespring The valve locks often become firmly stuck in the spring retainers. To free them, position the head with the chambers facing down on a soft wooden surface. Use a brass hammer and socket to strike each retainer several times (with moderate force) until you “feel” it break loose. Reposition the head with the intake ports facing down and try your valvespring compressor. If the retainer won’t budge, give it a few more hammer raps. Step-55: Remove Locks and Springs When the spring is compressed and the valvelocks are exposed (adjust your spring compressor to almost fully compress the valvespring), remove the locks with a probe or magnetic tool (this one is from Goodson). Now release the spring compressor. Sometimes the rubber O-ring on the valvestem becomes so hard that it will not let the retainer slide off. You may have to pry the retainer loose with a screwdriver. Step-56: Remove Keeper Burrs ( Important!) In some cases, the valvelock grooves in the valvestem can develop a raised “burr” that will prevent the valve from sliding through the guide. Do not drive the valve out with a punch. Use a small, fine file—positioned flat against the valvestem—to remove the raised lip around the lock grooves. Rotate the valve head while you gently file the stem. When all of the raised edge is removed, the valve will easily slide out of the cylinder head. Step-57: Keep Parts Organized ( Important!) If you Are planning to simply replace parts or perform other limited reconditioning work (to save money or if the heads are in very good condition), you should keep everything together. This plastic organizer from Goodson does the job in style. Step-58: Engine Disassembly Complete This completes disassembly. In Chapter 3, we’ll take a closer look at the piston assemblies (the rings, pistons, rods, and rod bearings), the cylinder heads, the block, crank, and other components before they are sent to the machine shop. It is in this and other upcoming chapters that you’ll determine what parts can be reused and/or rebuilt. Upcoming chapters will also discuss component selection and cleaning, and will go through a pre-assembly fitting session to make sure all parts work together efficiently and reliably. Written by Larry Schrieb and Posted with Permission of CarTechBooks. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the first of 5 books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction'trilogy' by Douglas Adams (with the sixth. The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Book Cover. Download Link > About The Ultim. Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. ![]() ![]() Welcome to the romance books and novels category on obooko, which is full of wonderful stories in a wide range of fiction genres. The majority of free romance e books in this section are written specifically for women. Each story you see in this category is free of charge and avilable in pdf, epub and kindle formats for your reading pleasure: from chicklit to bodice-rippers and racy mysteries through to romantic fantasy, steamy stories, paranormal-romance books and historical-romance novels. All written by authors who are masters of the genre. Why pay when you can download great books for free? Read the Best Romance Novels and free romance books online. Romance is probably the most popular fiction genre, which currently makes up over 50% of all printed and digital English-language books sold worldwide. Historical Romance genre: new releases and popular books, including Someone to Wed by Mary Balogh, A Duke in Shining Armor by Loretta Chase, Third Son's. Browse any ebooks by genre Historical Fiction. Browse any genre in our library. Read online and add your books to our library. Best fiction books are always available. ![]() Here on obooko, we offer a wide range for you to read free romance books online in a variety of sub-genres, including paranormal romance, historical romance, fantasy and contemporary chicklit, all in three, easy to download ebook formats for your reading pleasure. Romance novels focus on the love between between people and the stories can take place on a wide variety of backdrops. There are a number of sub categories that give some ideas of how diverse the romance genre can be. The main target market of romance literature is women but you'll be surprised at how many men enjoy a good romance too! Our romantic stories are written by independent authors who excel at their craft and want you to enjoy their work free of charge in return for a star rating and some feedback. So, if you are looking for romance books at any time of the day or night you know where to come! Unlike high-street bookstores, we are open 24 hours each day, every day! Love and Romance can be both psychological and physical: the whole process is essential in order to attract and build a unique relationship with a member of the opposite or same sex. As with many of the love stories in this category, it’s obvious that without romance we would not be here; after all, love is what makes the world go round! So it's a good therapy to get stuck into a good about relationships whenever you can. These are the keys to our existence and ensure the longevity of our race via procreation. Beginning in adolescence, the feelings and emotions of romance and love start to manifest via mutual attraction. Start downloading the Best Romance Novels online, right here at obooko! One of the most misunderstood aspects of love and the in particular is their connection with the institution of marriage; that these feelings and emotions should be irrevocably linked to a permanent and long-lasting relationship. But they should not be linked in this way: marriage and romance are entirely separate in many ways. Romantic gestures and love express emotional feelings, while marriage is purely an established contractual existence. As you will see from reading the romantic stories and free online romance books in the extensive obooko online library, marriage is in no way a guarantee of everlasting romance! Is love blind? While it is commendable to accept and love your partner exactly as they are, to believe that love truly is blind may be put down to myth rather than fact. As with many of the characters in the free-romance-novels and stories you read here on obooko, your partner may have a few objectionable tendencies, which may lead to the cooling and eventual termination of a romance. Learn to write love letters like a King! Read the famous love letters that gave rise to the tumultuous love affair that changed England forever. These letters from King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn were found in the Vatican Library; who stole them and how they came to Rome is a mystery that has puzzled historians for years. Historical Fiction. Choose from great eBooks from Rakuten Kobo's extensive catalogue. Get personalized recommendations and see other readers' reviews. Read more with Rakuten Kobo. Get great deals on bestselling Historical Romance ebooks for Kindle, Nook & more. Limited-time free and discount Historical Romance books. Books shelved as historical-fiction: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, The Help. We have located the original transcriptions and published the letters in this historically romantic book,: The Love letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, which we hope you will enjoy. It is one of the many romantic books we have available on obooko for download. Here are some interesting love and romance facts: Apparently men who kiss their partners goodbye in the morning as they leave for work average higher salaries than those who don't. Men who enjoy ritual affection like this tend to be more stable, industrious and methodical in their work, which leads them to achieve higher earnings. Studies show that these guys also live 5 years longer than non kissers. Download and read free romance books online. ![]() Men love chocolate too! Apparently, the Mexican chief Montezuma considered chocolate to be a very potent 'love drug' and drank a staggering 50 cups of liquid chocolate a day before visiting his harem of, wait for it, 600 women! Make sure you give your man plenty of cocoa tonight. And get your self a tasty book from our free romance books online! The zero score 'Love' in tennis dates back to the late 18th century and means 'playing for love' or playing for nothing. ![]() Other suggestions claim the use of 'love' as a score derives from its similarity to the French word for egg 'L'oeuf.' Well, a zero is sort of egg-shaped. ![]() There is nothing like a good romance novel from obooko if you don't like sport! In a lot of you will have heard of marriage being described as ‘Tying The Knot,’ but what does it actually mean? Apparently the knot is established in many cultures around the world as a way to signify eternal love that is without a beginning or an end. Make sure your knot is tied well and doesn't come undone! In novels, especially historical romance novels, you will ofen find reference to finding a four-leaf clover, which is believed to bring good luck. It is also part of an ancient love ritual in some parts of Ireland: if a woman thinks about a man while eating a four-leaf clover, he will be sure to fall hopelessly in love with her. We think her green teeth might put him off though. You will often find scary action in our paranormal romance books but did you know that studies have shown that if a man meets a woman in a scary or dangerous environment such as on a shaky bridge, he is more likely to fall in love with her than if he met her in a regular setting like a shop or office. This goes for women meeting men too. Now where did I see that bridge? Romance novels may usually refer to engagement and wedding rings being worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. Apparently, someone in ancient times claimed this finger contains the Vena Amoris, or the 'vein of love,' and that it runs straight to the heart. It's nonsense though because all fingers contain similar veins. Did you know that Antidepressant drugs are likely to have an adverse effect on romantic love? This is because antidepressants increase serotonin levels. High serotonin levels can suppress emotions and restrict obsessive thoughts about the lover. When men fall in love there is more activity in the part of the brain that handles visual stimulation. Women in love however show greater activity in the area that controls memory. Experts suggest that men form an opinion about a woman visually to determine if she can bear babies. Women record aspects of man’s behaviour in order to determine if he would be an adequate provider. All this factual stuff puts a damper on reading romantic stories though! We hope you enjoy reading the Best Romance Novels and fabulous Free Romance books, e-books and stories during your visits to the obooko library. A couple of snippets for love and romance readers: 1. Keep that flame alive! Apparently, romantic love lasts for about a year, this is probably because the brain cannot maintain a heightened state of bliss forever. After romantic love diminishes, attachment love, a more enduring kind, takes over. Experts suggest continually doing satisfying and exciting activities as a couple will ensure you keep the flame of the original passion alive. Flowers as symbols of love: red roses are a sign of true love and passion. Light pink roses convey ardour, desire and energy. Dark pink communicates gratitude. Yellow roses can mean either jealousy or friendship. Love at first sight can be suggested by a lavender or thornless rose. And white roses signify devotion or virtue. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In it, Pastor Chris also shares deep truths on faith and divine healing, which are sure to strengthen and build your faith in God. Through the life changing testimonies and thoughts shared in this book, you’d be awakened to the possibilities of faith and the realities of the power of the Holy Ghost. Your faith will also be stirred to act on God’s Word for your own miracle. As you go through the pages of this book, open your heart and let faith rise in you. As the Lord Jesus did for those in this book and many others around the world who believe in Him for a miracle, He would do for you because He is the same yesterday, today and forever! Available ebook formats: epub mobi. Was a popular Bible teacher and writer, inspiring thousands to believe God for healing. As a young woman practicing medicine, Dr. Yeomans became hopelessly addicted to drugs. Freedom from bondage came miraculously when a minister pointed to the Word of God and fervently prayed for her. Healing From Heaven is a to-the-point book on the subject of God's power to heal our bodies from all types of sickness, today. The author, Lilian B. Yeomans, an MD. Author Daniel Ryan DC presents his book Healing From Heaven - A healers guide to the universe. ![]() Yeomans gave up her medical career and spent the next 40 years teaching the Word of God and ministering salvation, healing, and restoration. Yeomans, M.D., was a graduate of the University of Michigan Department of Medicine in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ![]() In my last post, we had a long comment thread where many folks chimed in about the price of ebooks. I thought I would distill my thoughts into a new blog entry, and explain why I believe $2.99 is the new ebook standard. ![]() There are a few ways to support this claim, but before I begin, we need some background. It all starts with print. Currently, the majority of authors are offered boilerplate contracts with fixed rates for print books. Mass market paperback is 8% of the cover price (though some houses offer 6% or even less), After a certain number of books are sold, it can escalate to 10%. Trade paperback is 7.5%. Hardcover is 10% for the first 5000, 12.5% for the next 5000, and 15% for everything after that. So, for a $7.99 paperback, the author earns 64 cents per copy sold. ![]() For a $13 trade paperback, the author earns 75 cents. For a $25 hardcover, the author earns $2.50 to start out, though it can get to $3.75 if it sells well. It is worth noting that these royalty rates are low because there are a lot of costs built into a book sale. Besides the costs absorbed by the publisher (editing, cover art, marketing, advertising, factoring the the cost of returns, plus overhead from salaries, rent, utilities, etc.), there are also printing and shipping costs. Setting a book’s price requires some creativity on the part of the author, a careful consideration of the book’s potential audience, and an assessment of what the. Is it possible to push Amazon into dropping your Kindle eBook price to $0.00 by selling it for $0.00 on Smashwords or other platforms? Kindle Pricing: How to Price Your Kindle Book For Optimal Results - Kindle edition by Alex Foster. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones. I have tried to publish a book permanently free on Amazon but. Using price match to free to force your Amazon title. Can eBooks deleted from Kindle Cloud be. The distributor gets a cut. The bookseller gets a cut as well. But the time the writer gets their cut, there isn't very much left. That's why hardcovers are priced as luxury items. You spend twenty-five bucks to be entertained by something for eight hours--something that I spent months of my life working on--and I get $2.50. Now let's take a small detour and discuss ebooks. Ebooks are a tricky product. Their costs are much lower than their print counterparts. No printing or shipping, no distributor, and the bookseller cut is smaller. There is no need to inflate the cost to factor in returns, because returns don't require shipping, warehousing, or printing. I'll also put forth that the marketing and advertising costs for ebooks are much lower, and fewer people are required to create an ebook, which means less overhead. Bottom line: Ebooks cost less to produce. This is a Good Thing. Especially because customers want ebooks to cost less. There is an acknowledged bias against the worth of downloadable content. This bias is partly emotional, and partly fact-based. Facts include: Ebooks cost nothing to distribute or produce. Ebooks are intangible--they don't exist in a hard copy. Ebooks have restrictions like DRM and proprietary format, which makes them worth less because they can't be shared, copied, or transferred. Emotional response to downloads include: I get a lot of stuff for free on the internet, which must mean it is worth less. If something can be copied, it has no tangible value. Copyright is not enforceable in a digital world, so everything should be free, and intellectual property is worthless. Bottom line: Ebooks cost less, customers know this, and customers want to pay less. Ebooks should be a bonanza for publishers. They cost less, they require fewer people to produce, and entire wings of their business could be downsized or eliminated, saving a lot of overhead. But I believe publishers have seen ebooks as a threat to their long-entrenched print book business. I've I've said before: publishers should be connecting writers and readers, but they seem more concerned about. That means protecting their paper-selling business. They've done many things to ensure this. -Push the agency model so they control the selling price of ebooks -Window ebook releases until after the print version is released -Keep ebook prices artificially high -Refuse to release ebook versions of some books, or in certain markets, or for certain platforms -Demand DRM, which consumers hate (iTunes no longer uses it for that very reason) -Devote time and energy and money to combating piracy, which is a waste of time and energy and money None of this embraces the future and prepares them for making fat ebook profits. Instead, it alienates their customers, angers their authors, and leaves them even farther behind as ebook domination draws closer and closer. Bottom line: Ebooks cost less, customers want to pay less, publishers don't care. So where are the authors in this? The boilerplate for ebooks was 25% of the net sales receipts. Instead of basing it on the cover price, it is based on what the publisher receives from the seller. So on a $9.99 ebook on Amazon (price set by the publisher) is sold to them for $7, which means the author earns $1.75. Now compared to hardcovers and paperbacks, a buck seventy-five is a pretty good royalty. At least, on the surface it is. But not when some other things are taken into account. On a hardcover, and on a paperback, there are so many costs that the publisher earns very close to what the author earns--three bucks on a hardcover, about a buck on a paperback. But on a $9.99 ebook, the publisher earns $5.25. $5.25 for simply uploading it to Amazon? Sorry, that's way too much. Not only that, but they do a lot less to bring an ebook to market, and pay a lot less to get it to market. Lower costs, lower overhead, but jack up the profit? A world where a publisher earns three times what the artist earns is simply messed up. If I wrote the damn thing, I deserve the lion's share. A 25% royalty rate isn't fair. Especially compared to print. It gets worse, though. We've established that ebooks should be cheaper, and customers want to pay less. They certainly don't want to pay ten bucks. So when a publisher prices a book that high, they're losing potential sales. No wonder there's a $9.99 boycott by readers. My own sales have confirmed this, numerous times. The lower the price, the more money a book earns. This is because value has nothing to do with the list price, and everything to do with. But it gets worse, still. By working with a publisher, an author gets 17.5% royalty of whatever price that publisher sets the book. By self publishing, the author can get 70% royalty, plus set their own price. I price my ebooks at $2.99, because I've found that to be the sweet spot. If I price them higher, I make more per sale, but have fewer sales so I lose money. On a $2.99 ebook, I earn $2.04. In other words, I earn three times more than I do on a $8 paperback, and almost as much as I do on a $25 hardcover. And guess what? Ebooks are easier to buy and sell than paper books. Kindle owners can buy my ebooks and get them instantly, without going to the store, or without even turning on their computers. No hassle, no wait. I like the $2.99 price for other reasons as well. A hardcover requires thought before buying. In this economy it's a big purchase. $2.99 is an impulse buy. It's no-guilt. It's a bargain. It encourages people to buy, rather than discourages. Bottom line: I can make more money selling $2.99 ebooks on my own than I can selling $7.99 paperbacks or $25 hardcovers with a publisher. The fact that I keep the rights, control cover art and titles, and can release the book as fast as I can write it rather than waiting 12 to 18 months, is all icing on the cake. So let's hear from the opposition: 1. Joe, don't you think books are worth more than $2.99? People have always paid more than that. Joe sez: A book is worth what it earns the author. Selling a bunch of $2.99 books is more profitable than selling almost as many $25 hardcovers. The public believes downloads should cost less, and the author makes more than they would in print. I think $2.99 is a perfect price to satisfy everyone. Joe, don't you think part of the reason you're selling so well is you're undercutting other authors with your low price? Joe sez: This isn't a zero sum game. Kindle owners don't buy just one book. They read more than they did before buying their ereader, and if they seem happy to buy more ebooks if they cost less. It isn't a choice between my book or your book. Readers can afford both. Joe, but what happens when publishers start selling at $2.99? Won't you lose sales? Joe sez: I don't believe publishers are going to go that route for a while. But if/when it happens, I can easily see my sales going up. When people can buy the new James Patterson for $2.99 instead of $9.99, they'll have money left over to spend on me. Joe, ebooks have been around for ten years, and they've always been priced higher than $2.99. Joe sez: The past is the past. Currently, people want to pay less. I say, give the customer what they want. Joe, books shouldn't be an impulse purchase. Many writers spend years toiling over their manuscripts. Books have integrity and gravitas, and people are willing to pay more for that. Joe sez: Books are entertainment. We can spend a lot of money to be entertained, and we can also be entertained for free. If you feel your ebook should be priced comparably to a hardcover, or a Broadway show, or a Picasso, knock yourself out. As I said, it isn't a zero sum game. You're free to price however you desire. But if I price my book high when everyone else listens to you and prices their books low, I won't sell very many. Joe sez: Then write a Broadway show, or take up painting. Then you'll get paid what your masterpiece is truly worth. Your books suck, and the only reason you sell so many is because they're cheap. Joe sez: I've long stopped caring about what people think of my writing, good or bad. I get enough fan mail, and make enough money, to no longer be concerned about bad reviews, negative people, or the obviously envious. My ego and bank account are satisfied, and I'm lucky I can find an audience while doing something I love. Also, you're an asshat. Aren't you worried about piracy? I'll eventually post long term results to my, but so far I've concluded that piracy hasn't hurt my sales. The way to fight piracy is with cost and convenience. Three dollar ebooks that can be purchased and delivered with the press of a button are the ultimate in cost and convenience. Don't you think publishers will eventually figure out what you have? Some smaller, independent publishers already have. Joe sez: I erroneously group all publishers together under the 'Big 6' banner. If anyone can adapt and survive in this brave new world, smaller publishers are much better suited for it. But if the brand is the author, all publishers, small and big, need to figure out what they can offer their authors to justify taking a percentage of royalties forever. It has to be more than a cover and editing, because authors can get those on their own, and pay one-time costs for them. What happens when Amazon lowers the royalty rate for authors? Joe sez: What happens when it starts raining acid and aliens invade our planet and the crickets stage a coup and win the majority of the seats in Congress? I'll worry about it when it happens. But if it does happen, we live in a capitalist society. Other businesses will spring up and offer authors more. Which is why Amazon is currently taking authors away from Big 6 publishing. The only reason this works for you is because you already have a platform and a lot of books. Other authors can't follow your example. Joe sez: How many authors get rich, whatever path they take? A fraction of a fraction are able to make big money selling fiction. It isn't a question of either selling 100,000 ebooks or selling zero. Everyone falls somewhere in between. This isn't a competition, or a sprint. It's a marathon, and the race is with yourself. Set realistic goals, experiment, learn from mistakes, keep and open mind, and most of all, write a lot of good books. I believe 99.9% of writers have a better chance to make more money in this new market than they did in the old one. If you do get offered a print deal, congratulations. But make sure that there is a clear reversion of rights clause if the publisher goes bankrupt before the book comes out (or during its shelf life.) Make sure there is clear language about what 'out of print' means. Make sure you get a decent ebook royalty rate. And above all, crunch the numbers and compare what you could potentially make on your own, especially in the long term. Also you have to remember that I'm just one man following my own path. Your results may vary. You can, and should, form your own conclusions based on your own experience. I'm sure this is my future. You need to figure out what your future is, and act accordingly. One thing about this entire self-publishing vs traditional publishing debate as of late is that folks seem to think that you are either with the Big 6 or self-published. There is a huge, vast middle ground. Depending upon your genre, many authors are making decent money through e-publishers. Some even sell print books of the ebooks that are doing well. E-publishers have all of the benefits of traditional publishing (cover art, editing, distribution all provided for you as part of the contract). The author gets anywhere between 25-40% (most places seem to be in the 35ish% range). Personally, I make 40% and have sold more in 10 days than I have with my self-published title that's been out for a couple of months. And I'm only with a brand new publisher. Folks with Carina and Cobblestone (for the R&E market) are making a lot more than I am from the sheer size of these places. Many writers starting out do not have the upfront cash to pay for a well-drawn cover and proper content and line editing. From what I've read on Smashwords and Amazon, I think a lot of these writers don't even know what content and line editors are. I think it's great that self-publishing is allowing some niche and different books to come on the market. I think it's great that authors can keep their backlists alive. I don't think it's great at the overall low quality of self-published books out there or that people think it's either Big 6 or bust. I've been following your blog closely for a year or so, and tend to agree. This is a market function--a book is worth what someone will pay for it, and the concept of undercutting other books is a fallacy. If you can sell for $2.99 and make a profit, it makes it hard for me to justify $9.99 for a comparable end-user experience. Markets are, to quote Eric Raymond, discussions. I priced my first ebook----at $3.99 (which was immediately discounted by Amazon to $3.19 for some mysterious reason). Too early to tell if that's the right price, but I hope it's close. Again, Joe, thoughtful piece. Nice and clear in terms of describing the differences between the different costs and prices and royalties. And for those who keep insisting that your success is completely based on your long years of marketing before you came to self-publishing and ebooks, I am one of those authors who have had success, even though my historical mystery is my first book. Thanks in part to the great advice I have gotten from you, and Zoe Winters, and April Hamilton, and others, after 10 months I have now sold over 1500 copies of Maids of Misfortune, and I am making over $300 a month on that single book. And much of it is clearly related to price. When I lowered my ebook from $4 to $2.99 my Kindle sales went from 21 to 55 in a month. While other factors have kept my sales rising, I have discovered another piece of the puzzle-discounts. For some reason Amazon started discounting my ebook in September to $2.37. (This may be related to a Kobo discount through Smashwords-so I have stopped selling to Kobo-and I am waiting to see it the Amazon price goes back to $2.99.) At the same time, my POD paper edition, which is listed at $12.75, and which Amazon had been discounting to $11.47, went back up to the list price. (Again, I don't know why, but it has provided an interesting experiment.) The result has been very clear. My September discounted ebook sales as of the 23rd of the month were 263 (versus 191 on August 23rd) a sharp rise. But my no longer discounted paper edition on Sept 23rd was 37, a sharp drop from the 59 I had sold by that date in August. My conclusion. Joe is right, the lower the price-the more people are willing to take a chance (in my case on a complete unknown author.) But added to this is the human tendency to like a 'bargain' even better-which has been proven by the free promotional strategy-as well as Amazon and other bookstore's discount policies. When I find a bargain in clothes of a brand name-I don't think it is less valuable, I buy it because I feel smart that I got a good deal on something that I ordinarily wouldn't buy. If I buy something unknown for sale, and it doesn't turn out, I am less disappointed, because it didn't cost me full price (it was worth the risk.) But if I pay full price for a brand name product that turns out to be a disappointment, I feel cheated, and less likely to risk this again. And that is how I have been feeling as a consumer when I click on a book by an established author and see a high price--that is in the same range as the paperback edition. Publishers (who aren't used to selling directly to readers) don't seem to get this basic idea. Some day I hope to be an established author, and that readers will buy my book because they read the first one and want to read more. Maybe that will make my work more 'valuable' but I sure won't want to punish that loyalty by charging them more to buy my next ebook!!!! And since I get 70% of the list price for that ebook, unlike traditionally published authors, I won't feel in the least bit devalued by continuing to set my price at $2.99 or even lower. Readers don't care how much authors are making off each sale, how much publishers are making, agents, distributors, booksellers, etc. They don't give a rat's ass. They just want a quality product at a reasonable price. Personally, I think $25 is too high for a hardcover (although I pay it on a regular basis), but I also think $2.99 is too low for an ebook. I mentioned David Morrell's prices in a previous post. $9.99 for the new release, and $6.39 for the backlist titles. Those prices seem fair to me. Do I care how much David is making off each sale? That's his business. I just want a good read, and I'm definitely willing to pay the price of lunch at Burger King to get it. At less than half the price for a new-release hardcover, $9.99 is a bargain. It's happened, Joe. After reading every post on your blog since the beginning of the year, you've finally found a way to make a post that I disgree with:-) I'm going to make a case for a higher floor than $2.99. From the irony department, just today I made free on Smashwords to see what will happen with a free item. It's also a novella and an introduction to a novel, so at this point I'm probably better off getting more people interested in the novel to be released next year. I'll get back to you on this post. It'll be so long that I'll probably just make a blog post of my own about it. I completely agree with the $2.99 price point. People, especially younger people that I am attempting to target with my YA ebook that comes out Nov. 1 (sorry for the plug!), are the iPod generation. They are used to having things quickly accessed and cheap. They'll pay.99-1.99 for songs on iTunes, no problem. So if I can price a book at a price point they are already comfortable with, I feel I will sell far more copies than if I priced it at what some people think they deserve. I currently make no money from writing. I know freelance writers that make peanuts for articles that they write. And no author I know has ever earned out their advance. I went to a writer's conference this summer where, at a panel for careers in creative writing, they pretty much told all of us to keep our day jobs because we will never make any money. But I think they're wrong, because ebooks are changing the game. I will have invested $500 on cover and formatting (through Joe's guys-they're great, thanks BTW). I am confident that I will earn well beyond that over the next year. I've tried to build a little platform with Facebook, my blog and Twitter, and hope to do minimal marketing through my blog and social networking. I really think this will give me the chance that I keep missing by trying to go through the agency system. I've gotten close many times, but no cigar. And many of my writer friends find themselves in the same boat, some taking 7 years to get an agent. Not that I'm trying to be a millionaire, but think of all the money you could make in 7 years if you can produce a quality book and sell lots of copies at $2.99. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I think we need to get over the ego of writing. I can (if necessary) write 1K words in an hour. YA books are between 50-70k. Obviously I would put in more than just 50-70 hours, because of rewrites and edits, but I think if I weren't so lazy and did the math, I'd be making a nice return on my hours spent. And like Joe said, we are creating entertainment. And I love every minute of it and can't wait to share! Great article again! It gives me more and more confidence that I'm doing the right thing by self-publishing (well, that and the monthly direct deposits by Amazon!). Pricing is totally important. People hate spending money - I'm one of them. So, when a book is under five bucks, they don't think much and give it a try. The closer you get to the $10 mark, the more people will think whether it's really worth it. Also the point you're making about people reading more with ebooks (and cheaper books), is valid. When I got my Kindle I suddenly went from reading ten books a year to ten to fifteen books a month. Convenience is so important - we are an 'instant' society - we want it and we want it now and don't want to wait for two or three days for the book to arrive in the mail. Tina Folsom Romance Author. Joe, I couldn't agree more. I put my first book, a historical novel on Kindle on June 29th 2010, and added my second book on August 11th. To date I have sold 1050 books on Kindle and have made over $2000.00 on the books. They are priced at $2.99. I had no Platform. I had never been published. But I am thankful to you and your blog for leading the way and keeping us informed. By the way, I'm a member of the Florida chapter of MWA and when I started talking about doing this and mentioned your success, everyone said-Joe has a platform. You can't believe everyting Joe says. Well I believed you and I'm glad I did. Great post, Joe. You've found a price point that maximizes your revenue, which should be the goal. Publishers seem to have fixated on a retail price, not on the overall revenue (and profits!). It shouldn't matter whether you price your book at $100 or at $1. What should matter is how many copies you sell at a given price point. If you sell 10 copies at $100, and 10,000 at $1, you should be pricing your book at $1. So you can put $10,000 in the bank instead of $1,000. The great thing about e-books (and other digital products) is you can experiment with pricing to discover what price maximizes your revenue. I discuss this on my blog post at http://20thlevelmarketing.blogspot.com/2010/09/pricing-digital-products.html. Another anecdotal point: I haven't released for Kindle yet, but I've been in ePublishing for the past 10 years (in the tabletop role-playing games industry). I usually don't price anything over $10, and most sits around the $5 level. Even with that, I run 2 sales per year, each a week long, where I reduce my prices to $1, across the board. In those two weeks, I make more in sales than in 4 months of my regular pricing. I do think that part of it is the limited-time nature of the sales (which is why I don't do $1 all the time), but it's a strong argument for cost and convenience leading to much higher sales.and yes, I get the usual 'you're undervaluing everyone else's releases' arguments from the Usual Suspects, same as you're getting here. I would buy books all day long at $2.99 and never worry that I'm spending too much but I can't bring myself to spend freely of the ones posted at $3.99. I guess some people really do buy books based on price, but I would be willing to bet that more people buy books based on what they want to read. All things being equal, I can see where $2.99 new releases would sell more than $9.99 new releases. But all things are not equal. Like everything else, you usually get what you pay for. Another great post. I'm wondering about epubs. Maybe Selena (or someone else familiar with the actual epub market) could answer this. Is any other genre besides erotica earning big money for its authors? (Wish I could write great erotica -- it's difficult!). I'd consider subbing something to one of the established epubs (novellas) if I thought my non-erotica would make more money there than through self-pubbing. So far, I don't think that's the case. I just got a $40 check today from a popular epub I sold a humor/satire short story to in 2006. That was the biggest check I've ever gotten from them. I really don't know how long the Amazon Kindle wave will last, but it's a helluva ride so far. But doesn't the whole $2.99 price thing hinge on Amazon's 70% royalty rate? Isn't that what makes the pricing 'sweet spot' make sense? Reduce that royalty substantially (which, IMO, Amazon will do one day), and the numbers don't look so attractive. In the meantime you've conditioned the buying public to believe that ebooks should be 3 bucks, and anything more is a rip off. There's no doubt Joe and others are having great success right now. But what about tomorrow? Like all things in life the current ebook model will surely change, and likely out of the writer's favor and into the retailer's (or epublisher's) favor. It seems to me the long view is missing from the discussion. Likewise, I can't help but feel the real sweet spot is positioning yourself for true long term success. But then again.if was Joe I'd probably grab all the cash I could too. 'Reduce that royalty substantially (which, IMO, Amazon will do one day), and the numbers don't look so attractive. 'In the meantime you've conditioned the buying public to believe that ebooks should be 3 bucks, and anything more is a rip off.' You have to price on the current business conditions, especially when the prospect of Amazon cutting the royalty rate is unknown. If business conditions change, prices may change to reflect. Consumers may balk, but eventually they accept higher prices. That's what history says, at least. One thing I didn't see discussed in any of the comments here at pricing $3.99 vs. $2.99 is the idea that higher volume is desirable because it helps fuel word of mouth sales. This is especially important for newer writers self-publishing. If they can get a higher sales ranking it makes their work look better. If they can get more reviews it reflects favorably. If they get more people reading their books, they get more people talking about their books. So increased sales at $2.99, even if you're earning a bit less overall than you do at the $3.99 price, may be worth it. Think of it as a marketing expense. I sorta hope Amazon does drop the royalty someday. I doubt they will any time soon, but it would be nice. Because the very next day, I (and a lot of other people) would be working our tails off to build new websites to sell ebooks - at the 70% rate. They won't do it though, I don't think. They've shown themselves to be pretty savvy, and while it would not be an overnight disaster, it would seriously damage their market share in time. Another thought: some folks here are talking about the 'value' of a book, about it being 'worth more than $2.99', like books are some sort of essential commodity. They're not, much as we might like to think so.;) Books are worth what people are willing to pay. But more importantly, books should be sold in a manner which maximizes profits. Larger businesses hire pros to analyze the data we're trying to put together here piecemeal. But the bottom line is: your price point should be the one which results in maximal profits. Not one penny less or more. If that's $2.99, $3.99, or $9.99, whichever - that is the best price to sell books. The higher you price a book, the less sales you will make but the more you make per unit. Once you can graph unit sales vs price as a line, you can calculate the best price for your product. I find that writers are too often not used to thinking about the business of what they are doing. Writers want to do the art - and let agents and publishers deal with the price points, with which cover types are selling best this year, with font choices, etc. The marketing, the business. It's a blind spot for many authors, but if there is one thing you CANNOT afford if going into self-publishing, it's being blind to the business end of the industry. Anonymous said. Joe I agree with the $2.99 price point and I would like to see it at $1.99, especially for YA books. Interesting case my publisher wanted to do a back to school special and dropped the price of my book from $1.99 to $.99. For a two week period we had little to no action in sales. The two weeks after the sale ended and the price returned to $1.99 sales picked up and have been decent for the last three weeks. Sean McCartney The Treasure Hunters Club Secrets of the Magical Medallions. One thing I didn't see discussed in any of the comments here at pricing $3.99 vs. $2.99 is the idea that higher volume is desirable because it helps fuel word of mouth sales. Sure, Mark, that's a no-brainer. What we're talking about here is the definitive price for new releases published by professional writers. How much is a good book worth? Is it only worth the price of a gallon of gas? A cup of coffee? I guess it all depends on how much a culture values its art. Let's hope, for the sake of civilization, that a new original work of art is worth just a bit more than a pack of cigarettes. Schnozz said. I'm not a writer or author - just someone who likes to read. I stumbled onto a few of Joe's books at my local library and read them all. At first I wasn't sure if I liked the style, but they grew on me and once I finished all the books the library offered, I downloaded the free books and stories from Joe's site (great stuff). I have an older Kindle and decided to buy a few of Joe's eBooks - one was $2.99 and I believe the other was $0.99 and if they were priced any higher I would not have bought them. As a reader, $2.99 or less is a fair price to me for an ebook. I used to buy hard cover books from my favorite authors (Andrew Vachss, Joe Lansdale, Michael Connelly and John Sandford) because I liked to have the physical book on my shelf at home but it soon became cost prohibitive and the library was convenient so I found it was easier and cheaper to just get the books from the library. Only recently have I started buying books again – eBooks that is – and only if they are $2.99 or less, so I feel that price point is perfect for eBooks. Just wanted to point that out from one reader’s perspective (who has become a big Konrath fan). Re: 'it would seriously damage their market share in time.' ------------------- I don't get that. The way I see it, Amazon is building huge market share right now, partially by enticing authors with an extremely favorable royalty. They are positioning themselves as the #1 retailer for ebooks and ereaders. And it's working. Just look where the majority of Joe's sales come from. At the moment there doesn't seem to be a viable contender to knock Amazon off the top of the pile. If the trend continues, in time Amazon can do what they want with pricing and royalties and I don't see it having a major affect on their business model. They are on track to become the iTunes of ebooks, if they aren't there already. I know I am not really anyone in the book world but I have a little story to tell you. I wrote my first book and it came out in November of 08. I didn't even know or understand what a Kindle was. I created a Amazon DTP account and priced my book at 14.99. This left my mind and 8 months later I spent 2 days looking for the account password. I found that I had sold 12 or so eBooks a month and I thought to myself, 'Hmmm I wonder.' I had book 2 coming out so I just wanted to reach people. I set book 2 at 8.99 and it is still at that price. I took book one and set it at 4.99. Figured if I hooked them they would buy book 2. That month I sold 48. I made more cash because I sold more. Now the little wheels in my head began to turn. I did the unthinkable. The mad the insane! I dropped book 1 to.99! Crazy and making my art worthless. I sold 120 that month, just on book 1. Month after.250. After that.350.after.550.800.1000! Now I was also watching book 2 numbers go up along with it. This was the tipping point. The time I no longer thought eBooks were just to market or a way to get free money. Here was a real business plan, real money and I was on the verge of making a living. This was about the time Amazon changed their royalty rate. But horror of horrors I had to up the price to 2.99 if I wanted the sweet 70%. I could see my numbers cutting in half and had a ball in my gut. I decided to give it one month and if I fell to far I would take the lower rate and stay at.99. Guess what happened? 2600 sold from 2 titles! What does this mean to the bean counters? 5600 bucks baby! Now I was in a weird sort of I don't believe it mode. I feared Amazon would stiff me or maybe not give me a check that month. It had to be a mistake. That was my best month but I still average 1800 sold each month between 2 titles making about $3600. Not bad and if I run the numbers and add the two books I will have live in the next few months that will double my income. This is no longer a dream, I am making a living writing. I am 31 years old and if I do 3 books a year and can hold my average and write to 60. Where can I go? This is retirement. 401K and Amway all mixed into one. I now speak to groups all over about ebooks and help authors see the power it this new wave of publishing. I just released a eBook only book called, 'The eBook on eBooks.' This is a real future, not a fad, not a scam but a real way to make a living no matter who you are. Great info, Joe. I don't know why so many people are having a hard time figuring out that it is the consumer that determines what a 'fair' price is whether it's a book, a cup of coffee or a car. The consumer looks at the product and either buys it or they don't. I think where authorpreneurs may be struggling is where to set their price on Kindle. They don't have the experience, history, or insight into their consumer when they are putting a new story out there for sale. A publisher knows their expenses for putting a book on a shelf and tries to price it to make a profit. The ebook indie may have spent money on cover art, editing, but the rest is time and people don't know how to put a price on that. The goal is to maximize earnings on sales of many copies of your story, not one. To do this you maximize the per copy profit over many sales. With the current kindle model, that starts at $2.99. If the authorpreneur wants to make another $0.70 or $1.40 or $2.10 per sale, they can do that, but they need to balance that against the impact of higher prices on their sales volumes. The only way to gain knowledge is through experience and to try different prices for 'their' story. They can use some anecdotal evidence that you and others are providing, but they aren't selling your stories, they are selling their own. It all comes down to who are you writing for and what's your goal? Doug ThrillersRus.blogspot.com. Is any other genre besides erotica earning big money for its authors? Erotic or not. Sweet romance sells just fine. There are a few other (very few) niche markets. Because you have readers who like reading a LOT of the above content. So they buy volume - and read lots of books in a week or a month. (Wish I could write great erotica -- it's difficult!). It actually is.:) Thanks for saying so! I just got a $40 check today from a popular epub I sold a humor/satire short story to in 2006. Would you like to bet me that those were actually Kindle sales? I have one ebook (it's actually a short-story) out there I can't get my rights back to until 2015. It's priced at $2 and I'm earning 35% of that. Usually I received a check from the epub for about $15 a quarter. Now I'm making $50 a month on average with them - and I'm 100% sure it's Kindle sales. Joe, ebooks have been around for ten years, and they've always been priced higher than $2.99. As a reader, I'm old in ebooks. My first reader was the original Rocket, and the idea thrilled me so much I didn't do enough research. The Rocket was and is a great ereader. I never used it much because the price of books for it offended me. Books by established authors were priced as much or more than hard covers. Books by indies were at so-so prices (higher than $2.99), quality was not guaranteed, and there was no sample feature in those days. The only reason this works for you is because you alreayd have a platform and a lot of books. Other authors can't follow your example. I am a pure indie author, no platform, never before published, never tried very hard to be published because what I found out about the industry put me off. No, I will never be successful at Joe's level or that of some other indies, but this is the third consecutive month my two books have earned me double my goal for supplemental income. Looking at what traditionally published authors make for a $25 hardcover and thinking about the $2+ I make for an ebook makes me feel like a highway robber - or as someone once described me, gleefully cheerful. I'm with Joe, pricing higher under these conditions is greedy, and as a reader I pay attention to prices. Maybe it's a matter of resources. I have a book budget and when I want an ebook I think is overpriced, it's the library for me. It's hard to say you're going to force unwilling readers to pay a certain price for an ebook when they have free alternatives. An ebook isn't like gasoline or food. I notice a the big debate being over 'fair pricing'. Isn't it simple economic principle that the consumer will pay what they are actually willing, and that that is a 'fair' price under the circumstance? The first thing my macroeconomics professor taught me was simple: there is a huge difference between what people say, and what they choose to do. I'm of that generation that believes digital information is not nearly as valuable as hard copy. I refuse to pay fifteen dollars on an electronic book. Simply will not. But I've paid ten. That ten went to an author I trusted, someone who's work I knew I enjoyed, and knew I'd get more use out of than a 'standard' novel. I've also seen the effects of the internet on creative entrepreneurs. More than one game designer, web comic artist, or blogger making money off of the good will of the people who enjoy their product. The 'pay what you like' method has been tried, and proven, on multiple occasions. I do wonder, though, what the effect of putting out multiple 'versions' of a work could do in this form of publishing? Anonymous said. Jude wrote: How much is a good book worth? Is it only worth the price of a gallon of gas? A cup of coffee? I guess it all depends on how much a culture values its art. Mass-produced books aren't Ansel Adams negatives and prints. They're virtually unlimited. In the case of ebooks, they are unlimited. So it gets back to what Joe wrote: 'A book is worth what it earns the author.' Sell 5,000 copies at $2 profit each and you've made $10,000 on your artwork. That's some serious scarole, if you know what I mean. Anonymous said. A further point 'on how much a culture values its art,' as Jude put it: People don't read for art. They read because they want information and entertainment. A super-small number of people give a hoot about the art value of anything. And there is nothing at all wrong with that. Real art doesn't jump around and shout 'HEY! I'M VALUABLE!' It just makes you feel something great. Works the same way whether we're talking Huckleberry Finn or a good pop song on MIX 94.1 FM, 'Your At Work Station!' One may outlast the other (as Huck Finn surely will) but the reason you like it -- which, for most people, is why they value it -- really is the same. So, How much you pay?' That's based on scarcity. Recorded music ain't scarce, and neither are ebooks. Stephen King's Misery cost me $3.99 and Huckleberry Finn cost me $0.00 -- the former's price kept higher than the latter cuz copyright makes it scarcer. Love 'em both, and paid what the little.epub's were worth to me at the time. I feel what you're saying. You see books as art, and want them to be valued as art. But the consumer looks at ebooks and knows that they don't cost as much to produce. Look at an $8 paperback - with over half the price going in retail costs and distribution, and most of the rest paying for print runs, only a thin slice actually goes to the publisher and author as profits. Contrast that with an ebook - where the distribution cost is none, and there are no print runs or returns to subsidize. And the public *knows* this. They know ebooks cost a fraction of what print books do to create, and they're outraged at being billed the same price, because they know that extra money is pure profit. You mentioned you 'don't get' how Amazon dropping royalties would impact their market share? If they ever do, dozens of little ebook sellers will spring up overnight, offering authors higher royalties. We might see that anyway - 70% is not the ceiling. Authors using Amazon will be forced to either suck up the loss of income or hike up their ebook prices. But they won't need to sell them for as much on another site. So if Amazon dropped royalties to, say, 35%, a $2.99 book would only net a dollar. Authors would have to boost prices to $5.99 to earn the same figure. Not all would boost that high, but we'd see cover prices go up. But on another site, where the royalties were higher, they could continue selling the same book for two or three dollars less. Even if the authors sold the books for the same price elsewhere, which site would they push the hardest in their blogs and marketing? Amazon, or the site they earned twice as much per book from? Individually, small ebook sale sites might not do much, but collectively they would, and the added damage from major bloggers would eventually add up to some serious losses for Amazon. I don't think they're going to risk it, at least not anytime soon. Consumers pay the going rate for many things, whether they like it or not. Granted, many forgo the purchase, but many more just pony up the bucks and live with it. Simple enough.no? No one can make you pay for something if you don't want to pay for it. At least, not entertainment items. We pay for electricity and gas and suck it up because they are necessities. Food is also a necessity, but we don't have to eat at five star restaurants and pay $100 for lobster. We can by beans and rice on sale. If a consumer doesn't like the price of a book, they don't buy it. Simple as that. We aren't a society that pays for things we don't want to pay for and sucks it up. Which is why so many things don't sell, and so many companies go out of business. The reason ebooks are outselling hardcovers is a perfect example of this. Some folks willing to pay for hardcovers are more willing to pay for ebooks, and those who never would have bought hardcovers are now trying ebooks. Those who want to read a hardcover but don't want to pay for it don't pay 'whether they like it or not.' They get it used, or at the library for free. Moses, your argument is all theory and conjecture because you have no evidence or proof. I, on the other hand, have evidence that $2.99 earns me a lot of money. Postulating that $3.99 may earn me more money is simply that--postulating. Raising prices WILL lead to few sales. If I can make more money on fewer sales, so what? Paul Levine may be doing that, but I'd love to see 12 months of hard data to support it. And even if the data were there, there are advantages to having sold a million ebooks over seven hundred thousand ebooks, even if the seven hundred thousand earned slightly more money. Every extra reader you gain is potentially an extra fan, and extra mouthpiece, and extra cheerleader. The more you sell, the likelier you are to sell to Hollywood or television. But it's all moot. I have hard data to justify my price. You've got hypothesis to justify yours. My real numbers trump your imaginary numbers. There isn't a single reason, other than greed, to raise my prices. And while greed is good, money ceases to be a motivator for me because I'm already making X amount of money. I'm supposed to jeopardize earning X in order to possibly make Y? Hi Joe, I agree with a lot of what you're saying. Of course, you are assessing the situation from a US viewpoint and I'm tempted to supplement this with a UK perspective on my own blog later. However, re your post. Are you sure about the bigger cut mainstream publishers are getting? They claim epublishing cost is little different from print because the main expenses are editing, advertising etc (tho I'm inclined not to entirely believe them on this!). Also, although $2.99 is a good selling price, I'm not sure it's sustainable for career writers to produce top class work and I wonder whether customers would pay a dollar or so more for a more professionally edited and perfected product. Low cost is good but low quality isn't. Another point to remember is that many customers are choosing ebooks over print books for reasons other than economic ones (eg storage space, portability). I'm sure that, whatever we think, the big businesses will charge as much as they can get away with. Couldn't sleep. Joe, I'd say neither one of us has proof that $2.99 will earn you more money than $3.99 or vice versa because when you've tested $3.99 you still had $2.99 ebooks available (so more people naturally bought the $2.99 ebooks). I'd like to see you and everyone else be able to make a living telling stories. You're doing great either way, but most others need to be careful about what prices they set. I did cite a survey that said that 93% of readers think that around $4.50 is a fair price for a new ebook novel. And there is Paul Levine's comments that show for him that $3.99 seems to be working better, Selena's great results with higher prices, the history of ebooks before Kindle selling at higher prices (though Kindle readers are a new beast), and also M.R. Mathias doing quite well at $8.88. That's not all theory and conjecture. There are some other points I want to make, too, but I ran out of time tonight. I agree with you about the benefit to getting more readers, though. That has to be weighed in here somewhere. Though that also comes at the cost of getting people used to lower prices, which may not be sustainable over the long term for most authors. I'm just looking for the truth and for now we all seem to fumbling around in the dark. We know that $2.99 works pretty well, but is it really the best price for now and for the long haul? I think the jury's still out and from all I've gathered, I suspect the answer to that is no. I did cite a survey that said that 93% of readers think that around $4.50 is a fair price for a new ebook novel. That's critters.org. They're writers. Hardly an unbiased survey. And there is Paul Levine's comments that show for him that $3.99 seems to be working better. Show me long term numbers, broken down by sales and profit and compared. Selena's great results with higher prices She hasn't shown numbers yet. To make a convincing argument, she needs to break out the spreadsheets. I don't blame her for not doing it--it's a giant headache. But if she wants to defend her position, it's the only way. Joe, I'd say neither one of us has proof that $2.99 will earn you more money than $3.99 I have proof that $2.99 earns X amount of money. I don't need to prove that X earns more than Y, because I'm fine with X. If you claim Y earns more than X, you need proof. You have none. The burden or proof falls on the person making them claim. If you state you own a leprechaun, it isn't my duty to prove you don't own one. It's your duty to prove you do. Are you sure about the bigger cut mainstream publishers are getting? They claim epublishing cost is little different from print because the main expenses are editing, advertising etc. My first inclination is to call them liars. But publishing is not based on frugality and common sense. When they factor in all of their unnecessary overhead, and try to justify their high rents and expense accounts, then may indeed truly believe that the only way they can survive is by taking $5.25 on a $9.99 ebook and only giving the author $1.75. If they really believe this, they are in for a rude awakening. A smarter approach would be an internal audit, cutting unnecessary costs, downsizing and restructuring, and learning to survive with smaller profit margins. Publishers have been indispensable in the past, but they're making a mistake by believing they're still indispensable. Low cost is good but low quality isn't. That's why I like the quote 'When I find a bargain in clothes of a brand name-I don't think it is less valuable.' The answer is to only produce high quality. If authors can't, they shouldn't be writing. Again, nobody cares what percentage of $9.99 (or whatever price) the author is getting vs. The publisher. It's irrelevant. People care about getting a good book at a reasonable price. 'Reasonable,' to me, is what the reading experience is worth in relation to other available reading experiences. I don't pay $26 for a newly-released hardcover to own the physical object. I can get nine used ones for about the same price. I'm paying $26 for the reading experience, for the intellectual property within those covers. If I can get the same experience for $9.99 (which, thanks to ebooks, I can), I would consider that a bargain. Now, if I can get the same experience for $2.99, I would consider that a steal. So far, however, I cannot, because the overwhelming majority of books priced that low are simply not worth reading. The answer is to only produce high quality. If authors can't, they shouldn't be writing. Or at least they shouldn't be publishing. And they are. 'But on another site, where the royalties were higher, they could continue selling the same book for two or three dollars less.' This isn't possible with most distributors. Some have it written right in the contract that you CANNOT offer your book at a lower price elsewhere (i.e. Some, like Amazon, price-match. And both base your royalty on the discounted price, not the list price. This is part of the problem with setting price, esp for indie publishers, who have more books to keep track of than a self-pubbed author. That's one of the reasons Amazon's 70% looks great on the surface, but can be disastrous when price-wars start and other sites (Sony is terrible for this) start discounting your books to bargain basement prices. I'm actually still making 35% on most of my books on Amazon (which is what Amazon has been paying for years through MOBI - BTW I'm also making 70% on the DTP platform - my books are listed twice. It's a long story Amazon's been working on fixing for months. But the Mobi-feed books far outsell the DTP ones, mostly because they have established ranking on the site and are listed first.but I digress) Anyway, because I'm paid the royalty on the list price at 35% and they can (and do - it's Amazon's way) deep discount or price-match my books all they want. I'm still only making $2.09 a book, either way (pricing it at $2.99 and getting 70% or pricing it at $5.99 and getting 35% - you think Amazon didn't work that little formula out?) but folks look at my books and say, 'Wow, that's quite a discount!' And snatch them up. Like Joe says, everyone loves a bargain. If and when they get the issue fixed and I'm totally on DTP without the MOBI feed, I may experiment with a $2.99 price. I decided recently to put most of my short stories at $0.99 to see what might happen. When it comes down to it, it's all a grand experiment. An interesting post, as always. My questions/observation: are publishers more concerned with selling paper or with not upsetting their one, guaranteed market? A parallel to comic books: comic book sales, for decades, were restricted to comic book retailers. Every time publishers try to sell through other venues, the retailers rose up in arms. It's changing now (10 years of growth in the regular bookstore market have helped), but now that digital is coming along, the retailers are afraid once again. And who calls the publisher and complains? Not readers: retailers. The bookseller business is on the cusp of a major change, and it's scared, and that makes the publishers scared, too. Christ Joe, you certainly have a hard time conceding a point. Your single minded determination to 'prove' the exact right price point for ebooks is admirable, if not a little obstinate. I think myself and others have made some compelling arguments in defense of higher pricing, as a long term business decision beneficial to all writers. The supporters of $2.99 seem to want to hang their hat on this notion that the consumer has spoken and they've determined this as the 'fair' price. I counter with we don't really know what the 'fair market' price for ebooks are, because pricing is inconsistent and all over the place. Right now ebook buyers (read Kindle, because that's the major platform and seller today), are gobbling up free and dirt cheap books like candy at Halloween. But anyone who thinks it's gonna stay that way is shortsighted, IMO. I think myself and others have made some compelling arguments in defense of higher pricing, as a long term business decision beneficial to all writers. If the argument was really that compelling, I'd change my mind. I'm not adverse to doing that, when facts and logic lead me there. So far, I remain unconvinced, because your opinion is just that: opinion. It's based on guesses and assumptions. My experience is exactly that: experience. I know what is working for me, because I'm doing it. I have numbers and facts and almost two years of data to back up my position. The supporters of $2.99 seem to want to hang their hat on this notion that the consumer has spoken and they've determined this as the 'fair' price. 80,000 consumers have shown me they like my price. I'll stick with that until I'm shown otherwise. Re: 'A publisher taking $5.25 from a $9.99 ebook, and giving me only $1.75, is downright disgusting. It's liked helping a burglar rob my house.' --------------------- Disgusting? What are they.a charity? It's business Joe, nothing more, nothing less. You have some interesting ideas about what constitutes fairness in this industry, not to mention some rather odd ideas about money and profit and 'gouging' customers. Yet on the other hand, you continually tout how you're 'getting rich' off your Kindle sales. If Amazon lowered the royalty, two potential responses are that authors would (1) escape to another platform or (2) raise their prices. Both equal fewer sales for Amazon, which makes me wonder why Amazon would do that? Might equal the same money - but if it equals the same money for Amazon, good chance it equals the same money for the author - so what's the complaint? Proactive solution, build your platform now, introduce the ability to sell from your own site (in which case you only have cost of transaction fee - but problematic getting a site cart if you write erotica), drive traffic to your site, leveraging off your Amazon presence. And the chorus chimes in 'what about the writers of the future who haven't had the opportunity we had to build their platform, should we be conforming our actions now to protect their earning capacity?' People are on here arguing about price because they care about THEIR bottom line, not mine. Well, it's mutual. Fair enough man. I'm not here to argue with you. But for the record? IMO the vast majority of what I read here is strictly 'opinion'. Certain aspects of what you say may be backed up with data, but in the big picture scheme of things, you're still offering opinion. Because at the end of the day Joe you really don't know where all this is leading. You have 'predictions', which is another form of opinion, but that's it. You yourself have admitted that you don't really know why certain sales patterns have emerged and that some aspects of your esuccess is unexplainable. Btw, nice backhanded way of saying my opinion is full of shit. Have a great day Joe. I also think people need to realize that we are competing against FREE. As Joe already has stated, as well as a number of other industry notables (?Cory Doctorow?). I have 2 $9.99 books in my buyer's queue right now - both are Ian McDonald (Brasyl & Cyberadad Days) - because I've read him before and I know I want these and I don't want another print book on my bookshelf. But I don't know the vast majority of the writers here - they might get.99-2.99 on long or short fiction (I'll happily pay 2.99 for 20-40k as easily as I'll pay 2.99 for 80k because I like short form) but few are going to get more than that for an initial purchase. If we can get Amazon to allow us to increase sample size to say 35% - that would help sell higher price points - until then, every potential author I might buy is stuck with my having been burned by too many 5.99 and up books that were appealing as swamp water after the second chapter. Re: 'How do authors and independent publishers know today that we're not being manipulated into taking the slots Amazon has chosen for us?' --------------------- I guarantee you're being manipulated in some way by Amazon. Not saying that's a bad thing.only that they've got their various business plans, both long term and short term, and anyone who thinks manipulation of the paradigm doesn't take place is fooling themselves. And the idea that you, the writer, is in the driver's seat and will stay that way.well good luck with that. Report back to me in a few years, after the dust has settled. 'How do authors and independent publishers know today that we're not being manipulated into taking the slots Amazon has chosen for us?' Ah, the conspiracy theorists. Joe is basing his decisions on hard data and the evidence he has accumulated over many months of sales. He has years of experience working in the framework of the traditional publishing industry. Personally I find the 'slots Amazon has chosen for us' to be far more democratic and fairer than the slots the traditional industry chooses for the lucky few who make it past their gatekeeping. Big 6 publishing is a tight oligopoly. While Amazon presently has what appears to be a near monopoly on ebook sales, the barriers to entry in this market are low and they must constantly offer incentives (good royalties to authors) to stave off competition. B&N, Google, Apple, etc. Are chasing them (and will be for years), so the good royalties for authors on Amazon will continue for years, and possibly forever to remain competitive. Amazon wants to be the largest ebook outlet -- to do that you have to offer content providers excellent incentives. I'm guessing that future deals might include free Kindle devices for authors who sell over 1,000 books or Amazon might host author conferences with sessions on improving writing, content editting, marketing strategies, cover design tips, how to write a good blurb, etc, etc. They will go beyond the 70% royalty... Watch them over these next months. This is just the beginning. The content providers are key to their business. Without writers you don't have books to sell, so delighting the writers will be key to their success. Bezos ain't dumb. He's not about to kill the geese that lay the golden eggs. Seems like there are two arguments here. One is price point. On the one hand, Joe is saying that $2.99 seems to be the pricepoint that works best for him, because his profits at that point are 'high enough' that even if he might profit a bit more by adding a dollar to the cost, the extra sales he believes he is making are worth it (in terms of word of mouth and a broader readerbase for future books). The other side is saying that $3.99, or some higher figure, is better. The thing is, I don't think anyone can say for sure which price point is most profitable. I've done pricepoint analysis before - and from what I am seeing right now, we a) don't have enough data points to do a good analysis and b) the market is in too much flux right now for an analysis to be valid for more than a couple of months anyway. Given that, I think there is certainly value in selling more books *even if* you are earning marginally less profits in the meantime, because of the boost to your platform and word-fame. This matters now, and could become even more important once the industry stabilizes. The other issue is 'it's sweet right now but what about later.' We cannot control what Amazon will do in two years. We can control what they are doing now, and build platforms that are strong enough so that when things change, we're in a position to do something about it. A single post on Scalzi's blog, for instance, sends ripples through the blogosphere. Forty thousand readers a day will do that. The e-platforms we build today with the tools we have at hand will be the powerbase from which we can bargain (or not) later on. If authors are to build and maintain a voice in the coming market, it will be because we took the time to prepare for it today. The important thing is what pricing works best for YOU. I have been watching my own data all year and still keep changing my mind. That's what happens in a revolution. Things change. Joe is saying $2.99 works best for him, and I believe him. A year ago, he said $1.99 was the best price. Both are right. I have some 99 cent collections as ways to meet new readers, and they sell better than my $2.99 novels BUT earn far less money. You'd have to sell 200,000 books at 99 cents each year to live a secure, comfortable life. I may experiment with a $3.99 title just to see if there's a level where people assume 'quality' because it's higher than most indie books. Publishers connecting with readers? They have spent the past two decades actively adding layers between themselves and readers. They know no more about readers than you or I do. I would bet you know more, because you are not in New York where everybody knows everything, but really only know each other. These are the same geniuses who said iPad would take over the book market, remember, and basically pushed all their chips to Steve Jobs. The only way a publisher could take advantage of economies of scale would be to create libraries on the Netflix model, a subscription where their backlist becomes an asset instead of a burden. But that will happen too late for most, and I can't see them ever lowering the price fast enough to keep up with nimble competitors. Authors know your readers better than a publisher ever will. I assume all my readers are as frugal and working-class as I am. When I can offer everything I've ever written for the price of one hardcover, that seems like a fair deal for both of us. Scott Nicholson http://www.hauntedcomputer.com. I am a complete unknown. I've priced my novella at 2.99. Though Amazon will pay me around $2 per copy, that doesn't mean I make that much. I've paid for professional editing, cover art, promotion, and advertising. I plan to price novellas at 2.99 and genre-length novels at 3.99. If I write a novel over 500 pages, I'll probably charge 4.99. Because my editing expenses will be higher. This is a reflection of my reality as a writer. If my reality were that I didn't need editing, had a fan base already built, and had over 10 books already published, I would happily lower the price. The great thing about publishing independently is that each author can figure out what works best for them. Some will never have 20 books on the shelf. Some will always need a good professional editor to make the book the best it can be. Readers will buy what they want to read. Authors will charge what they charge based on good or faulty logic. My feeling is that readers will learn to discern just what 2.99, 3.99, 4.99 means depending on the author. To me, it’s a matter of choosing the dragon you want to ride. With the big six, they take your passport the minute you board. With Amazon, you get to keep it. If you don’t like the rates Amazon gives you tomorrow, you can look for another mode of transport. With the big six, you can’t. I don’t see the incentive for Amazon to reduce the royalty. Other sites would draw writers away. I can envision them requiring a minimum sales level to stay on their site. I’d love to see a discussion on discounting. Seems to me, if you produce it and offer it for sale at a certain price, you should be compensated at that price, unless you offer it for sale at a lower cost elsewhere. As I understand it, if Kobo discounts you without asking, then Amazon has the right to discount you as well. Is this correct? I'd be a lot more likely to listen to the 'you should price higher' crowd if not for two things: 1) Joe's data agrees with the data I've gotten from my own ePublishing over the past 7 years -- lower price point (specifically 'impulse buy' levels) equals massively higher sales. And, the bigger factor: 2) The 'price higher' crowd appear to be motivated purely by issues of validation: 'The book should be priced higher because it's *worth* more, and Joe (and others) setting their prices lower somehow devalues *my* work.' I'm seeing a lot of arguments of worth -- especially about how setting your prices effects the perceived worth of others. Which, I suppose, is all fine and dandy in The Rainbow Land of Special Unicorn Self-Esteem. But has bugger-all to do with SALES. 'People are on here arguing about price because they care about THEIR bottom line, not mine. Well, it's mutual.' I think author co-ops and the like may become more popular in the future. There is power in numbers. I have a big backlist on Amazon (and other distributors) but if I use the co-ops numbers, I'm leveraging 500+ titles and 100+ authors. That makes up a big chunk of change and gets more attention with the vendors than just one author on their own. Something else to think about:). 'What is a bit confusing to me about pricing is that there are 60,000 word novels at $2.99, 20,000 word novellas at $2.99, and 5000 word short stories at $0.99. A dollar for a 20 minute read is more than I'm willing to pay. I'm not keen on novellas at $3 either. I'd rather see writers bundle 5-7 shorts for $3 and maybe two novellas for $3.' From what I understand, Amazon will only let the author set the price as low as $0.99. Amazon has the option to discount it, but not the author. Essentially, an author is putting a short story out there for as cheap as Amazon allows. I understand what you're saying, though - I'd prefer authors bundled a few tales together as well. Ok, joe, let's start with an ongoing demonstration that an author's readers will help the author do copy-editing. Here's a mistake you made: > keep and open mind > keep an open mind and another: > out (or during its shelf life.) > out (or during its shelf life). And another (in a comment): > then may indeed > they may indeed *** scott nicholson said: > Joe is saying $2.99 > works best for him, > and I believe him. > A year ago, he said > $1.99 was the best price. > Both are right. You neglect to mention that amazon changed the terms; joe could only get the 70% if he raised the price to $2.99. Or else he'd be stuck with 35%. So he raised the price to $2.99. If he could get 70% at $1.99, $1.99 would still be the best. And if he got the 70% at $.99, and he did a little experiment, he might find that $.99 is best (i.e., makes the most money). I'll say it again: if you cut your price in half, you sell 3-4 times more units, which means that you make 3-4 times more profit. (if you cut your price in half, and you _don't_ sell at least 3 times as many units, then raise it back up, because you have found your 'true' price.) amazon has set a 'floor price'. It's clear they want to receive at least $.90 per transaction. That's the _only_ thing that is 'magical' about a $2.99 price. Amazon could have set that 'floor price' at $1.99, which would mean all these people whining about $2.99 would be even _more_ strident. > I may experiment with > a $3.99 title just to see > if there's a level where > people assume 'quality' > because it's higher than > most indie books. You will quickly find that there is _no_ such point where people 'assume' that the quality is high, because if there was, every con artist would immediately exploit it and the suckers would learn. The solution is very simple: create quality work, then rely on word-of-mouth. *** gareth-michael said: > I usually don't price anything > over $10, and most sits around > the $5 level. Even with that, > I run 2 sales per year, each a > week long, where I reduce my > prices to $1, across the board. > > In those two weeks, > I make more in sales > than in 4 months > of my regular pricing. Here's another real-life example. Cutting prices in half, and then cutting them in half again, gives _eight_times_ as much profit. *** (continued.) ***. (continued.) *** jtplayer said: > But doesn't the whole > $2.99 price thing hinge on > Amazon's 70% royalty rate? > > Isn't that what makes the > pricing 'sweet spot' > make sense? > > Reduce that royalty > substantially > (which, IMO, Amazon > will do one day), > and the numbers > don't look so attractive. Amazon is more likely to _raise_ the royalty rate than to lower it. Maybe you haven't noticed, but amazon is cut-throat. They will consistently match any competitor they have. But that's beside the point, because there's _no_reason_ for authors to 'settle' for _any_ 'royalty' rate at all. Sell your stuff from your site; keep _100%_ of the proceeds. *** jude said: > nobody cares > what percentage > of $9.99 > (or whatever price) > the author is getting > vs. The publisher. > It's irrelevant. > People care about > getting a good book > at a reasonable price. Readers strongly prefer to support the author, _not_ the publisher. They might be ok with author and publisher taking an _equal_ share, but they certainly do _not_ want the publisher to get 3 times as much! *** mark asher said: > One thing I didn't see discussed > in any of the comments here > at pricing $3.99 vs. $2.99 is > the idea that higher volume > is desirable because it helps > fuel word of mouth sales. > This is especially important for > newer writers self-publishing. I discuss it all the time, mark! Evidently you're not reading _my_ comments.;+) *** aaron paterson said: > priced my book at 14.99. > I found that I had sold > 12 or so eBooks a month. > set it at 4.99 > That month I sold 48. > I did the unthinkable. > the mad the insane! > I sold 120 that month > Month after.250. > after that.350. > after.550.800.1000! That's how you do it. You cut your price, and then you get the snowballs rolling. Ellen said: > Any way you could > fix the formatting? What do you mean 'fix'? I like it just fine, thanks. Joe should widen the reply column instead. *** > bowerbird, you > left out the part of > Aaron Patterson's > comments where > he said he then > raised the price > from $0.99 to $2.99 > and immediately > went up from > 1,000 sales in a month > to 2,600 sales in a month. No, i read it very carefully.more carefully than you. First, the price rise was due to amazon's action, so _lots_of_books_ got their prices raised then, setting a 'floor price'. That kind of unilateral price-rise will never, ever, happen again. It was caused because apple was promising 70%, and amazon had to match that number, but they didn't want to pay that percentage on sales less than $3, so they forced authors to up the minimum price. It was good for amazon, but it _wasn't_ good for authors, it really wasn't, as it meant fewer sales (per kindle per capita). Moreover, the 2600 was for _both_ books. It is also the case that, with the ever-increasing sales of the kindle today, most curves will trend up. This is why authors didn't notice that they actually made _fewer_ sales at the $2.99 price (per kindle per capita). Further, you will notice that that 2600 number only lasted for 1 month. In other words, aaron was riding the crest of word-of-mouth which had been generated by the lower price-point. After that peak month, sales dropped to 1800. (in spite of the rising number of kindles, meaning that the drop per kindle per capita was even more steep.) a higher price means fewer sales (per kindle per capita) means less word-of-mouth means fewer follow-on sales. I've said it before, but i'm happy to repeat it: if you don't 'get this', it's ok, because younger, smarter, faster authors _will_ get it, and they will end up with more money than you, and higher-ranking books, in one big cycle that will leave you in their dust. Perhaps I missed the opposition comment, but what happens when there are millions of free ebooks on the web and lots of these free ebooks are well written with good stories. The web will soon be inundated with free ebooks from disillusioned writers who fail to get a publishing contract, or whose self published book doesn't sell for $2.99. Look at the Amazon top 100 bestsellers, six months ago a third of them were selling for $2-4, and the rest were about $4 -$12, now a third of them are free, and the rest are about $6 -$12. Bower, the $0.99 price may or may not have helped Aaron to increase his sales initially (we don't know if it was that price or other factors that gave him better sales each month--good, new books tend to do better each month no matter the price), but he did say that he increased his price from $1 to $3 and actually got a significant increase in book sales. You're reading into his data what you want to read into it because of your preconceived notion that lower prices _always_ beats higher prices for sales. This is not always true, because I've heard many authors say they sold more at $2.99 than they did at $0.99. The fact in his case is he tripled the price of his book and then sold more copies and made lots more money. Ellen said: > Because as they are now > I wind up skipping them. That's ok with me, ellen. *** moses said: > bower, the $0.99 price > may or may not have > helped Aaron to > increase his sales initially > (we don't know if it was > that price or other factors aaron seems to be crystal clear. > good, new books tend to > do better each month > no matter the price) it goes without saying that aaron's book must be good. Word-of-mouth only helps the good books. It hurts bad books, hurts 'em badly. But inexpensive good books sell better than good books that are not inexpensive. (for anyone just entering this thread at this point, yes, it has devolved into saying things that are precisely this obvious. I know, it's ridiculous.) > but he did say that he > increased his price > from $1 to $3 and > actually got a significant > increase in book sales. It was more complicated than that, and i have already explained why, so i simply will not bother to repeat it, no matter how many times you repeat what you've said. > You're reading into his data > what you want to read into it what makes you think i care? One way or the other? Really, what does it matter to me? You can (and will!) price your books however you want to, and it means nothing to me. But his 'data' is extremely clear. > You're reading into his data > what you want to read into it > because of your > preconceived notion that > lower prices _always_ > beats higher prices for sales. I dislike it when other people try to tell me what _i_ think. Especially if they get it wrong. Most especially if it's all wrong. I have no preconceived notions. I listen to what people say about the things they've tried, what worked, and what didn't, and i collect the observations until i have a firm base to stand on. This ain't rocket science. > your preconceived notion > that lower prices _always_ > beats higher prices for sales. I never said that. Indeed, if you look right above, you'll see that i said specifically that _if_ you cut a price in half and your sales do _not_ triple, you should raise the price back, because that's your 'true price'. > your preconceived notion > that lower prices _always_ > beats higher prices for sales. > This is not always true, > because > I've heard many authors say > they sold more at $2.99 > than they did at $0.99. Show me those authors. Show me those experiments; i'll tell you how they're flawed. There are _some_ cases where you can sell more units by raising the price of something, but it's a relatively rare thing. Oh, and you can verify that i actually wrote that up, here: > so yes, it happens, but rarely. At that link, i also said this: > i'm not telling anyone > how to price their product, > but it is important to > understand the dynamics. That goes -- double -- here. > The fact in his case is > he tripled the price of his book > and then sold more copies > and made lots more money. You are being far too simplistic. And i've already explained why. *** graham said: > what happens when there > are millions of free ebooks > on the web and > lots of these free ebooks > are well written > with good stories. Then things will start to get _really_ interesting. But i'll wait to write that up until tomorrow. But his 'data' is extremely clear. Let's look at it again. He first priced book one at $14.99 in Nov., 2008. In 8 months at that price, he sold about 12 ebooks a month. He changed the price to $4.99, and then sold 48 copies the next month. At this time, he started selling book two for $8.99 and has kept book two at $8.99 ever since. He changed the price of book one to $0.99 and sold the following copies of book one in the subsequent months: 120 250 350 550 800 1,000 Then he *raised* the price of book one to $2.99 and in the following month sold 2,600 copies of his two books combined. His other book is priced at $8.99, as it has always been, and I would have to guess that the $2.99 ebook outsells the $8.99 ebook easily, so we're probably looking at around or close to 2,000 sales of his book one at $2.99 the first month after he tripled the price. Factually speaking, what happened? First, lowering his price from $14.99 to $4.99 and then $0.99 helped sell a lot more books (we aren't controlling for every variable, but this seems safe to say). We agree here. Second, *raising* the price from $0.99 to $2.99 did *not* hurt the month-to-month growth of his sales, and in fact roughly doubled his sales of the same title. And the book continues to sell well at $2.99. You seem to be assuming that there are other reasons that completely account for his increase in sales after the price raise to $2.99, rather than the price increase. That's not necessarily the case, and the price raise itself may have helped create more sales. Yes, there were other factors involved. He had great momentum and many authors also upped their prices to $2.99 at that time. Nonetheless, we know that readers were still willing to buy his book at $2.99, and that about twice as many did so. We know that he tripled the price and sold about twice as many copies. You brought up that his sales went up to 2,600 and then down to 1,800 per month after that. You seemed to imply that you think the drop has something to do with the higher price, unless I misunderstand you. If so, that's not necessarily true. It may just be that he found hit his normal ceiling. 1,800 copies of two ebooks (one at $2.99 and the other at $8.99) per month is great anyway. Just lowering book one to $0.99 again may or may not increase his sales significantly. A higher price means fewer sales As you also admitted elsewhere, that's not necessarily true. It is possible to raise prices and generate more sales for various reasons. It is possible and likely that most readers will take a $2.99 work more seriously than a $0.99 work. This must vary on a case-by-case basis. Some readers have also no doubt been burned by bad $0.99 books. It is possible that he drew sales from readers specifically looking for $0.99 books for a while, and then moved on to readers who look for $2.99 (or $2.99 or higher) books. You think it's 'bull' that I've heard from authors who found that they sold more at $2.99 than they did at $0.99. It's not bull. I'm telling you what some authors have reported in discussions that I have read mainly at Kindleboards and here. Some books seem to find their audience at $2.99 rather than $0.99. But inexpensive good books sell better than good books that are not inexpensive. Do readers consider $2.99 expensive? If not, then your statement doesn't necessarily apply. At what point do readers find a book to be too expensive? That's one of the main things we're talking about. It's also possible that books that appear to be too inexpensive will not sell as well as books with more normal-looking prices. The first thing you think of when you hear about a $0.99 novel probably isn't, 'I bet that's a great book.' It's also possible that people will *read* a smaller percentage of their 99 cent purchases versus their $2.99-or-higher purchases. When you spend more money for something, you'll tend to value it more and seek to get more out of it. I know I buy some 99 cent ebooks and then practically never look at them. But if I spend at least $3 or $4 on an ebook, I'm a lot more likely to read it. This is another advantage of a higher price. Thanks for the invigorating discussion. Moses said: > Factually speaking, what happened? As i told you, i already explained that. His word-of-mouth was still cresting. But after just one month, sales fell off, and still haven't climbed back to their high-water-mark from the low price. And that is _in_spite_ of the fact that $137 kindles are selling like hotcakes. Aaron did the right thing. 70% of $2.99 is better than 35% of $.99, even when you make far fewer sales, because the higher percentage means more money. But despite his receiving more money, it's clear that his momentum was hurt. And it still hasn't recovered completely. And -- again, as i have already said -- you'll never get that 70% spike again. Even if amazon promised 85% if you raised your price to $5, many authors would opt out, and sell their own books at $2 and keep 100% of that, and have more money and more fans in the end. And then your $5 books would be competing against their $2 books. (which is why amazon won't do that.) > It is _possible_ to raise prices and > generate more sales for various reasons. Yes, i did 'admit' that that can happen. And yet you seem to ignore the fact that i also said that it is extremely rare, and you neglected to give any solid examples. For the record, most of the cases where a price-raise can stimulate sales involve _luxury_goods_, like expensive cars and high-end jewelry and pieces of art, _not_ products that sell used for a few dollars. > It is possible and likely that > most readers will take a $2.99 work > more seriously than a $0.99 work. Where's your evidence? It's also 'possible and likely' that they will be more willing to 'take a chance' on a $.99 work than on a $2.99 work, and more willing to 'take a chance' on a $2.99 work than one that costs $5.99. *** (continued). (continued) *** > It's not bull. I'm telling you what some > authors have reported in discussions point to them. I've got examples _here_, right in this comment-thread, that give support to my position. Where are yours? > Do readers consider $2.99 expensive? They consider $2.99 to be more inexpensive than $5.99, which is what you say that you would like to charge people for your novel. Moreover, they can buy _2_ books at $2.99 where they can only buy _1_ priced at $5.99. > At what point do readers find a book > to be too expensive? That's one of the > main things we're talking about. You can explore the point where a book becomes 'too expensive' if you want. Meanwhile, other authors will be trying to make their work as _inexpensive_ as possible. I'm absolutely certain that i know who will sell more books, and get higher rankings, and have more fans, and make more money, and end up with a better long-run career. But, you know, do whatever _you_ want, ok? > It's also possible that books that appear > to be _too_ inexpensive will not sell as well > as books with more normal-looking prices. Are you trying to convince me? Because you're not convincing me, not at all, if that's what you're trying to do. You act like _the_price_ is the _only_ piece of information that people have about a book, and somehow they have to 'infer' the'value' they will get from that book at that price. But let me tell you something. The price is just about the _last_ thing that they look. If a trusted source tells 'em a book is good, and/or if it's by an author they have enjoyed, and/or if they like the reviews, and/or if they read the sample chapters and get into them, _then_ they will decide to buy the book, and if it's cheap, they'll think they got a bargain. But if it's costs too much, they will back off. Do you _really_ want to chase buyers off at the last possible moment, _after_ they had made a decision to actually _buy_ the book? > Thanks for the invigorating discussion. Do you really think a 'discussion' _means_ anything, no matter how 'invigorating' it is? You won't find any answers by 'debating.' You've got to go out there and _experiment_. For instance, here's an experiment for aaron. Flip the prices of your 2 books for 3 months; make the cheap one $8, and the new one $3. You will see that the sales pattern reverses. Then flip 'em back, and the sales will flip back. I am a kindle consumer and have been since January 2008. I am not a writer and have no interest in ever being a writer, so this is just from a reader's point of view. If an ebook is from a 'big six' publisher and is priced equal to or greater than the dtb (dead tree book) version, I will not buy it unless there is a compelling (to ME) reason to. And yes, I do compare the prices. I've been known to open a new tab and search on the 'book' department if the comparison box isn't set up yet. If the price is not acceptable and I think I may want to read the book some day, I'll add the book to price watch. (Oh, I advise any author planning to reduce his/her prices to enter their own books there beforehand; they'll show up on the 'recently reduced' list.) Also, take a look at what kindle-owners consider prices that they're unwilling to pay. It should be no surprise that the most watched book is Follett's Fall of Giants. KindleIQ is a godsend to those hit by the windowing affect. By the time the publisher drops the price, the ebook is off the consumer's radar. Whoops, went off on a tangent. I usually cut small press publishers some slack in pricing because I am aware they lack economy of scale. Self-published backlist that I can tell is self-published, I'm willing to pay $2.99 without even debating it, if the book is in one of my preferred genres and there are no horrible errors in the description. I've commented before I'd rather pay $2.99 than $1.99, since I'm aware of the royalty structure. I tend not to bother with samples unless I suspect the book is in topaz format. Topaz is evil. It slows down the reading process and takes up too much room on my kindle. As the price goes up, I have to think about my degree of interest in the book more. That's when I look at reviews. If the reviews mention formatting problems, it's a 'no sale'. If the price goes above six dollars, and I know it's self-pubbed, I begin to feel gouged, unless the book's an epic length. I am a total convert to kindle. If your book is not available as either non-drmed mobi or on the kindle platform, it may as well not be published as far as I'm concerned. (Unless it's in color or all pictures, that is, and I'm reading books like that on my kindle for PC.) I haven't disposed of any of my over thirteen thousand dead tree books, but I'm increasingly reluctant to pick up one of them to read. I've thought about scanning and OCRing some of my favorites for my personal use. I'd prefer it if the authors would just get their backlist up to save me the inconvenience and allow me to pay them a royalty. Does anyone know who has the rights to Ellery Queen's (Dannay & Lee) books? I was expecting better of SF&F publishers, but other than Baen, they've been pretty feeble in the market. Tor started out with the freebies, but the followthrough has been so bad. Their books are either unavailable or overpriced. New authors' self-pubbed titles: Joe's mantra of 'cover, description & price' comes into play here. This is where a loss-leader of ninety-nine cents can halp, but if the cover and description are really good, I don't have too much resistance to the $2.99 price. If you have a series, please put the series order in the description. Make the first in the series your lowest priced book. If I read it and like it, I will be willing to pay more for the next in the series. Robin Sep 26. Bowerbird, there comes a point in internet back-and-forths where anyone paying attention will recognize who is being reasonable and who is being argumentative for the sake of protecting imaginary ego turf. I think we're past that point now, so enjoy the last word. One factual correction, though: they consider $2.99 to be more inexpensive than $5.99, which is what you say that you would like to charge people for your novel. I don't remember saying I want to charge $5.99 for my first novel, and I neither want nor intend to charge that amount. $3.99 or $4.99 maybe, but not $5.99. Moses said: > there comes a point > in internet back-and-forths > where anyone paying attention > will recognize who is being > reasonable and who is being > argumentative for the sake of > protecting imaginary ego turf um, gee, moses, let me guess. You think _i_ am the one who's 'protecting imaginary ego turf.' :+) still, for you to put any kind of motivation onto me at all, you must resort to 'imaginary' and toss in crap like 'ego' and 'turf'. Plus, there's no 'argument' here. _my_ evidence is in this thread, posted by various people here, and you still haven't pointed to any backing for your claims yet. Where _are_ those authors who sold more units at higher prices? But i agree with you. People can see through the smokescreens. So i have no need to continue, except for this one little point. *** moses said: > One factual correction > I don't remember saying > I want to charge $5.99 > for my first novel, and > I neither want nor intend > to charge that amount. > $3.99 or $4.99 maybe, > but not $5.99. If you do a 'factual correction', you should _verify_it_ first. Here's a direct copy-and-paste from your blog, as cited above: > Right now, I’m thinking of > probably $3.99 or $4.99 > for my novel, but because > it’s a long novel that I intend > to have up to a professional > standard, I think about $5.99 > too. I don’t think I’ll go over > $4.99, though. I think $5 is > one of the significant > psychological price barriers, > and as a new writer I don’t > want to cross that one yet. Since you 'think about $5.99', i think it was fair for me to say you'd _like_ to charge $5.99, if you thought you could do so. And you _might_ if only it didn't involve a 'psychological barrier'. Indeed, in comment #7 over on your blog, you say this to joe: > One of my not so secret hopes > is that you’ll make more > at higher prices so I’m > trying to encourage you to > experiment a little bit more. So it's clear that _you_, moses, are the one who has an agenda. (not me, as you have charged.) you're wishing that higher prices made more money, so you could charge more and make more. Ok, fine, i get it. Wishful thinking is understandable. Although i'm not sure why the higher price is so important, at the expense of making more, which i can grok. Maybe that's just your imaginary ego turf that you're protecting. But own up to it, buddy. Don't project it onto me. I want authors to succeed, and i have a track record in that specific desire that's _much_ longer than yours. Moses said: > there comes a point > in internet back-and-forths > where anyone paying attention > will recognize who is being > reasonable and who is being > argumentative for the sake of > protecting imaginary ego turf um, gee, moses, let me guess. You think _i_ am the one who's 'protecting imaginary ego turf.' :+) still, for you to put any kind of motivation onto me at all, you must resort to 'imaginary' and toss in crap like 'ego' and 'turf'. Plus, there's no 'argument' here. _my_ evidence is in this thread, posted by various people here, and you still haven't pointed to any backing for your claims yet. Where _are_ those authors who sold more units at higher prices? But i agree with you. People can see through the smokescreens. So i have no need to continue, except for this one little point. *** moses said: > One factual correction > I don't remember saying > I want to charge $5.99 > for my first novel, and > I neither want nor intend > to charge that amount. > $3.99 or $4.99 maybe, > but not $5.99. If you do a 'factual correction', you should _verify_it_ first. Here's a direct copy-and-paste from your blog, as cited above: > Right now, I’m thinking of > probably $3.99 or $4.99 > for my novel, but because > it’s a long novel that I intend > to have up to a professional > standard, I think about $5.99 > too. I don’t think I’ll go over > $4.99, though. I think $5 is > one of the significant > psychological price barriers, > and as a new writer I don’t > want to cross that one yet. Since you 'think about $5.99', i think it was fair for me to say you'd _like_ to charge $5.99, if you thought you could do so. And you _might_ if only it didn't involve a 'psychological barrier'. Indeed, in comment #7 over on your blog, you say this to joe: > One of my not so secret hopes > is that you’ll make more > at higher prices so I’m > trying to encourage you to > experiment a little bit more. So it's clear that _you_, moses, are the one who has an agenda. (not me, as you have charged.) you're wishing that higher prices made more money, so you could charge more and make more. Ok, fine, i get it. Wishful thinking is understandable. Although i'm not sure why the higher price is so important, at the expense of making more, which i can grok. Maybe that's just your imaginary ego turf that you're protecting. But own up to it, buddy. Don't project it onto me. I want authors to succeed, and i have a track record in that specific desire that's _much_ longer than yours. Moses said: > there comes a point > in internet back-and-forths > where anyone paying attention > will recognize who is being > reasonable and who is being > argumentative for the sake of > protecting imaginary ego turf um, gee, moses, let me guess. You think _i_ am the one who's 'protecting imaginary ego turf.' :+) still, for you to put any kind of motivation onto me at all, you must resort to 'imaginary' and toss in crap like 'ego' and 'turf'. Plus, there's no 'argument' here. _my_ evidence is in this thread, posted by various people here, and you still haven't pointed to any backing for your claims yet. Where _are_ those authors who sold more units at higher prices? But i agree with you. People can see through the smokescreens. So i have no need to continue, except for this one little point. *** moses said: > One factual correction > I don't remember saying > I want to charge $5.99 > for my first novel, and > I neither want nor intend > to charge that amount. > $3.99 or $4.99 maybe, > but not $5.99. If you do a 'factual correction', you should _verify_it_ first. Here's a direct copy-and-paste from your blog, as cited above: > Right now, I’m thinking of > probably $3.99 or $4.99 > for my novel, but because > it’s a long novel that I intend > to have up to a professional > standard, I think about $5.99 > too. I don’t think I’ll go over > $4.99, though. I think $5 is > one of the significant > psychological price barriers, > and as a new writer I don’t > want to cross that one yet. Since you 'think about $5.99', i think it was fair for me to say you'd _like_ to charge $5.99, if you thought you could do so. And you _might_ if only it didn't involve a 'psychological barrier'. Indeed, in comment #7 over on your blog, you say this to joe: > One of my not so secret hopes > is that you’ll make more > at higher prices so I’m > trying to encourage you to > experiment a little bit more. So it's clear that _you_, moses, are the one who has an agenda. (not me, as you have charged.) you're wishing that higher prices made more money, so you could charge more and make more. Ok, fine, i get it. Wishful thinking is understandable. Although i'm not sure why the higher price is so important, at the expense of making more, which i can grok. Maybe that's just your imaginary ego turf that you're protecting. But own up to it, buddy. Don't project it onto me. I want authors to succeed, and i have a track record in that specific desire that's _much_ longer than yours. Moses said: > there comes a point > in internet back-and-forths > where anyone paying attention > will recognize who is being > reasonable and who is being > argumentative for the sake of > protecting imaginary ego turf um, gee, moses, let me guess. You think _i_ am the one who's 'protecting imaginary ego turf.' :+) still, for you to put any kind of motivation onto me at all, you must resort to 'imaginary' and toss in crap like 'ego' and 'turf'. Plus, there's no 'argument' here. _my_ evidence is in this thread, posted by various people here, and you still haven't pointed to any backing for your claims yet. Where _are_ those authors who sold more units at higher prices? But i agree with you. People can see through the smokescreens. So i have no need to continue, except for this one little point. *** moses said: > One factual correction > I don't remember saying > I want to charge $5.99 > for my first novel, and > I neither want nor intend > to charge that amount. > $3.99 or $4.99 maybe, > but not $5.99. If you do a 'factual correction', you should _verify_it_ first. Here's a direct copy-and-paste from your blog, as cited above: > Right now, I’m thinking of > probably $3.99 or $4.99 > for my novel, but because > it’s a long novel that I intend > to have up to a professional > standard, I think about $5.99 > too. I don’t think I’ll go over > $4.99, though. I think $5 is > one of the significant > psychological price barriers, > and as a new writer I don’t > want to cross that one yet. Since you 'think about $5.99', i think it was fair for me to say you'd _like_ to charge $5.99, if you thought you could do so. And you _might_ if only it didn't involve a 'psychological barrier'. Indeed, in comment #7 over on your blog, you say this to joe: > One of my not so secret hopes > is that you’ll make more > at higher prices so I’m > trying to encourage you to > experiment a little bit more. So it's clear that _you_, moses, are the one who has an agenda. (not me, as you have charged.) you're wishing that higher prices made more money, so you could charge more and make more. Ok, fine, i get it. Wishful thinking is understandable. Although i'm not sure why the higher price is so important, at the expense of making more, which i can grok. Maybe that's just your imaginary ego turf that you're protecting. But own up to it, buddy. Don't project it onto me. I want authors to succeed, and i have a track record in that specific desire that's _much_ longer than yours. I've gotten serious about writing, & realized what a time suck it is, & concurrently the time I spent reading dropped. Then I got a Droid phone & downloaded the Kindle app. Now I can snatch minutes to read that I never had access to before, because the phone goes everywhere with me, is small and incredibly easy to use, & I have a huge selection in that one tiny gadget. Pricewise, I'm willing to pay more for a non-fiction ebook (up to $10 or so), because that non-fiction physical book will likely always be a $25 hardcover, so I get a better deal buying the ebook. I hear about it on NPR, look it up on Kindle, download it. I might have passed on it if I had to remember to go to the store & if I had to pay $25 or more for it. Pricewise on FICTION, I'm finding that $2.99 & less is definitely increasing my impulse buys. I won't pay $9.99 for fiction unless it's an absolute must-have new release from a favored author. I'm finding new fiction being released as a kindle ebook at 6.99 & 7.99, which is better. But for authors who are new to me, I'm a lot more likely to take a chance on them for $2.99 or less. I saw a fun looking anthology the other day, called something like Zombies vs. I looked it up on Kindle, and it was priced 9.99. I thought it sounded like fun, but I wasn't familiar with any of the authors, & I won't drop $10 on a bunch of short stories by unknown (to me) authors. If it had been priced at 2.99, I'd have bought it, because if it had turned out crappy, I wouldn't have been out anything significant. I'm finding the psychology of pricing to be very interesting, and will be keeping it in mind as my career (I hope!) progresses. Joe, you're very right about ebook pricing and the importance of giving consumers what they want--lower ebook prices. I've used your experience as guidelines for pricing my own ebooks, most of which are under $2. For my new release, Lancelot's Lady, which launched today, I priced it at $4.99. I think new releases should be priced higher, though my intention is to keep my ebooks all under $5. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I'd like to invite you to stop by my. I'm giving away free ebooks (something else you recommend) and other prizes--including a KOBO ereader. My tour was sponsored by Kobo Books. I hope you'll drop by and leave a comment, Joe.:-) Cheryl Kaye Tardif, aka Cherish D'Angelo. Moses said: > there comes a point > in internet back-and-forths > where anyone paying attention > will recognize who is being > reasonable and who is being > argumentative for the sake of > protecting imaginary ego turf um, gee, moses, let me guess. You think _i_ am the one who's 'protecting imaginary ego turf.' :+) still, for you to put any kind of motivation onto me at all, you must resort to 'imaginary' and toss in stuff like 'ego' and 'turf'. We're both on the same 'turf' -- the biggest paycheck for writers. Plus, there's no 'argument' here. _my_ evidence is in this thread, posted by various people here, and you still haven't pointed to any backing for your claims yet. Where _are_ those authors who sold more units at higher prices? But i agree with you. People can see through the smokescreens. So i have no need to continue, except for this one little point. *** moses said: > One factual correction > I don't remember saying > I want to charge $5.99 > for my first novel, and > I neither want nor intend > to charge that amount. > $3.99 or $4.99 maybe, > but not $5.99. If you do a 'factual correction', you should _verify_it_ first. Here's a direct copy-and-paste from your blog, as cited above: > Right now, I’m thinking of > probably $3.99 or $4.99 > for my novel, but because > it’s a long novel that I intend > to have up to a professional > standard, I think about $5.99 > too. I don’t think I’ll go over > $4.99, though. I think $5 is > one of the significant > psychological price barriers, > and as a new writer I don’t > want to cross that one yet. Since you 'think about $5.99', i think it was fair for me to say you'd _like_ to charge $5.99, if you thought you could do so. And you _might_ if only it didn't involve a 'psychological barrier'. Indeed, in comment #7 over on your blog, you say this to joe: > One of my not so secret hopes > is that you’ll make more > at higher prices so I’m > trying to encourage you to > experiment a little bit more. So it's clear that _you_, moses, are the one who has an agenda. (not me, as you have charged.) you're wishing that higher prices made more money, so you could charge more and make more. You hope for a certain pattern. I take whichever one happens. Ok, fine, i get it. Wishful thinking is understandable. Although i'm not sure why the higher price is important, over and above the making more, which i can grok. Maybe that's just your imaginary ego turf that you're protecting. But own up to your bias, buddy. Don't try to project one on me. Moses said: > there comes a point > in internet back-and-forths > where anyone paying attention > will recognize who is being > reasonable and who is being > argumentative for the sake of > protecting imaginary ego turf um, gee, moses, let me guess. You think _i_ am the one who's 'protecting imaginary ego turf.' :+) still, for you to put any kind of motivation onto me at all, you must resort to 'imaginary' and toss in stuff like 'ego' and 'turf'. We're both on the same 'turf' -- the biggest paycheck for writers. Plus, there's no 'argument' here. _my_ evidence is in this thread, posted by various people here, and you still haven't pointed to any backing for your claims yet. Where _are_ those authors who sold more units at higher prices? But i agree with you. People can see through the smokescreens. So i have no need to continue, except for this one little point. *** (continued) ***. *** (continued) *** moses said: > One factual correction > I don't remember saying > I want to charge $5.99 > for my first novel, and > I neither want nor intend > to charge that amount. > $3.99 or $4.99 maybe, > but not $5.99. If you do a 'factual correction', you should _verify_it_ first. Here's a direct copy-and-paste from your blog, as cited above: > Right now, I’m thinking of > probably $3.99 or $4.99 > for my novel, but because > it’s a long novel that I intend > to have up to a professional > standard, I think about $5.99 > too. I don’t think I’ll go over > $4.99, though. I think $5 is > one of the significant > psychological price barriers, > and as a new writer I don’t > want to cross that one yet. Since you 'think about $5.99', i think it was fair for me to say you'd _like_ to charge $5.99, if you thought you could do so. And you _might_ if only it didn't involve a 'psychological barrier'. Indeed, in comment #7 over on your blog, you say this to joe: > One of my not so secret hopes > is that you’ll make more > at higher prices so I’m > trying to encourage you to > experiment a little bit more. So it's clear that _you_, moses, are the one who has an agenda. (not me, as you have charged.) you're wishing that higher prices made more money, so you could charge more and make more. You hope for a certain pattern. I take whichever one happens. Ok, fine, i get it. Wishful thinking is understandable. Although i'm not sure why the higher price is important, over and above the making more, which i can grok. Maybe that's just your imaginary ego turf that you're protecting. But own up to your bias, buddy. Don't try to project one on me. Jude said: 'Again, nobody cares what percentage of $9.99 (or whatever price) the author is getting vs. The publisher. It's irrelevant.' Jude, please don't presume to speak for the rest of humanity. I certainly do not share your oppinion on this. When I buy art, whatever form it my be, I care very much about how much of my money the actual artist get. By all means, keep posting your oppinions, but please don't try to pass them off as everybody's. Jude also said: 'I guess it all depends on how much a culture values its art. Let's hope, for the sake of civilization, that a new original work of art is worth just a bit more than a pack of cigarettes.' Comparing an ebook to an 'original work of art' is like comparing to the actual painting. One is an original work of art, the other is a product available in an unlimited number of copies. One of them is valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. How much would you pay for the other one? Getting the actual Mona Lisa for $100 million would be a bargain. I wouldn't even pay $1 for a digital image of it. When you sell an ebook, you are not selling a work of art. You are selling a copy, a product, from a stock of unlimited numbers. In a few years, you're probably going to be happy if anyone is willing to pay $3 for one of your ebooks. I predict prices will go down, not up. Jude said: 'Readers don't care how much authors are making off each sale, how much publishers are making, agents, distributors, booksellers, etc. They don't give a rat's ass.' I care, very much. When I pay for art, whatever form it may be in, I care about who gets the money. Record companies and book publishers are rapidly becoming superfluous, and most of their job today seems to be to justify their own existence. I think it's fair that the artist gets the lion's share of the profit, when technology makes that possible. Jude also said: 'I guess it all depends on how much a culture values its art. Let's hope, for the sake of civilization, that a new original work of art is worth just a bit more than a pack of cigarettes.' Comparing an ebook to a 'new original work of art' is like comparing to the actual painting. One is an original work of art, the other is a digital copy, available in unlimited numbers. Buying the actual Mona Lisa for $50 million would be considered a bargain. How much would you pay for the digital image? I know I wouldn't pay even a single dollar for it. I predict ebook prices will continue to go down, not up. God I'd love to get you off this blogger system and into a real blog. I took your advice and dropped my $9.99 prices to $2.99 at Amazon Kindle as well as at the couple of ebook sites I own. The results over the last 10 days show that I sold just over 3 times as many ebooks during most 10 day periods prior. Sure this is just 10 days. So, income will be about the same. I agree with Joe's long-term strategy of selling for $2.99 because as a writer is becoming known, it is far better to sell more books than it is to make more money. Out of 13 books I have now, only 5 are selling consistently. The other 7 I am seriously considering making free - as they sell so little that the value to me is in reaching new readers in higher numbers. Otherwise - they reach only the couple people per month that buy them for $2.99. What I believe most ebook writers need to be concerned with most right now - when thinking about the long-term - is how in the world do you convert Amazon customers to YOUR customers. Though I'll sell 100+ books at Amazon this month they give me no lead information. I don't know who bought my books. I don't know where they live. I don't know m/f. I don't know age, occupation, anything. I can't email them to tell them I just released a new ebook. I can't email them to say - 'Hey, you just bought your 3rd book, here's a free ebook.' The best long-term strategy for becoming a successful writer with a business of your own in which you control as much as possible is to convert some (as many as possible) of those people buying your books at Amazon to be your people. Writers with blogger and wordpress.com blogs don't even own their own domain. This is an absolute essential. I can't help think - 2nd class, when I see someone on blogger.com or wordpress.com. The blogs are harder to read and the templates suck. Take control of your writing career. Change every variable over time so YOU control them. Selling a book on my site I earn $2.99. Selling at Amazon I earn a dollar less. If Amazon changes and starts the 35% commission option again - I'd need to live with it. Then I'm making $1 on my $3 book. If Joe plays his cards right he can start converting readers at Amazon to readers of his personal blog - at a real domain name, and have his own customers. Right now he's building up the customer base for Amazon, not Joe. Having the customer data is THE most important thing. Get started with Aweber.com and start collecting lead information so you have the legal right to email people that are interested in your ebooks. Otherwise, you'll be sucking Amazon's teat for the next 20 years instead of being in control. WordPress.org blogs are not difficult to setup and write. They offer a lot more flexibility, and, over the long-term. God I'd love to get you off this blogger system and into a real blog. I took your advice and dropped my $9.99 prices to $2.99 at Amazon Kindle as well as at the couple of ebook sites I own. The results over the last 10 days show that I sold just over 3 times as many ebooks during most 10 day periods prior. Sure this is just 10 days. So, income will be about the same. I agree with Joe's long-term strategy of selling for $2.99 because as a writer is becoming known, it is far better to sell more books than it is to make more money. Out of 13 books I have now, only 5 are selling consistently. The other 7 I am seriously considering making free - as they sell so little that the value to me is in reaching new readers in higher numbers. Otherwise - they reach only the couple people per month that buy them for $2.99. What I believe most ebook writers need to be concerned with most right now - when thinking about the long-term - is how in the world do you convert Amazon customers to YOUR customers. Though I'll sell 100+ books at Amazon this month they give me no lead information. I don't know who bought my books. I don't know where they live. I don't know m/f. I don't know age, occupation, anything. I can't email them to tell them I just released a new ebook. I can't email them to say - 'Hey, you just bought your 3rd book, here's a free ebook.' The best long-term strategy for becoming a successful writer with a business of your own in which you control as much as possible is to convert some (as many as possible) of those people buying your books at Amazon to be your people. Writers with blogger and wordpress.com blogs don't even own their own domain. This is an absolute essential. I can't help think - 2nd class, when I see someone on blogger.com or wordpress.com. The blogs are harder to read and the templates suck. Take control of your writing career. Change every variable over time so YOU control them. Selling a book on my site I earn $2.99. Selling at Amazon I earn a dollar less. If Amazon changes and starts the 35% commission option again - I'd need to live with it. Then I'm making $1 on my $3 book. If Joe plays his cards right he can start converting readers at Amazon to readers of his personal blog - at a real domain name, and have his own customers. Right now he's building up the customer base for Amazon, not Joe. Having the customer data is THE most important thing. Get started with Aweber.com and start collecting lead information so you have the legal right to email people that are interested in your ebooks. Otherwise, you'll be sucking Amazon's teat for the next 20 years instead of being in control. WordPress.org blogs are not difficult to setup and write. They offer a lot more flexibility, and, over the long-term. Mike fook, you are right on! Authors need to nurture their fan-base in their own corral. (and not on a blog, either. A blog is too unidimensional. Use a forum instead, so that your fans entertain each other, rather than speak only to you. Otherwise, the idea won't scale.) the best way to get your fans to come to you instead of amazon is to _tell_them_ to come to you -- right at the end of your book! (and at the beginning too!) tell them -- directly -- that you want to cut out the middlemen, and have a direct relationship. Promise 'em you'll give 'em free content if they connect directly, and make good on the promise. Indeed, it's not unwise to save your _best_ stuff for fans only! It will make them feel _special_. If you're an author, you _must_ get rid of _all_ the middlemen. _use_them,_ but don't let them be an obstacle to your progress. Tell your fans to bond directly! Konrad: First, great blog with a ton (and I do mean a ton) of useful info. I've been visiting your blog regularly since I discovered it a few weeks ago to learn more about publishing on Amazon. My question is this -- you write fiction, and hence discuss your ebook pricing model from this view point (understandably). I'm wondering if you know of anyone who would be as open as you are about your ebook sales who've published in the non-fiction genre. I've been writing and self-publishing ebooks via my website/blog since 2004. Most of my titles are about small business and freelance writing (eg, how to start a freelance writing career, how to write an ebook, how to market on a shoestring budget, etc.). Can you provide insight on ebook sales on Amazon for non-fiction writers, or point me to someone who can. Thanks again for all the great info you provide. I referenced you/your site in a recent newsletter I sent out about ebook publishing, and readers really enjoyed it. Best, Yuwanda. Just a thought on 'value' versus cost. A book could well be a work of art, in the same way the Mona Lisa is, but you are not buying the original canvas you are buying a poster. If I had the money there's no limit to what I'd pay for the manuscript to The Great Gatsby, but I wouldn't pay for than a few pounds for a copy of it someone had made. As I writer I hope my hand typed manuscript becomes priceless, but I'd never expect a copy of it to be worth more than a copy of The Great Gatsby (currently 49p on Amazon!). If, in time, I build an audience and the percieved value of my copies goes up then of course I would add a pound or two to the bottom line, I'm selling to the converted rather than converting. I'm getting my manuscript formatted for smashwords. I had 2.99 in mind as a price point. I don't know why. Maybe I read your blog before and forgot. At this point I don't even care about the money. I just want people to read it. This manuscript shortlisted in a major contest. Frey read it. Eric Simonoff read it. Michael Signorelli read and rejected it for Harper/Collins.(May he die among strangers) Pieces of the manuscript are published in SubTerrain Magazine. I'll sell it cheap because I think that it will sell. And if it doesn't it doesn't matter how much I charge. Wish me luck. I've been going back and forth on what price I should charge and decided to ask my readers for their input. I'm leaning towards the $2.99 price as you suggest. It's really eye opening when you consider the royalties from traditional publishing and those of self-publishing. I wonder how much more someone like Stephen King would earn if he self-published something? Btw: wanted you to know I quoted you and linked to your article. Thanks, Bryan. Those can be some scary words. I heard them. I had been using medical marijuana legally in my state for years but the state my job offer was in was less open to the idea of medicinal marijuana use and the job was for a large corporation that had zero flexibility in their zero tolerance policy. I wanted to cry. This was the opportunity of a lifetime for me and my family and I was going to lose my shot because of some stupid HR policy. Sound familiar? Maybe you’ve been told that a job, a promotion, access to seeing your children, or even your freedom is on the line. What can you do? You can panic. You can stress out. You can give up. But those responses aren’t very effective and don’t solve your problem. What if I told you that there’s a way to pass a hair follicle drug test for marijuana (and other drugs) regardless of how often you’ve smoked and the last time you smoked? ![]() “The only thing that will help you pass a hair follicle drug test is knowledge and the appropriate actions.” You Can Pass a Hair Follicle Drug Test When I heard I had to take a hair follicle drug test, I immediately began doing research on ways to beat the test. You’re probably doing the same right now. I assume that’s how you found this site. Or maybe you just want to understand exactly what a hair follicle drug test is, what it can detect, and separate fact from all of the misinformation going around out there. I put in over 200 hours worth of research. I literally stayed up night and day reading websites, medical research papers, and statements from drug testing companies. It was worth it though. The stakes were high for me and I’m the kind of person that never gives up. I know there’s always a way if you just look hard enough. What I was able to piece together during all of this exhaustive research is that there is a way to pass a hair follicle test. A way based in scientific facts, not urban myths or via some snake-oil some company is trying to sell you. ![]() It was doable with products you can easily purchase from your local beauty supply shop. In my research I ran across countless scams and bad information. People repeating urban myths. Drug testing companies lying about the accuracy of their testing methods. And countless, uninformed but well meaning people, 100% convinced that there was absolutely no way to beat a hair follicle drug test. It’s very difficult to find accurate information out there. I ran across several cases where employers and even the drug companies themselves purposely put out false data about hair follicle drug testing to make people think that the tests are unbeatable. I remember feeling sick to my stomach reading one HR person laughing at the fact that she tells job candidates that the drug test can detect any drugs they’ve taken for years. She thought it was funny that she could put the “fear of God” into applicants and she said she thought that all drug users were low-lifes who deserved to scared straight. What a horrible, horrible person to do that to someone else. And she’s not alone. I read scores of similar stories. Does it really work? There are literally hundreds of documented success cases. And, the best proof of all for me was that I passed with flying colors. Based on my marijuana usage history, I was supposed to a poster boy for the type of person hair follicle drug testing is supposed to catch. But I’m not a fluke. ![]() ![]() Learn How To Pass A Drug Test. Study What Works & Doesn't Work For Passing A Drug Test. Discover The Best Way To Pass A Drug Test On Short Notice. Buy Under the Radar: How to Pass a Drug Test for Marijuana: Read 15 Books Reviews - Amazon.com. Under the Radar: How to Pass a Drug Test for Marijuana You're Only 24-72 Hours Away From Passing Your Urine Drug Test (That's how long it takes to follow my step-by. How to Pass a Marijuana Drug Test: Proven Methods to Fool Your Boss and Beat the System (How to Pass a Drug Test) eBook: Simon Stone, Pryde Publishing: Amazon.co.uk. I’m not the one guy in a million. My research had uncovered case after case after case of people who were in similar situations and passed. But you don't even have to take my word for it. The drug testing companies have admitted that this method works. While studies disagree with the extent to which the outcomes can be altered, there is no doubt that the results obtained through the testing of treated hair are inaccurate. Initial studies would indicate that, at first, these treatments do lower the level of drug detectable in the hair... Norchem (a hair follicle drug testing company) The best part about this method is that, if you have enough time before your drug test, you could actually measure the results because everything about it is based in science. Do you even need to worry about passing your hair follicle drug test? 'Most people are at a very low risk of testing positive in the first place.' With so much misinformation about hair follicle drug testing out there, it's no wonder people are so worried when they find out they have to take one. Even the drug testing companies grudgingly admit that their tests have a hard time identifying isolated/infrequent marijuana usage. My goal is to provide you with the information you need to know in order to determine if you're even at risk of testing positive. Ebook to pass a drug test Take this E-Book with you and consult it when you need to know how to pass a drug test. Especially important is the final chapter with tips to pass a drug test. Here are some excerpts. If you need to self test a store bought urine drug test will be virtually identical to the urine drug test your employer will give you. A hair drug test is often considered an unobtrusive drug test because they are just taking small hair sample during the hair drug test process. A saliva drug test can be problematic because there are no nationally accepted standards or cutoff concentrations for detection. The test does require lab processing to ensure that the test is accurate. In the case of drinking enough water to pass a drug test, you may actually do yourself more harm because your urine is likely to be heavily diluted. This is abnormal and the test will recognize that an unusual amount of liquid was consumed prior to the test. The first step to pass a marijuana drug test is to remain toxin free 48 hours before the urine drug test. Longer periods of non use will definitely help you pass a drug test. During this period do not overly modify your diet or drink excessive fluids. 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