Weekly Newsletter
Books2Read.com/JonColeyAuthor JonColey.Gumroad.com Amazon.com/author/joncoley
Larry got fired from the grill lighter factory. They found out about his side hustle, but he is a talented matchmaker.
So remember, I told you a cute joke. That way you won’t shoot the messenger. I’ve got news. The company named after the ancient tribe of warrior women, who like to subjugate men and send their superhero ambassadors to run around with Superman has made an announcement. Let me try that again without being so nerdy and cryptic. Amazon is up to their old tricks again. Many, if not most, if not all, authors are about to have to raise their prices on print books.
Here’s what’s up. The company has posted a memo to all authors that they are going to lower royalty rates on print books by ten percent if their price is below ten bucks. Well, that’s basically all my paperbacks. As someone who likes to keep his work accessible to everyone, that ten percent will put me below the break even point, which isn’t good business. I hate to do it, but it’s going to be necessary. Authors have until June 10th to make the necessary changes. Ebooks are unaffected.
What does this mean for you? While not all prices are going up, cheaper books will have to. There will soon be a lot of books crossing the ten dollar mark, which is the true desired outcome of the company’s strategy. Most books below ten dollars will have to go up in price to make up for the royalty drop as well, though they may stay below $9.99 in price. I’m going to try to be in the latter category.
Hers the kicker. Amazon expects authors to list them as the lowest price available. In other words, they can’t sell their books for cheaper elsewhere. There are exceptions, like discounted at the register sales, but the company has always been quite strict about that policy. In short, you’re going to see price increases everywhere pretty soon.
Hey, put that bow and arrow down! Like I said, ebooks are unaffected. You can save a ton of money that way. Personally, I plan to redo my direct sales site (Gumroad) to sweeten the pot a little for you. More on that in the near future. Also, LaterPress is stepping up in a big way with a subscription service for readers. I haven’t gotten into the weeds on that deal yet, but will soon be looking into it. All is not lost, my friends.
On the writing front - nothing, absolutely nothing. This is par for the course as we are entering the last week of school. I’m about to be packing up for the year. So this time next week, I hope to be working on chapter four of my current WIP. Once there is an established summer routine, I’m going to knock out that pesky free audiobook too.
Until Next Time, God Bless!
