Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Keepers of Sulbreth Release

Yesterday I came home from work and powered up my computer.  Couldn't wait to check. And there it was.  Kindle had my book up for sale with its new cover and new price.  Nothing like seeing your book for sale to get you inspired to work on the next one.  I am busy working on the edits for the second book, Beyond the Gate.

The Keepers of Sulbreth introduces the island kingdom of Futhark where a small group of sorceresses called, Keepers, have used their gifts to contain the denizens of hell behind a magical gate.  But something is slowly going wrong and more and more of the demons escape into the human world.  Working with the young king of Futhark, the Keepers find a gifted warrior foretold in prophecies to help them close the magical seals. Cage Stone reluctantly gets pulled into the dangers facing Futhark.  The otherworldly foes force him to reveal his secrets and his heritage.  As he bloodies his sword in demon blood, he slowly realizes the dark mind behind the troubles have been controlling his destiny from his birth.  He vows to take back his life and save Futhark at the same time.
Cover art by Gayle Bower

Keepers recieved many excellent reviews when it was first released, including from Publisher's Weekly and Booklist. Now my goal is to remind readers of this and restart my promotion. 

I have a lot still to learn about self-publishing and the best way to promote the book.  The price is another thing I've had to make decisions on.  I priced the book at $2.99 to start.  I've read JA Konrath's blog many times and absorbed his advice.  It's a tough decision.

The price of ebooks is a controversial issue in and of itself.  I buy lots of ebooks.  Some of the reasonably priced ones written by my friends but I also purchase ebooks from 'famous' authors and I do resent paying the same price as for a mass market paperback.  Why should an ebook cost that much when there is no shipping, no manufacturing or storage costs?

What do you think is a reasonable price for ebooks? What royalty rate should authors receive from ebooks?  The same as print?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the story is great, I don't mind paying full price. That means around ten bucks for an established author like Dean Koontz and around five dollars for self published authors.

Luanne G. Smith said...

I tend to feel the same way about e-book prices. Psychologically I don't feel like I'm getting the same product as with a paper book and so I don't want to pay as much. I don't mind paying $10 for a paper book, but it seems high for a download. *shrugs*

I think you have yours priced right, though I also see people offer short term sales of .99 for one week. A hurry and get it now sort of approach.

Good luck!

M.J. Fifield said...

I read the Keepers of Sulbreth (love the new cover, by the way) when it came out. I've been waiting for Beyond the Gate.

As far as ebook pricing, I think $4.99 has been my limit and I'll only pay it if I really, really want the book. $2.99 doesn't make me flinch.

Good luck!!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Thanks, MJ. I hope to have the next one available within two months and the third by spring.

Joanne said...

I think so many factors are involved that the price can vary widely. But I do agree, that it doesn't seem right to pay the same price as a mass market paperback when the product is so different.