One of the most common questions students ask in my virtual classroom for Publish and Sell Your E-Books is how much they should charge for their ebooks. There isn’t, however, one answer (or price) that fits all books. Traditional publishers may have it easier to set prices, because they know their input costs and have a reasonable idea of expected sales. Independent, or Indie, self-publishers may not have any input costs if they’re doing everything themselves from the editing to creating the cover. Instead, they have to formulate some idea of what it has cost them in other ways, such as lost earnings for the time they’ve committed to writing and creating the book. And of course, first time authors (or even mid-list authors) have no way of knowing how many copies of an e-book they’ll sell. E-books don’t have an inventory, so the cost of paying for boxes and boxes of books, plus their storage, is also eliminated. So, how does an indie author set price? Well, one of the best ways is to survey the market and see what it will bear. For checking prices I recommend authors use Smashwords. Why? Smashwords is one of the largest distributors [...]
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By: Linda Aksomitis,
on 2/6/2013
Blog: Linda Aksomitis (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Pricing, eBook Publishing Tips, Add a tag
By: John,
on 7/30/2012
Blog: DRAWN! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: pricing, business, advice, Add a tag
Pricing Strategies: How to Price Your Product or Service–To Avoid Killing Your Business:
We all need to take this advice; artists (and I include myself here) are notoriously terrible at business.
By: John,
on 6/11/2012
Blog: DRAWN! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: pricing, freelancers, business, advice, Add a tag
Graphic Design Pricing - What's a good designer worth these days?:
Attention, freelance creatives: read this article by Shaun Hensher on how to approach pricing for your work!
This is a great start, helping you wrap your head around why you would charge a certain amount for this or that kind of project. Though one thing I’d recommend is to boost his “Bare Minimum” from $100 to at least $250. If you consider that a single project—say, a standard editorial illustration—may take you on average of 8-10 hours to complete, charging $100 means you just worked for minimum wage. No, we don’t usually “charge by the hour,” but it’s important to think of things this way when you add it all up each year come tax-time.
This has inspired me to post a follow-up (of sorts) where I’d like to apply some more long-term thinking and planning (because I don’t have enough to do already!), and examine the cause-and-effect of lousy pricing in the illustration field.
This article is directed at client-types, but I think it’s important for freelancers to read this too, and think about whether or not you’re pricing your work in a way that benefits you and your business.
Blog: Schiel & Denver Book Publishers Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Amazon, Philip Jones, e-books, Apple, Home, booksellers, digital, Retail, pricing, Add a tag
UK e-book buyers are expecting heavier discounting on digital titles than their counterparts across the Atlantic, a new survey has found.
The survey, undertaken in April by consultants Simon-Kucher and Partners among 250 book buyers from the US, UK and Germany, concluded an e-book without additional features should cost around 65% to 70% of the print price, though admitted there was "no simple formula" in hitting the pricing sweet spot.
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By: Sara Burrier,
on 3/25/2011
Blog: warrior princess dream (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: retail, pricing, etsy blog, Add a tag
Now, opening up about this truth to the general public might not be "wise", but I believe it's an important issue. It's important to all of us...sellers and buyers alike.
I truly believe it's important to keep my customers in the truth about my business. Maybe that makes how I sell different, I'm not sure.
But what I do know is I never sat down and crunched my numbers to find prices that were fair to my customers and to me.
I have always placed my prices based on the competition.
Last night I broke down my costs. Even the ink used in my printer, which is a difficult one to break down. I used a formula I found on the Etsy Blog.
Here's what I used:
Cost (Labor + Materials) x 2 = Wholesale Price
Wholesale Price x 2 = Retail Price
For some of the items I offer this became difficult because the price was way above and beyond what I would even pay for something I just had to have.
I want my items to be affordable and obtainable. That has always been my mission...not just as a human being and seller, but also as a Christian. My work is a gift to me, which in turn is a gift to my customers.
It opened my eyes too. It showed me exactly how much I spend on materials and how often I probably need to restock. But it also required me to raise my prices. This is difficult for me...pricing is just not fun.
So I truly hope my customers can understand the raising of the prices. I kept it as low as I could, and I still don't believe that my labor cost should be very high. The average cost for an item in my shop is $10.00.
http://sarambutcher.etsy.com
I would love to hear feedback on this issue. Whether you're a seller or a buyer. It's a touchie subject, but one we all must face on a daily basis.
Blog: Escape From Illustration Island (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Escapee Speaks Business, illustration, business, freelance, pricing, Add a tag
Pricing Your Work is Hard.
There’s a lot to think about, and it can be tricky to find the right balance between making your clients run the other way and working for less than you deserve.
I can’t tell you what to charge for a given project, but I can highlight some factors that you should consider when coming up with your next quote.
Keeping the following things in mind will help you to get as close as you can to a fair and reasonable rate that will sustain your freelance business:
Cost of Living
Obviously, you need to put your survival first, so do you best to figure out the bare minimum that you need to earn per month in order to keep up with your expenses.
Industry Standards
What is the going rate for the project at hand, what do your peers charge, and where do you fall within that range?
Complexity and Scope of Project
How difficult is the Illustration and how long will it take you to complete? (Try to pad this answer, as most Illustrators underestimate the number of hours involved.)
Number of Revisions
How many times will you be required to go back and forth with the client?
Usage
What is the intended purpose of the Illustration, and what value will it provide for the client?
Rights Transferred
Are you selling all rights to use the Illustration for anything, anywhere, or just for one specific purpose?
Your Experience / Reputation
How much can you charge based on the demand of your work, if any?
Perceived Difficulty of Client
Some Artists refer to this as the Pain-in-the-Butt Fee, and it can help you to tolerate an otherwise taxing relationship.
The Client’s Budget
What can your client afford, and how can you accomodate their needs?
The Takeaway
Obviously, the intention of this post is not to answer all of these questions for you, but rather to help you to know which questions to ask when coming up with a quote for your next project. There is plenty more here to talk about in future posts, so stay tuned.
Escapee has spoken.
Now it’s your turn to share.
How do you determine your rates?
Have you ever used the Pain-in-the-Butt charge?
I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Related Posts:
Marketing Lessons from Fast Food Chains
Read More Escapee Speaks Business.
Who is this Escapee guy anyway?
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By: David Billings,
on 1/2/2009
Blog: Sparky Firepants Art Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: articles, business, rates, pricing, prix fixe, Add a tag
Seth Godin shared an interesting thought today on his blog about pricing and rates.
Prix fixe, indeed. Hmmm. Retainer anyone? What would happen if an illustrator changed the typical billing model for services (which I assume to be XX dollars for XX time or XX result)? Is it still possible to flip the artist billing model on its head, or have all sides of the head been explored?
I’m gonna start thinkifying this now. I’m curious to know other’s thoughts on this subject. Designers? Illustrators? Animators? Freelancers?
What are your model-flipping ideas? Anyone is welcome to start or join the conversation, I want to hear from you!
I think you ought to charge what YOU think you're worth. If you think your work is worth more than $10, then charge more. The people who want your work will buy it. If you think that $10 feels like an all-over good price, and you don't think you're being cheated out of profit... well, keep it at $10.
In the end, I guess it's just up to you. I hope this helps!
I think the artist can set the price however they like. It is their art and they should be able set any pricing so they can make a living and have people enjoy their work.
I do think it's hard to determine a pricing that will please everything so I don't think you should try. Just do what you think it's right. And there's my 2 cents.
Have a sweet day.