Every once in a while, someone comments that my books are too expensive. Affordability is relative, so fair enough. For that person, $4.99 is too much to pay for a full-length book. (Fortunately, there are libraries.)

So yes, $4.99 is what I charge for the full length books in my Nocturne Falls series. Print books are 9.99. I just released a short story in the series and it’s priced at .99. I have a few more shorts I’ll be putting out for that price as well. (And just as an aside, the first book in the series, The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride is currently free at all retailers. So BIG discount there.)

So why do I price the way I do? Aren’t ebooks cheap to produce? Let’s talk.

Each full length book I put out in the Nocturne Falls series costs me approximately $1500 to produce. That number includes the digital and print cover, editing, proofreading, and digital and print formatting – all things I do to provide the best possible end product I can.

What it doesn’t include is the three to four months of my time that go into writing, revising and approving each book. Nor does it include the advertising and marketing I do for each book so that it might actually get noticed by readers, something that gets harder and harder in this current market.

It doesn’t include the cost of maintaining my website or my newsletter list. It doesn’t include the time I put into social media (not writing) so that my pages stay active and my reach doesn’t dry up completely. It doesn’t include all the books and Kindle Fires and other swag I give away each week on my Facebook page.

And let’s not even start with what I spend on attending conferences to meet more readers and make myself a better writer.

But that’s the cost of doing business. (And then there are audiobooks, which are a whole ‘nother expense.)

I think $5 is a fair price. It’s far less than what most traditionally published ebooks go for. In fact, my traditionally pubbed ebooks currently range from $6.99 to $9.99.

If writing was a hobby for me, maybe I’d spend less producing the book and charge less for it, but writing is my business. It’s what pays our mortgage, puts food on our table and feeds the kittens. And, you know, sometimes gets me a new pair of shoes.

So what can $5 buy you these days?

Well, obviously, a Nocturne Falls book. Which, I might add, you can reread any time you like and on average, seems to provide about five hours of reading enjoyment. Maybe more. And that could be spread out over a couple of days.

A fancy coffee at Starbucks is about $5. But unlike a book you can reread over and over, you can only drink a coffee once. Probably lasts thirty minutes. I’m guessing. I drink homebrew because going out for coffee would cut into my writing time.

A movie ticket is $13 around here. I think a matinee is $11. So more than twice what a Nocturne Falls book costs and again, you only get to see the movie once for that price. Plus it’s over in two hours. And let’s not talk about how much popcorn costs…

25 by Adele is $11.88 on Amazon if you buy the CD. That’ll get you about 70 minutes of listening and you can play it over and over. Not a bad deal at all. In fact, I may have just one-clicked. But still more than $5.

Hmm. Not a lot beside a book you can get for $5 that lasts for any reasonable period of time. At least not anything I can think of. But then I don’t get out of the house much. Mostly I’m at my desk writing.

I hope this sheds some light on what goes into producing a book. If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them.

Happy reading!

 

  1. I’m excited when a book is $5!! I get mad at the ones that are $14+, I won’t buy it then especially if the rest of the rest of the series was around $8.

  2. A book for $5.00 is a steal. Anyone that thinks otherwise is welcome to go to the library. I appreciate the audio books very much. I will gladly spend my credits and/or hard-earned money on any books that you release on audio. I’m patiently awaiting the next one!

  3. Honey that’s cheap for a good book. I’m just waiting on the audio book for book 3 . The price is worth it to me.

  4. Ryan Harting-Lambert

    I appreciate your books, greatly. I first picked up “Blood Rights” in print and devoured it in one day. Then proceeded to get it and the entire series on my Kindle. Where I keep them and re-read them often. I have also read a few other of your romances and just recently started the “Nocturne Fall” series. I love your writing and the worlds you create.

    Yes, the cheap, and free, books are easier to obtain, but so much harder to read and enjoy, IMO. I use them for quick, easy, and steamy reads but I will always, ALWAYS, come back to the quality authors that I love. The quality of a paid book is so much better than the free. I do not mind paying $5 (a measly amount for what’s produced) for your books and the other authors I enjoy. And I will gladly continue to do so.

    Keep up the good work and please keep sharing your fantastical worlds with us.

  5. I’m a Frugal Fanny personally. I would never spend 5 bucks on a small coffee lol. I love to read, but typically I stick within the Kindle Unlimited section because I go through probably 50 books a month easy. But I understand that established authors are not just throwing something together and loading it on Kindle hoping to make a few bucks, this is your career. I think your’s are the only books I have actually purchased in a long time. As a single mom, indulgences are not in the budget, sometimes even just 5 bucks.

  6. I would love to pay $5.00 for your books.I have quite a few of your books and love The series ‘House of comarre.’.I can tell you that I live in Sydney Australia and that I didnt pay $5.00 for any of the books.If you buy your books at a book shop here in Sydney they are $15.00 or $12.99 in big-w .So paying $5.00 dollars would be a bargain for me.Dont get me wrong , I would still buy it at 15.00 ,and I have.If you think you can’t afford it , put $1.50 dollar away a week till you have your money. Anyway. I love Kristen painters books.

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