In which I pick your brains the better to please you....

[lagilman]

oh look, directed market research! "And remember, this is for posterity so be honest."

[Poll #1741976]


Feel free to give commentary/feedback in comments, too. Example: if you say "depends on format" then what format would you want?

Comments

[cypherindigo.livejournal.com]

As for cost, I would pay an amount that makes this a profitable venture for you.

As for format, Kindle or a PDF that I can have converted to kindle seems to work the best.

[chickwriter.livejournal.com]

I <3 short story collections and am happy to pay up to $2 per story from a known author like yourself.

I also prefer (if a collection) it be release in its entirety, as I like it all at once. (never good with serialized fiction, either ::g::)

Format: .epub or .mobi preferably. PDF is often difficult to convert properly for reading on an e-reader.

Cheers!

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

I would buy a PDF format/ePub format that can be read with Digital Editions.

[jakeliv.livejournal.com]

Not particular about format. How long are the stories? Not so fond of true short stories, but 6 20k-30k stories around a theme, that would be terrific!

[lagilman]

120,000+ words (the eqiv. of a long novel) would mean a significantly higher price, considering the time/energy required.

[jakeliv.livejournal.com]

120k digital for $12 (I put in $2/story, which is about what 20k stories go for on Amazon)? I don't know what kind of volume you could expect, but that seems to me to be might be ball park attractive. Neal Stephenson has an all digital project going for something around $12/year.

Personally, while I still love the feel of a book, the convenience of reading on my phone is unparalleled, so digital works well for me.

[lagilman]

Yeah, it all comes down to how many copies I could sell. If you have an assured $$ in advances for 100,000 words vs "maybe x people will pay $x and maybe they won't and no way to tell until you've done the work..." which would you chose as your income model?


[that's why Kickstarter works - you know -before- you commit the time/energy. For longer works, that's how I'd go]

[jakeliv.livejournal.com]

Kickstarter?

As for up front vs on the come - it depends upon my risk profile and current and projected cash situation. :)

Given all that, in my current situation, I'd take a flyer and see if it worked. Given that I am not a published author, it would probably never pay. LOL!

OTOH, there are more kinds of "pay" than simply money.

[lagilman]

OTOH, there are more kinds of "pay" than simply money.

okay, I'll bite. Tell me.

[jakeliv.livejournal.com]

When you aren't a published author, just being READ is way cool. I like to write, at least when I am inspired, and I get satisfaction when someone reads a story of mine and says they enjoyed it. If I put a story up on Amazon and reap the occasional $2 sale and the even more occasional well written comment, I would feel well paid.

But then, I am an engineer first, and author falls somewhere way down the list. Were I an author first, I can only imagine I'd feel differently about the subject.

in which I do not rant. really.

[lagilman]

Were I an author first, I can only imagine I'd feel differently about the subject.

Err, yes. Much if someone had asked you to do your day job - after working for years to learn the skills/get the experience to do the job at the best of your abilities -- for "exposure and praise." I doubt you'd think it a compliment, or an equitable arrangement....

Re: in which I do not rant. really.

[jakeliv.livejournal.com]

Not did I suggest that you should work for exposure and praise. In fact, I suggested you charge $12 for a digital edition of a longish book with no publisher other than yourself. :)

Patrick Rothfuss' "The Wise Man's Fear: The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day 2" goes for $14.99 digital on Amazon and it is almost 1000 pages long - maybe 250k words? - and will be an international best seller, if it isn't already.

So really it's the risk profile that is the heart of the matter. You can realize a certain but smaller reward, or an uncertain but larger reward.

I'd would support your effort with my $12. So that much is certain. :)

Re: in which I do not rant. really.

[lagilman]

If I had Pat's readership, this discussion wouldn't be happening.

*has mild and utterly reasonable professional envy*

Re: in which I do not rant. really.

[jakeliv.livejournal.com]

As I read both you and Pat, you can honestly maintain that you have at least a part of Pat's readership, no?

I envy both of you. :)

But not greatly. As Randy Newman says, my life is good. :)

Okay, not so good I get to play Bruce's axe.

Re: in which I do not rant. really.

[msagara.livejournal.com]

I think it's 400k+ words long, fwiw.

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose you'd make it available as a print option?

[lagilman]

A print option means additional costs that would have to be transferred to the price. Also, more time/energy on my part, which takes away from the writing time....

If I do a print collection on my own it would probably be via Kickstarter or something similar.

[controuble.livejournal.com]

I'm with mtlawson in wanting a print version. I have no interest whatsoever in getting an ebook reader and spend way too much time looking at a computer screen to make that something I want to do in my spare time.

[blitheringpooks.livejournal.com]

Have you given any serious consideration to how much you'd need through kickstarter?

Would this mean you wouldn't be using a POD site?

It's an intriguing idea.

[lagilman]

I've not ruled out Kickstarter, but I thought, to start, I'd poll how much interest there would be in a story collection, and what they'd like to read.

I probably should have put a Kickstarter option in the poll. Next go-round. :-)


And I have a number in mind to compensate for the work required, yeah. :-)

[blitheringpooks.livejournal.com]

Interesting. And smart.

[strigine.livejournal.com]

Format: epub epub epub epub pleeeeeease epub.

[kthanna.livejournal.com]

I'm not fond of .mobi format. I can only open that with my kindle app. I prefer having the option to use whatever reader I currently feel like using. So a PDF format would usually be best.

But I am pretty much digital all the way these days.

As for price - I said $1 a story, but that really depends on the length. I mean if it's 200 pages worth of stories, I'd have no problem paying full novel price for the collection $9-10. But if it's 6 short stories that only give me 80 pages, I'd be hard pressed to pay more than $6 for the collection.

Hope this helps!

[lagilman]

I'd have a very hard time charging more than $6 for a collection that size, so we're in agreement. ;-)

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

I'm in the sad minority of not wanting an e-only anything. I don't have an e-reader. I don't *want* an e-reader. But now I'm starting to get left out of things, which means I'm going to have to get an e-reader at some point. That makes me cranky.

[lagilman]

well, a pdf should be readable/printable off your computer, if it comes to that....

[I suspect I will do a pdf and epub version, assuming I can get my tech skills up to it. Or maybe I'll bribe someone else to do it for me... *grins*]

[g33kboi.livejournal.com]

My preferred format is EPUB, DRM-free if possible. Also, I am in complete agreement with kthanna regarding the ratio of price to length of collection. I chose both $1 and $2 on the survey to indicate a range.

For anyone who might be interested in converting ebooks from one format to another Calibre works quite well (it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux and it's free). I used it to convert a bunch of Baen freebies from LIT to EPUB so I could read them on my iPhone. http://calibre-ebook.com/

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

$2 is a bare minimum. I'd be happy to pay rather more -- $10+

[ceosanna.livejournal.com]

I'm one of the depends on format responders. While I'd prefer something I could use on my Kindle, I'd honestly be happy with any format that I could view on my computer in general.

[christina sutt (from livejournal.com)]

Most of the other formats can be easily converted to .mobi

[christina sutt (from livejournal.com)]

I have a kindle, but anything but a .pdf can easily be converted via calibre. I would pay standard industry rates for anthology or serial, and am fine with either though I did mark down having them spread out.

C. E. Murphy does direct to reader short stories and I love reading them and almost always buy them. Big anthologies are a bigger investment in time and with my schedule I'd rather get something I know I want to read in my inbox once a month then have to tackle a novel-length anthology, particularly if I pay up front (which I do with Catie, usually)

I would prefer the stories themselves be linked by genre and setting, short stories in the PUPPI/RETRIEVERS series for instance, rather than random, but that's a personal preference.

Ummmm what else would matter. Any length is fine really, you're a good enough writer to make it work.

[cailleuch.livejournal.com]

>> Would you want the stories all at once, or once-a-month basis?

You didn't have an "it's up to you" so I said once a month. Either is OK. I can deal with just about any format. I have readers for just about any format on my iPhone.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Nook format please!

I have a hard time answering the last question because so much depends on the details. If it's a theme I like, I'd probably prefer a theme, but if it's a theme I don't like, then I would rather have a mix than all-something-I-don't-care-for.

Also while I said $1 a story I was presuming standard shorts. The longer they get, the more willing I am to pay more.