Bargain Schmargain

This Monday morning, my mind is on book pricing, discounts, and freebies, specifically in relation to getting self-pub titles in the hands of people who’ll read them and, with any luck, leave a review or a rating.

Yesterday, I ran a poll on Twitter, asking about the likelihood of heavily discounted books garnering more reads and reviews. Of the 95 respondents, roughly 55 per cent said there would be no difference, 22 per cent said there would be more, and 23 per cent said there would be fewer.

All very scientific, I know—vast sample size, masses of quality data—but at least it shows that people have opinions on the matter. And with almost half believing that pricing does affect what buyers do with these books, I’m clearly not alone in thinking it important.

My own take, having run various deals and giveaways, is that they may be attractive to potential readers, but that doesn’t guarantee that they’ll be read. At the very least, in the wake of some bonanza or other, I’ve never seen a notable uptick in ratings or reviews, and a number of comments on the poll indicate that my experience here is far from unique.

Which stands to reason. When you pay full whack for a book, are you not more likely to try and get your money’s worth out of it? Conversely, what are the chances that you’ll confer the same value upon that slew of $0.99 and freebie reads in the ol’ Kindle library? As they say, a bargain is something you don’t really want at a price you can’t resist.

Of course, a fair proportion of respondents think quite the opposite, but I have neither the time nor the inclination to prove anyone wrong. Besides, the whole thing strikes me as very difficult to gauge, so I’m happy enough to persist in my folly until I learn otherwise.

To wit, I won’t be running any price promotions in the future, save perhaps for high days and holidays when deals are pretty much the norm. In general, I don’t think it helps the perception that self-pub is inferior to trad, and I’d rather stick to my guns, show confidence in my books, and not feel as though I’m throwing them out like confetti.

I’m interested to know your thoughts on the matter, so please be my guest and have your say in the comments.

And until next week, happy Christmas and happy writing to you all.