Higher Prices: It’s not the Author’s Fault!

An article in today’s New York Times talks about a potential backlash among ebook buyers in reaction to plans to increase pricing for books to the $12.99 to $14.99 price range. Readers are quoted as saying that they’ll just spend their entertainment dollars elsewhere if prices rise too high. Fair enough.

What disturbed me the most is that some authors have faced nasty backlash campaigns already. Readers go in on Amazon, give a book a single-star rating, and scold authors for being “greedy-greedy.”

Readers seem to have some understanding that authors are paid royalties based on a percentage of the cover price. This is true. However, authors do not set the cover price. We have absolutely zero control over how much a publisher chooses to charge for our work. Blaming authors for the price of a book is like blaming a farmer for the cost of an apple. The connection is so tenuous as to be non-existant.

I will admit to being pleased when I have a book reprinted and it moves to a higher price point—usually only upped by 50 cents or so. Still, it’s a little bit of a raise. I’ll see that money six to nine months later. (That 50 cent price bump will pay me a nickel, by the way. For every hundred books sold, I can afford a Happy Meal.)

On the other hand, as part of a promotional deal, I’ve had the price of a book cut! When Del Rey was looking to spur sales of the New Jedi Order, my books Onslaught and Ruin got two dollars knocked off the price, and a great red splash across the top of the cover to let folks know all about it. The only way I found out is that Del Rey happened to send me a copy of each discounted book some time after they were released. No consultation, no head’s-up—not that they were under any obligation to do so, either. It’s just business.

While I respect the rights of readers to lodge their protests over higher book prices, slamming authors for it doesn’t work. It’s not the authors’ fault. Moreover, the publishers aren’t listening to authors.

If you want your concerns heard, go to the publishers’ websites and shoot them a note telling them how you feel. That’s where your voice will be best heard.