New Nora Roberts - Yikes!

[4Katie]

Nora's Chasing Fire will be released on April 12. The Kindle version is 14.99! Guess i'll just add it to the list of her books I haven't read yet.

And I've read almost every book she's written.

[PraiseGod13]

I've had several books that I've wanted to read lately that are $14.99 in the Kindle version.  That's more than I'm willing to pay.... so I've checked them out at the library instead.  I prefer to read on my Kindle.... by far.  But, I'm back to reading DTBs when a Kindle book is beyond my budget.
     Keep an eye on your book.... it might come down in price when the release date gets closer.... or not.

[Luvmy4brats]

Yay Penguin. <not> 

Pretty sad when I can get the Audible version cheaper. (I have the 2 credits for $22.95 a month and this is most likely 1 credit, so only $11.50) I love my Kindle and I love Nora Roberts, but $14.99?? Nope, not gonna do it.

[4Katie]

I still haven't read Nora's The Search, which came out July 6. Waiting for the $12.99 price to drop. It didn't get very good reviews, so I can be patient.

I think I've only ever paid more than $9.99 for a Kindle book two or three times, and they were all Nora Roberts/JD Robb books. But only books I can't wait to read. Otherwise, I have plenty of other books to choose from while I wait for the prices to go down.
 

[fancynancy]

Good for you.  The madness just has to stop.

The only time I'll pay that much for a Kindle book is when my book group is reading something that I don't have time to order in paperback.  My only other choice is to miss the meeting.  But for books I read on my own time, there are so many great books out there, there's always something just as good to read, and I've got all the time in the world to wait for the price to come down.   

[Tatiana]

$14.99 is more than I am willing to pay.  I'll be checking it out of the library.

[BTackitt]

yeah.. I love Nora Roberts/JD Robb books usually, but no way in he..ck am I paying that.

[Larry45]

I run into the same thing with James Patterson books.  I will not pay $14.99 for an e-book knowing that at least 80% of it goes to the publisher...

[MLPMom]

Yikes is right! I paid $12.99 last time for her book but I most definitely won't be paying $14.99 this time. Which is fine, I have lots of other things to read that are at a better price.
I love Nora but I am not paying that much for an e-book.

[JFHilborne]

I won't pay that much for an eBook, either. It's madness. Let's hope with enough readers refusing the crazy prices, they'll soon drop to a reasonable level for those big name authors.

[Kenneth Rosenberg]

Wow, that's just crazy.  I know publishing companies aren't people, and they don't necessarily have any morals, but to me charging $14.99 for an e-book is just greedy.  It's like they don't know how much the price of an ebook should be so they just keep pushing it to see what the market will bear.  My guess is that they're going to start alienating a lot of their customers this way...

[4Katie]

My guess is that they're going to start alienating a lot of their customers this way...

My guess is you're right.

Do they not remember that we can get books for FREE at the library?!?

[Sandra Edwards]

$14.99? Seriously?? Wow. I sure won't be paying that much for an ebook...no matter who wrote it. That's just crazy.

Sandy

[Kristan Hoffman]

I run into the same thing with James Patterson books.  I will not pay $14.99 for an e-book knowing that at least 80% of it goes to the publisher...

Okay, I don't want to start a huge fight here, and I agree that $14.99 is more than I'm willing to pay for an e-book, but the last part of this statement didn't make a whole lot of sense to me... Who else is the money supposed to go to? The publisher has to pay the editors, and the cover designers, and the marketing staff, and the receptionists, and the printers, and the distributors, and... a whole lot of other people. Am I misunderstanding something?

Kristan

[Kristan Hoffman]

PS: I am totally not a troll looking to cause problems. I opened this thread b/c I love Nora Roberts! Then I saw the price and I was like, Yeesh, I'll wait too.

Kristan

[4Katie]

My problem is eBooks that cost the same - or more than! - paper books. I hear that printing a book doesn't really cost that much, but it has to cost SOMETHING, including supplies, labor and shipping that eBooks don't need. And when I bought paper books, I lent them to many friends, denying the author and everyone else involved multiple sales. When I buy a book for my Kindle, nobody reads it but me.

When I look at the breakdown of what it costs to produce eBooks and paper books, the author and publisher make very different amounts on the different types. That doesn't make sense, either. Why shouldn't the author get paid the same for what he wrote, regardless of the medium it's sold on - and why should he get less for an eBook that costs the same as a paper book that has to be manufactured?

None of it makes sense.

Besides, the prices are rising much too fast. Just two years ago most eBooks were $9.99 or less. Now they want $14.99? I don't think so. And, for the record, I didn't buy paper books when I felt they were too expensive, either.

My money, my choice.

If this trend continues, I'll seriously consider getting a second eReader, one that can get library books. FREE library books.

[4Katie]

Okay, I don't want to start a huge fight here, and I agree that $14.99 is more than I'm willing to pay for an e-book, but the last part of this statement didn't make a whole lot of sense to me... Who else is the money supposed to go to? The publisher has to pay the editors, and the cover designers, and the marketing staff, and the receptionists, and the printers, and the distributors, and... a whole lot of other people. Am I misunderstanding something?

Kristan

My answer would be that it shouldn't go to anyone! eBooks should be priced like paper books - everyone gets their fair share, include the cost of production and a similar profit margin. Seems pretty simple to me.

[chipotle]

I finally gave up and asked DH to buy me a nook (regular not color) for Valentine's Day to read library ebooks. I saw that Susan Elizabeth Phillips' new book Call Me Irresistible is $12.99 for the Kindle so I am now 3rd in line on the hold list to borrow the ebook from my library.

It really doesn't take many books at that price to pay for an ereader that you can use for library books. I have no idea what the publishers are thinking but I wouldn't be surprised if ebook prices continue to rise.

[EllenR]

I finally gave up and asked DH to buy me a nook (regular not color) for Valentine's Day to read library ebooks. I saw that Susan Elizabeth Phillips' new book Call Me Irresistible is $12.99 for the Kindle so I am now 3rd in line on the hold list to borrow the ebook from my library.

It really doesn't take many books at that price to pay for an ereader that you can use for library books. I have no idea what the publishers are thinking but I wouldn't be surprised if ebook prices continue to rise.

I am considering doing the same for the same reason. I recently borrowed the last Sookie Stackhouse book since I've been waiting FOREVER for it to come down to a normal price. I've decided that since certain publishers are being unreasonable in pricing ebooks, I might as well not give those publishers ANY of my money. I'll just borrow from the library. My local library has ebooks and regular books and I have no issue with waiting for my turn in the hold line for one or the other. I hope the publishers will wake up to the fact that their strong-arm tactics won't work as long as libraries exist (at least for some of us).

[Larry45]

Okay, I don't want to start a huge fight here, and I agree that $14.99 is more than I'm willing to pay for an e-book, but the last part of this statement didn't make a whole lot of sense to me... Who else is the money supposed to go to? The publisher has to pay the editors, and the cover designers, and the marketing staff, and the receptionists, and the printers, and the distributors, and... a whole lot of other people. Am I misunderstanding something?

Kristan

My point is, if you look on the Amazon page below the book's price, it says "This price was set by the publisher."  You'll see that on all the big-name authors' books.  And if the publisher sets the price, you can bet they're taking a big piece of it.  But I will not pay that for an e-book knowing that the vast majority of that money goes to the publisher and not the author.  For a hardback or paperback, maybe.  But an e-book?  Absolutely not.  We have too many indie authors here that get 35% on books under $2.98, and a whopping 70% on books $2.99 and up.  I intend to support those authors all I can.  I like Nora Roberts and James Patterson as much as the next person, but $15 for an e-book is a complete rip-off.  I'll wait til it comes out in paperback and pick it up at Costco for 5 or 6 bucks.  We have a ton of very talented indie authors here, and if we buy their books, at least we know that 70% of our money goes where it rightfully should...to the person who wrote the book.

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

I stopped buying Janet Evanovich because of the price and the same goes for Nora Roberts. I've got a Kindle crammed full of free and bargain books just dying to be read. If I want to read Janet or Nora, I'll just reread those that I bought at a reasonable price.

[chipotle]

The other thing about using an ereader for library ebooks is that you are not limited to just your local library. There are plenty of free and low-priced libraries you can access for ebooks and you can usually access the ebooks in most of the larger libraries in your state easily. I received my nook late last week and I already have about 15 library ebooks from 3 different libraries.

Here is the great MobiRead Wiki on Ebook Lending Libraries  - http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/EBook_Lending_Libraries which has many options for every state and lists how many ebooks each library has available.

I should add that Macmillan is currently not allowing public libraries to lend their ebooks so it won't work if you're seeking Macmillan books. Just another publisher decision I don't understand at all!

[drenee]

I stopped buying Janet Evanovich because of the price and the same goes for Nora Roberts. I've got a Kindle crammed full of free and bargain books just dying to be read. If I want to read Janet or Nora, I'll just reread those that I bought at a reasonable price.

I just read Janet's Fifteen.  I really want to read Sixteen, but the price has not budged from 12.99.  Seventeen is due this summer, and I hope Sixteen drops in price.  Not holding my breath, but a reader can hope.
deb

[Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake']

I just read Janet's Fifteen.  I really want to read Sixteen, but the price has not budged from 12.99.  Seventeen is due this summer, and I hope Sixteen drops in price.  Not holding my breath, but a reader can hope.
deb

Don't forget that kindle book lending group. It's getting huge. You can probably find Sixteen there. Isn't that the one featuring Lula? I'd like to read that myself.

[drenee]

Evanovich is lendable?  I hadn't looked at that.
deb