By John Gilstrap
A friend of mine who happens to be a mega-selling thriller writer finds himself in an interesting spot. A month or so ago, Publisher’s Weekly gave his now just-released book a coveted starred review. That’s a big deal. Just about everybody in the book business reads or is familiar with PW, and a rave review from them can do great things for a book. It’s more important for newer writers than it is for authors of my friend’s ilk, but still, it’s quite an honor.
Imagine the disappointment, then, when I logged on to Amazon and I saw that his average review there is 2.5 stars. What gives? How can there be such a disconnect? How can a book that received such acclaim garner so many one-star reviews?
It turns out that there’s a readers’ revolution in play, and the cause they’re fighting for is fairly priced Kindle books. In my friend’s case, the Kindle version of the book is selling for $14.99—about a dollar more than the discounted price for the hardcover—and his fans are in full revolt. Their only weapons in this war are to boycott the author, and to pollute his rating with one-star reviews.
I get the anger over the pricing. Back when the Kindle was first making the news, the deal was clear: You could buy any book you wanted for no more than $9.99. Then the publishers revolted, and the so-called agency model was born, in which publishers get to set the retail price for their books. Thus, mega-selling authors have more expensive eBooks than non-mega-selling authors, and Kindlefolk feel betrayed.
I can’t begin to understand what the publisher is thinking in this scenario. In what world does it make sense to market eBooks at a higher price point than hardcovers? Add that to the list of bazillion things in the entertainment business that make no sense at all.
Because it makes no sense, I think the feelings of betrayal are justified, but the payback strategy feels flawed. People feel like they have to make their feelings known, and polluting the ratings feels good. It’s kind of the same thing as punishing a waiter with a bad tip because your steak was overcooked. It might feel good, but at the end of the day it accomplishes nothing.
If you read deeper into many of the angry reviews, you’ll find stated intentions not just to boycott the author whose book has been overpriced but his publisher, but—inexplicably, I think—to boycott the Kindle and eBooks in general. This is where I start to get pissed.
Why throw out the reading device? Why not express your anger by reading a new author in the same genre? Why not give a break to some newbie whose publisher is working hard to grab your attention? Are people so addicted to name brand franchise authors that they can’t take a chance on a new name?
If you’re angry about the price of the brand name books, and you want to get the publishers’ attention, I think you need to take your business to a different publisher. Not only might you find a new author to like, but your experiment would truly publish the offender you’re trying to get back at.
Off the top of my head, I can think of 11 mystery and thriller writers who would love a chance to be added to your must-read list.
Killzoneblog.com
What a bizarre reaction. I wouldn’t even think to react by giving poor ratings to a book or boycotting a device.
My reaction would be “hey bud, I love your work but not enough to pay $15 for it” and either make no purchase or, probably more likely, if I had set aside that threshold of dollars in my budget, go make myself insanely happy by downloading something else to my Kindle. When I get a chance to spend money on books, it burns a hole in my pocket till I do.
I find that having an e-reader causes me to download more than I can read. I probably have ten years worth of reading on my Kindle right now. But the point is, when publishers overprice their ebooks, they take themselves out of that hunt.
I honestly can’t think of any authors or series for whom I’d pay $15 bucks for an e-book. Even for non-fic it’d be a stretch.
Are you sure? About the readers’ revolt, that is. I’d be interested in knowing on what your conclusion is based.
I applaud your loyalty, but it wouldn’t be the first time industry critics disagree with public opinion.
Checking on Amazon I see lots of ebooks priced over $14 with 4 star ratings.
Price, as with most other products, is part of the value judgement. In other words, the star rating reflects not just the book’s contents but the value for money.
Perhaps a single star rating is not enough. Perhaps it’s time for a double rating: content quality and value for money.
Interesting point you’re making, John, but the Amazon rating system doesn’t distinguish ebook from any other format as far as ratings go. The one star reviews could be from readers who bought the discounted hardcover. I don’t believe there is any conspiracy going on for overpriced ebooks.
I personally don’t buy overpriced ebooks, especially when the hardcover is priced cheaper. I just skip over it and move on to the next author.
And it’s my understanding that only people who have bought the book can actually add a review, I believe. And they must sign in under a valid I’D to do it. That wasn’t always the case. Before Amazon got stricter on the review process, people could make up fake identities and deliberately sabotage an author’s ratings. So in the past, a conspiracy like you’re suggesting might have had some merit.
I value PW’s review opinion, but a solid review of excellence from the publishing industry doesn’t insulate the author from one star reviews. Readers protest by giving low ratings for many reasons. I once had a reader give one of my books a low rating because they didn’t like another reader’s review (that review gave away too much of the plot, according to them). They loved the book, but would have enjoyed it more if that one reviewer hadn’t spoiled it for them. Was that a fair review? No, but that’s how it is at Amazon. And that’s why I rarely read reviews there anymore. I pay attention if people give bad ratings for a toaster, but when it comes to something as subjective as a book, I judge for myself. Reader ratings don’t persuade me.
John, I agree that if there’s a reader revote out there and it’s happening as you describe, it’s an unfair method to make a statement against high ebook pricing. But in the eyes of the reader, there may be some logic there. First, the low rating may be the simple fact that the readers found the book lacking. Regarding the disconnect between the Amazon reviews and PW, remember that one out of a zillion readers have probably ever heard of PW, let alone care about starred reviews. I would bet that most readers value a friend’s recommendation over a magazine they’ve never heard of that markets almost exclusively to the publishing industry. Also, I’ll bet if you walked up to any customer in a book store and asked who their favorite publisher is, or worse, name which publisher they hate, they would be unable to do so and would instead name a specific author in both cases. If customers are really revolting against pricing, the only way they know how is to blast the writer. To them, the publisher is some giant, faceless conglomerate in a distant galaxy far, far away. The author is an easy target and leaving a comment on Amazon is a sure shot. Lastly, I’ll bet many readers are thinking that the pricing is really the result of a greedy author who decides what the price is and just wants to make more money. In all cases, it still sucks.
I seen Kindle owners complaining because eBooks are priced over $2.99. Next, because so many books are offered free at some point, these same people will probably be complaining because not every book is free. What the these readers want is as many books as they can get for a little as they can pay. That will never work as a business model. Besides, every author knows you never give the reader what he wants. Make him long for what he wants. Entice him with the promise of what he wants. But in the end, don’t give him what he wants; give him something better.
I think part of the problem in some cases is that the Kindle books from major publishers are priced under the agency model, which means that the publisher sets the price, while the physical books sold on amazon can be sold at the price which amazon sets. I’ve seen any number of instances where a new hardcover, list priced at $25.99, is published. Amazon sets the price for the hardcover book at a heavily discounted $10.99; the publisher, however sets the e-book price on amazon at $14.99 (for example). Free market vs. vertical control. Or something like that. Consumer anger over the cost of the e-book on Kindle is accordingly misplaced; it’s not Amazon’s doing, which is why they state, quite clearly, “This price is set by the publisher.” Next time you see an e-book from a major publisher priced at a point that seems a bit dear in relation to the physical book, look for that disclaimer. You’ll find it.
I think readers have the right to revolt against unfair prices, but not this way. Boycotting the author for the price the publisher sets for the book is a little like not tipping the waitress becuase the chef over cooked the steak.
It would seem publishers are attempting to cash in on the increased ebook sales by raising the prices and of course their take on the author’s profit. I’m not sure what the solution is, but one star reviews isn’t it.
And not to derail this post but I wanted to thank TKZ for the crit on my first page THE LATERAL LINE. Excellent advice that will be taken to heart. many thanks-
Ann
I have an easy solution when the eBook is more expensive than the paper copy: I buy the paper copy. I’m not a bigot about my reading format, so, while I might prefer a Kindle book for conservation purposes, i’ll buy the format that best conserves my wallet.
Hey Joe–you mentioned amazon’s notice on “price set by publisher”. Recently I asked my house to consider discounting my latest YA release as an introduction offer since I’m new to the genre. They have my trade paper priced at $9.99 with my kindle ebook set at $7.19. I thought we might offer it for less for a short period of time. I was told they’d consider it, but Amazon would have to agree too. I thought that was odd until I saw that my YA house had used Amazon Digital Services to create my ebook.(My adult thriller ebooks are under the name of my other publisher, as is the case with most books.) So while Amazon is quick to post that the high prices for ebooks are set by the publisher, on books THEY have produced, there’s no such notice. I found that interesting.
If it helps Nathan Bransford had a recent post on the math and publisher “logic” behind the pricing model for e-books.
I’ve seen many Amazon reviewers state that their one-star reviews were given due to the pricing issue; I’ve even seen reviewers flame the Kindle versions for poor formatting. None of this is the author’s fault, but perhaps if enough pressure is brought to bear, publishers will set reasonable prices. (But I won’t hold my breath.)
Now that I think of it, does this mean that these reviewers are buying Kindle books, only to flame them in their reviews? It would seem to be a silly strategy. It might be more effective to boycott the purchase itself. I actually think that e-books add value because you can download them instantly, transport them easily, and increase the font size as desired. When a Kindle price is too far out of line, however, I simply order the print version. Leaving the author unpunished.
The publishers know this is going to happen. The first time this sort of flaming took place was with a David Baldacci release last year sometime. It has happened at regular intervals since. It’s happening now to Michael Connelly’s latest.
Again, the publishing teams know this. So what’s the thinking?
In simple terms, it’s the bottom line (as always). They figure that the A list income stream will outweigh, and not be affected by, the bad amazon review rating. Connelly’s book, for example, is currently #7 in hardcover and #8 in paid Kindle.
It may be that certain authors are just not going to be hurt by the star ratings at amazon. I don’t know how publishers quantify this, but they all have computers in their cubicles and data and numbers to crunch.
All I can say is Amen!
After Jim’s clarification using names, I can see the one star rebellion. I don’t pay attention to Amazon reviews so I never would have noticed, but being a kindle owner, AND having an interest in discovering new authors to me, I have a threshold of price tolerance. My personal rebellion is to not pay the price and go looking for another book, for now. But I’ve noticed some pretty big named authors trying to partake in the heavily discounted ebook prices, offering novellas or teasers that aren’t even worth $0.99. Quality is still important. I’ve passed on those too.
We’re in a time of upheaval for the publishing industry that is complicated by the technology available, but the marketplace will help redefine it. One star reviews might make the consumer feel like their venting, but they still had to buy the book in one fashion or another to post that so-called review. And any consumer who still wants that book won’t sift through hundreds of one stars to figure out that none of them are actual reviews, so what purpose do they actually serve?
First things first: I apologize for the typos. Where I wrote that people could “publish” the true offenders, I actually meant to punish them.
As for only being able to post a review on amazon after buying a book through them, that surprises me. In the specific case I wrote about here, a number of the one-star reviews say specifically that they will not buy the book. O have no personal knowledge one way or the other.
John Gilstrap
http://www.johngilstrap.com
Jordan, that is interesting. I’m not sure how the use of Amazon Digital Service affects that since I haven’t looked at one of their agreements but I understand from events today that I will be finding out shortly! 🙂
Just to weigh in…I don’t buy e-books priced over $2.99, but I don’t think that the price should affect the stars assigned to it. Those should go to the quality of the book, imho.
John, thanks once again for a great blog! You da man!
I think eBooks is the perfect way to get books at a rice where people can afford to read more books by more authors. Obviously the publishers have very little invested in the ebook format. I suspect we’ll see more ebook only from publishers, much like they have gone to paperback release only. They can pay less advance wise since all they have by way of expense is advance, editors, and conversion to format.
That made more sense when I typed it than it appears in print.
I don’t know many Kindle owners who would pay more than $9.99 for an e-book.
I would guess, without consulting them on this, it would have to be a mega-selling author to peak their interest at a higher price.
I don’t think readers should be using the rating system this way. I had a friend who tried to just ‘Like’ a book on Amazon and she wasn’t able to without purchasing the book first.
I’ve paid more than $2.99 for a few ebooks,as much as $9.99 for one of my favourite authors, but been sorely disappointed even with my fav. I think it is not the price point that makes the difference in the book of course, that is just the publisher trying to make a buck on a name and get the most possible profit.
I hate the idea that a bad price point by a publisher would kill an otherwise good work. But sometimes that’s the way it goes. Just like the government potentially furloughing nearly a million employees while the leaders who make the decision still keep their paychecks.
If more authors did what Eisler did recently maybe the big pub houses would wise up and see the light. Otherwise, as long as folks desire to work within the system, the system will find ways to take from both the artist and the patron as much as they can.
A “reader’s revolt”? Really? Maybe it’s time to leave the bunker. There’s more to heaven and earth, Horatio, than your PC screen.
What about the vast majority of readers (85-90 per cent) who don’t read ebooks and don’t give a damn about them? Or do those readers not count?
Anyway, nobody (and certainly not Amazon) ever promised e-books would be priced as loss leaders forever. And who cares about Amazon book reviews anyway? A PW or NYTBR review is one thing; a review from PsychoReaderSmurfPuppy in Iowa is something else.
Except for self-pubbies and wannabes (“Look! I got a five star review from the guy I gave a five-star review to last week!!!”), few people take them seriously. If a fave author’s e-book is too much, I’ll wait until it comes out in paperback, just like we used to. Or go to the library. Or buy it used. Or read something else. Or maybe even suck it up, because I really love the author.
I like bargains just as much as the next guy, but I’m not going to read a piece of crap just because it’s cheaper. I want a good steak, I’ll go to the butcher, not the 99 cent store.
But “reader’s revolt”? Or just more whine from sour grapes?
I’d hate to think Kindle readers are ‘dissing authors with higher priced books.
Why not price e-books the same way Peter Lik prices his photos art? He starts at a low price and as the popularity grows for the work, so does the price!
I have uploaded three books to Kindle. All priced at $2.99, but then again, I was in charge. No publisher intrusion. So far, so good.