I’ve never published a short story collection before* because of the tendency of booksellers to look at sales of an author’s last book before ordering in the new one. Booksellers mostly don’t take into account the fact that they’re comparing apples and oranges. I think a collection would sell somewhere between 500 and 5,000 copies in trade paperback. If I sold, say, 1,250 copies of a collection, it would screw up the orders for Hild–which I’m hoping will sell many tens of thousands of copies.
But the world has changed. I don’t have to publish a trade paperback through a small press. I could self-publish, electronically. If I did, the formats would be Kindle–which you can read on your iPhone or iTouch as well as on an actual Kindle device–possibly PDF and maybe, depending how much hassle it is to figure out, ePub. The book would be about 100,000 words (about 350 pages), including an introduction and story notes. Naturally it would have a nifty cover. Tentative title: Heat & Light.
But before I go to all the trouble of writing an intro, making a cover, writing story notes, putting the stories in the perfect order, then formatting the whole thing, I need to know if there’s any demand.
So here are three questions for you:
- Does it sound like a book you’d enjoy?
- What price point would convince you?**
- What format would you prefer?
Some more info about Heat & Light:
About a dozen stories, of all varieties of speculative fiction and assorted lengths, ranging from a light-hearted 2,000-word piece about the perils of chemistry, to a novelette about sex, lust, and the biochemistry of love, to a novella about shape changers in the sticky heat of Belize. Maybe an off-planet tale and a couple of horror stories. Perhaps some magic realism. Also, if I publish after I’ve finished the first draft of Hild, a never-before seen (because, y’know, I haven’t written it yet) sword-swangin’ novella.
* With Her Body is a chapbook in a series of Conversation Pieces from Aqueduct Press. Not quite the same thing.
** The first person to say ‘free’ gets roasted alive. I’m thinking $9.99 or less.
Nicola Griffith 
Do I get half roasted if I said I'd buy something like that at Fictionwise (e.g. we can't buy Kindle books) for around $4.99?)
You have enough stories to sell them individually there too, I think, something you could consider, as well.
Otherwise, html works for me.
Does it sound like a book you'd enjoy?
Sure. I'd buy it just for the off-planet story, since I think there's not even near enough good queer sci-fi (and yes, just setting something off-planet makes it sci-fi in my play book).
What price point would convince you?**
Depends on how much pages it is… Can you give a comparison for the 100.000 words? Is it comparable to With Her Body? That was $9, but since there would be no printing costs this time, I'd expect it a bit cheaper.
What format would you prefer?
PDF or HTML. I don't have an iPhone or Kindle, and although I'm considering an iPod Touch, I prefer not to have content in some proprietary format that I can only read with certain apps/devices from one company (like the Kindle/AZW format).
I think you should hang onto it pending the huge success of Hild. Take advantage of the “Name fresh in the light” momentum. Just one gal's opinion.
I would definitely read it, I love how it flips genre. Love. I'd pay between 5 and 10 dollars for an ebook that size. Roughly translated to “It can't cost more than the paperback would”.
I have purchased some e-books on line, I read them in PDF format on my computer. It works well for me until I can afford a portable device. I would absolutely enjoy a short story collection from you and I think that as far as a price point, I have paid $8.00 dollars for most of the material. Money I felt was well spent. Hope this works out, it is always a pleasure to read your work.
If it was only in electronic format, I wouldn't buy it. If it was a self-pub or small press, 15 is always a nice price point, but I'm flexible. I'm not the biggest fan of short stories; they tend to languish on my shelf, honestly.
Does it sound like a book you'd enjoy?
Honestly, anything that combines biochemistry and sex (which is hard for a biochemist) is a book I would
What price point would convince you?**
A good medium, I've found, for books of short stories is in the $9.00-$11.00 range. I'm a college student… I honestly will borrow beg and steal to not spend more than $15 on a book (since coursebooks leave me bankrupt every semester)
What format would you prefer?
I'm more of a flip the page kind of lady as opposed to brushing through my Iphone… There is a website I've used in the past to put some things into print for family and friends and the occasional reading called lulu.com. It's a really cheap service.
PDF is also easily converted into pages*
I hope this helps?
I would definitely buy your collection because I've enjoyed all your other work. I prefer pdf and Kindle formats. The price point sounds about right to me. I think it would be a great experiment because it may be more successful than you imagined and in any event you're sure to learn a lot and become more empowered in the process. Selfishly I wouldn't want it to push back Hild's timing though because I'm really looking forward to reading that :)
I would be interested in and buy the book, but only in print format–I'm quite old fashioned when it comes to books. I get most of my books from the library, so would be willing to pay up to $20 for a print copy of something from an author with work I know I will read again and again.
How about multiple options? Something in print that would be the highest priced item. Then you could do the collection in various e-formats for $8.99 (I think it should be pdf, prc, ePub). You could also let people buy the stories individually for $.99. Then have a special edition for maybe $12.95 that also includes some bonus material – maybe photos, a new interview (audio), or a reading of a whole story. And/or Karina's vid in HD. Sort of like a music selection on iTunes.
It's definitely something I would enjoy… pricing would be a factor though – and a daresay I'd be more apt to purcahse in electronic format than print. That's based on my own preference for electronic formats though.
I'm seeing some authors release free accompanying short story collections alongside their newly released novels. My current opinion is that free sells more costly stuff.
Do you know that you could release just one short story on Kindle for free or for .99 (their lowest price, I believe–could be wrong). Might give you a chance to test the waters. That also would help promote you without going to all the trouble of making a whole book. I format a whole magazine issue online every 4 mos and it's a time suck, even with the great tools I have available.
I have considered doing this myself but decided to hold off because of all the unknowns and frankly, the time it will take.
The advice I got, from many quarters, is that even a self-pubbed book requires the same sort of launch (maybe more) than a book put out by a traditional publisher. If it's all internet-based, then I suppose that means a heavy internet promotion effort–interviews on blogs and ezines, trying to get listed/interviewed in Locus, contests, announcements, the whole bit.
All that said, I'm still not buying much to read online. That's my personal bent. I spend a lot of time reading my slush, crits, and my own work onscreen. I still prefer paper books. That was my biggest argument against myself as far as releasing online–I may someday do it exclusively for the Kindle.
I'd probably buy yours though cuz I know you, and I HAVE read several free books, teaser chapters, and hundreds of stories online.
I *heart* short stories; can't get enough of them.
ePub is very flexible, an open standard that would allow you to export as PDF and whatever other format readers would ask for.
I second the notion of offering both the collection and an option to buy individual stories: 99 cents per story, $4 per novelette/novella, $9-$12 for the collection—like the Apple Store, it makes sense to buy the whole album unless you really only want a very specific song and nothing, not even a great value deal, will convince you otherwise.
There are some of us who would also buy the printed version, if one was available. If it was a limited edition with goodies and a shiny box, I'd be willing to pay up to $50—but I've been told before that I'm hardcore *winks at Mordicai*, so maybe a $15 paperback would be better?
Jennifer, the vid would have to be available for free or else I'd lose the fair-use shield. I'll have to do some research on how it would work if it was included in a for-pay package.
I will buy it.
I would pay as much as $20 for a copy if the content is mostly new material that has not been previously published.
I would pay as much as $10 if it's previously published material with a smattering of new stuff.
I would prefer a printed copy or plain text. Yes, a humble text file. If it's in HTML, I'd just munge it into plain text anyway. PDF makes me cry, as do all the other proprietary formats out there. Then again, I'm honest and would pay for it and not distribute it illegally to others.
Lots of “I” sentences in this comment, sorry!
@Stacy: Small correction, PDF is not a proprietary format anymore. (It's ISO 32000-1:2008.)
I'd want something I could print, so PDF … I don't read well on screen. Given I'd bear the printing costs, but comparing to a paperback, I'd probably pay $10-$12 for a downloadable PDF. Now … *would* I buy it? Definitely. I've really enjoyed everything of yours I've read … am currently in the midst of “Slow River” … looking forward to buying one of the 75,000 copies of “Hild” :-)
I like short stories but purchasing a book of them would depend on the author. I would surely purchase a book of your short stories. There is a Russian author (name fails me at this moment) whose short stories I have read, loved and will buy more.
Re: kindle? I have never read a book on line. Maybe I'm out of touch but I think it will give me a headache. I also like the feel of a book in my hand. The reading is more personal and less internet/glassy eyed feeling. So, if it is only offered electronically, I don't think that I would participate. :-(
But if it were only offered electronically and you could still print it out? Would you?
@Anonymous: You're right. Old habits die hard. Doesn't change my mind about PDFs, though. ;)
I'm one of the people who would buy a collection of your grocery lists. However, I refuse to buy a Kindle, so that's out, and while PDFs are just barely tolerable, I much prefer hard copy. What I'd do in this situation is a) damn Amazon to hell until they apologize and explain what really happened; b) offer an electronic PDF version which can be converted to most everyone else's format by the user; and c) offer both TPB and hardcover versions through Lulu.
I'd buy PDF if that were the only possibility, but I'd pay the extra to have a Lulu hardcover version in a split second.
Metta,
Ivan
I think the idea of selling each story for 99 cents is brilliant! That's a wonderful thing about e-books. They're so flexible. A dozen short stories would get you $12 for the collection, and people could buy just the ones they think they want. It's much easier to part with 99 cents. Why, that's almost free!
Most Kindle owners won't pay more than $9.99 for an e-book, based on expectations raised by Amazon.com and also because of the assumption that e-books are much less costly to produce. (That debate rages on.)
The catch about publishing with Kindle is that Amazon's contract requires the author not to offer the ebook anywhere else for less than the retail price you set with them, and Amazon takes 65% of retail. Other ebook distributors will give you a better deal, but Amazon is still the 500 lb canary of distribution.
Catherine M. Wilson
http://www.whenwomenwerewarriors.com
http://www.catherine-m-wilson.com
See– hardcore! 50 bucks is more than I'll drop on a book without slavering away at it for a long, long time…see:
http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/classics/all/00335/facts.andreas_cellarius_harmonia_macrocosmica.htm
http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/classics/all/01661/facts.albertus_sebas_cabinet_of_natural_curiosities.htm
(Taschen, your pretty big books make me weak in the knees!)
This is very interesting … just wanted to say that the idea of selling a short story for 99 cents kind of made my stomach drop a little. I mean, the HOURS AND HOURS (meaning weeks) involved in making a story good … I fear that it's not possible for most authors to make a living off this amount. It's helpful (albeit frightening) to hear that's what people want to pay, though.
For the record, I rarely if ever read short stories and I kinda don't like them. But I would buy yours, Nicola. Preferably in a printed book format, because I don't have a kindle and don't know whether/if I'm ever getting one.
When Hild comes out (because it will), I think selling a short story/novella alongside the hardcover, for 99 additional cents (or, hell, $2.99 even), would be a great idea. It would give newcomers a taste of what's in the book at a lower cost.
I see your point on the $.99 Malinda, but people put many hours (maybe not as many) into a song too, right? It's about volume. Maybe it's not a good idea to break it up, I don't know, but I'm betting that anyone who reads one of Nicola's stories, will want the rest. And if 12 stories are priced at $12, what's the difference really? Maybe $1.49 is better.
Malinda, 99 cents isn't all that bad in the long run. John August decided to try it out with one of his short stories. Here are two of his blog posts reporting on the results:
How much does a short story earn in a magazine?
June figures for The Variant
Nicola, if you publish this, I will buy it. I'd much prefer it in physical book format, since I don't have any kind of portable reader. Printing it out myself — from a PDF, say — isn't a good option for me because everything I own gets sloshed with water/coffee/dog drool sooner or later, and inkjet ink always runs into illegibility.
In book form, I'd readily pay $10-$15 for this collection. In electronic form… I'd pay nearly as much, honestly, but it would move lower on the list of things I want to buy, so it would be a few months longer before I'd get to it.
Does it sound like something I'd enjoy?
Yes, very much so.
What price point would convince me?
As an online only e-book thingy ma-bob…$7 – $10. Like someone else said, it shouldn't cost more than a paperback.
What format?
I understand your preference to not mess with the orders for Hild, but as a consumer, I would purchase a small press trade paper. I can't promise I would purcahse the e-book right away, at least not until I was convinced there would not later be a print edition, and then I'd still have to think about it a bit.
My preference is to not read books on screen. Even a collection of stories. I do much better with print.
I just looked at Lulu.com and find the costs horrible. For a 350 pp trade paperback, $9.25 per unit (if I print 200 copies) or $7.50 a unit (if I print 2,000). Hardcover, dear god, stupid, stupid prices. I'm not willing to make that kind of investment–and that's just the manufacturing. Insane.
So it's likely I'll just do an ebook in several formats–which wouldn't prevent individuals from printing via Lulu for personal use if you're willing to brave the cost.
I dunno. With the huge bite that Amazon takes, this is beginning to look iffy…
Pretty much anything you write sounds like something I'd like to read, and I'm one of those pervs who likes to own copies of books. So yes, I'd buy it if it were available in a printed version. $15 sounds about right for a trade paperback of that size.
I don't have a Kindle or other e-reader and don't see myself getting one anytime soon. Nor do I think I'd like to read the equivalent of a 300-page on my computer. I've tried reading some e-texts through the university library, but don't get far. So I vote for print.
Yes, you would have to sell it yourself, not via Amazon. The mechanics of that are easy enough, but what about marketing? Would it be too hard to get the word out?
I would love to read your short story collection on Kindle and would not balk at trade paperback prices.
I vaguely remember reading that Scribd is going to make books available for purchase + download to the Kindle…(Here's a reference I found w/ a quick Google search): http://thethreepercent.com/2009/05/20/scribd-kindle-booksurge-alphaworks-of-publishing-coming/
I have yet to purchase an e-book but it seems an increasingly popular format. I think both the short story and essay are underappreciated forms and so a format to encourage experimentation and dissemination is a good idea. The horror stories don't interest me…so I agree with karina and her iTunes-like pick and choose, with a break for the whole package.
You might also consider a discount for the first x downloaders/or the first x hours(x being some number that suits you between 10>x<100), to encourage closing the deal, get it on people's readers and spread the word. And I'm anti DRM, just to weigh in on everything...now back to Shakespeare.
Oh, and have fun with your adventures in the brave new world that publishing is trying to make itself.
Createspace is a lot cheaper than Lulu.