is another satisfying short by thriller writer Blake Crouch.It's about loneliness and closure and new beginnings in the howling G-force of a massive tornado.
When Peter, a meteorologist, meets Melanie, a hoarder, he finds purhaps the perfect companion for his voyage into the center of a catastrophic storm center.
This one is a longer than UNCONDITIONAL
, landing in the 7000 word range, which makes it a little more reasonably priced for what you get (UNCONDITIONAL was about 1000 words).I am still undecided when it comes to how I feel about authors releasing single short stories for $0.99. On one hand it seems quite a bargain but on the other it could be a rip off, right? A talented author, or heck even my own bad self, could knock out a 1000 word story in a few hours. Get a friend to whip a cover up and presto.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about quality here. Let's assume my story and Crouch's are equally good. I'm more trying to illustrate how, in most cases, the 1000 word story was probably less work. It was probably written in far less time (Yes, I know one could argue that point. But most of the time...).
What I'm asking here is, should there be a scalable price for these e-stories? Should it matter if you are paying a buck for a story that is a 1000 words or one that is 10,000, a novelette if you will. Would it not make the product more appealing if the buyer were getting three stories instead of one? Or one short short story and one longer. Should Blake Crouch have combined UNCONDITIONAL with THE METEOROLOGIST as as single package?
(Please note, Crouch's e-stories come with an interview and chapter selections from his novels.)
Should probable enjoyment come into it? For instance UNCONDITIONAL touched me far more than THE METEOROLOGIST. So am I lucky I only paid a buck for it and not more? Or did I overpay for THE METEOROLOGIST?
Should you pay more for Blake Crouch's stories than ones put out by an independent author because he's had books published with real paper and ink?
Yes, I'm aware I'm putting an argument out there that revolves around mere cents. But it's curious, and as the market is expanding at a phenomenal rate these are questions and market curiosities that will be interesting to follow. Soon, if it isn't the reality already, those cents are going to be adding up into the millions for authors.
Just look at J.A. Konrath's success. He claims to be earning $1500 a day. A day! So these cents add up.
If this topic is of interest to you and other similar topics, Konrath's blog is a great place to stay tuned to what is happening in the market place.
For the record I do not mean to focus on Blake Crouch's work in any negative way. My hope was this was a positive post and that's how I look at it, especially as a person that hopes to have his own e-books out there one day.
If you have not read Blake Crouch's work please do. Here is a selection of stories I enjoy immensely:
Serial Uncut
KILLERS - A Psycho Thriller
UNCONDITIONAL
THE METEOROLOGIST
FULLY LOADED: The Complete and Collected Stories of Blake Crouch
Personally, I take the approach of "buyer beware." It's a similar conundrum if you buy paper books and look at the trade paperbacks everyone seems to be moving to now. There are a lot of novellas I'm seeing out there that are retailing for the same price as full-length novels. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI find the pricing of e-content quite fascinating. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out. In the end, I believe the market will determine acceptble prices. From a personal standpoint, I've never paid more than $4.99 for an e-book; and I've still yet to find one that I want badly enough to pay more than $4.99 for. Will I eventually spend $9.99 for an e-book? Perhaps. I'll never say never. But I know that it won't happen often. :-P
-Neal
Great points. And "Buyer Beware" is probably a lot of what it will come down to. I certainly knew what I was getting (size wise) when I made these purchases.
ReplyDeleteYou know, why wife has her own Kindle and she's more into popular fiction, the ebooks which cost the $9.99 and more. I cringe when she buys them. I still think if you are going to spend ten bucks or more you might as well get the actual real book. But that's me.
I thought about your question a bit yesterday because I've been mulling over the same thing recently. The 99 cent price tag of Unconditional doesn't bother me because the product description clearly states "From the author [...] comes this 1500-word short story...". You know you are getting a single short story for your money. I have seen other "books" that aren't so up front. They should be labeled "short story" or "novella" accordingly instead of using misleading terms or implying full length simply through lack of classification. Spending money on a novel and winding up with a short story is a rip off - even at 99 cents. Maybe the blanket term "eBook" is too easy to hide behind.
ReplyDeleteIs one short story worth 99 cents? Probably, but I would be more inclined to spend my money on a collection instead of just one.
That's what I get for reading blogs while I'm at work. I got side tracked and you guys have already commented on what I was trying to say. "Buyer beware".
ReplyDeleteI was shopping for a new release over the weekend. The hard cover is 12.35. The Kindle book 11.99. I'm with you - a physical book still seems like a better bargain to me. In the end, I'm cheap, and I put a hold on it at the library...
Nothing wrong with the library.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, Crouch puts it right on the cover in bold letters. SHORT STORY. I knew exactly what to expect.
I would be a little miffed or just disappointed if I thought I was getting a longer piece and ended up with flash fiction or something of the like.
I totally agree with you both when it comes to descriptions. I believe the author/publisher should be straight with us and put the length of the work in the description.
ReplyDeleteAnd while I don't really buy paper books any more, I did order a couple from Amazon the other day because they were each a dollar cheaper than the e-book version.
-Neal