Self-Publishing with CrowdPricing Everywhere Versus Self-Publishing Direct
Unlike other sites that offer self-publishing, Scribl always pays you at least 70% of the price (75% - 85% for sales directly on Scribl.com). Many other sites that offer direct self-publishing on their site pay you a lower percentage during the initial low-pricing discovery phase or never pay you the full 70%. See the following table for examples:
Yes, you read that right – you will keep a larger percentage of each book sale on most sites by self-publishing through Scribl’s CrowdPricing Everywhere compared with posting your book directly to those same sites. Of the major outlets, only Apple also pays 70% at all price points. But even with Apple, you will get the same 70% by distributing through Scribl, alongside all of the other benefits of CrowdPricing Everywhere.
Full 70% Royalty Even at Discovery Pricing
Sites often pay at a lower rate for low-priced books to incent authors to keep the prices higher, which is generally good for all authors. Otherwise, all book prices would continue their downward spiral toward free and $.99. In the short run, this can be good for those authors, but in the long run, it makes it harder for all authors to earn a living by writing.
CrowdPricing solves this same problem without punishing authors by automating the lower starting prices to drive discovery, then automatically escalates to higher prices as the title’s popularity among readers climbs. Scribl encourages low prices at the start, and the author’s share of the selling price never drops below 70%.
An Example
Let’s take a typical self-published book and compare the number of readers it reaches if posted exclusively on the largest ebook site and the same book posted via CrowdPricing Everywhere. Let’s assume the book is reasonably popular, but not a break-out bestseller and that its popularity eventually drops over time. In other words, this is a typical popularity arc for a self-published book.
Click to see underlying data.
Click to see underlying data.
The two most important figures are the total number of books sold, which corresponds to reader reach and discovery and the monthly earnings. The CrowdPricing Everywhere book does better because:
- Distribution includes many more sites than just Amazon. Different ebook outlets hold different market shares even in other English-speaking countries. Kobo is a major ebook site in Canada, for example.
- Low prices do drive discovery among new readers and increase download volume. This increases the likelihood of generating positive reviews and GoodReads mentions.
- Earnings are higher at the start, because Scribl pays the full 70% of the price.
- Earnings are higher later, because readers are the ones who ratchet the price up to $2.99 and then higher. When higher prices are set by fellow readers, they are trusted and don’t have the same adverse effect on sales as higher author-set prices do. (See CrowdPricing and Price-Based Ratings for more on why this is true).
Or to put it another way, here’s a look at the cumulative earnings over a year based on that same sales data:
Click to see underlying data.
To be fair, every book will perform differently. Some will not do quite as well and some will do much better.
CrowdPricing Everywhere helps you focus on your writing by letting us take care of the pricing and distribution. Come along and join the Crowd – enroll your books in CrowdPricing Everywhere today!
