Why is it So Hard to Ask to Be Paid for Your Writing and Art? -- A joint interview between NYT Bestselling author Evelyn Skye and painter Sally Fama Cochrane
Why is it So Hard to Ask to Be Paid for Your Writing and Art? -- A joint interview between NYT Bestselling author Evelyn Skye and painter Sally Fama Cochrane
Although I have no talent in the visual arts myself, I found the interview very interesting. All creatives do share some common ground.
I don't think reluctance about issues involving pay is unique to women by any means, at least not as far as writers are concerned. There continues to be a lively debate among indie authors about whether to price low and go for volume or price higher to show that we value our own work.
Amazon has complicated the issue by giving the 70% royalty on ebooks only to those indie ebooks that fall between $2.99 and $9.99. Books priced lower or higher only get 35%. That tends to focus everyone on that price range, regardless of length, time needed for completion, or other factors.
Then Amazon further complicated the situation by introducing the free giveaway as a promotional tactic. Any book enrolled in Select could have up to five free days a year. It was very effective in the beginning--because it was used sparingly. But it gradually led to an avalanche of free books. People discovered they could price something free on other venues and get Amazon to match the price., eliminating the five-day limit.
Discount pricing is also a problem. I've seen $0.99 six-novel sets. That seems a bit low, even as a sale price. Yesterday, I even saw such a set being offered free as a reader magnet.
It used to be that you could put up a $0.99 short story on Amazon, and there would be a market for it. But people can get free novels and $0.99 box sets, $0.99 for a short story doesn't seem like much of a deal.
Sigh! And now there's Kindle Unlimited ($11.99 per month for all you can read.) Get novels for a fraction of the cover price. The "Spotification" of literature has begun.
So yes, there are a lot of problems with pricing, some philosophical, some practical.
Oh wow, thank you for sharing all that detail about Amazon ebook pricing, Bill! I appreciate you laying that out for everyone, in the spirit of this podcast interview. I think you're right that this is the "Spotification" of writing...
From my side of publishing (traditional), it also makes it much harder to sell books. Readers who are accustomed to Kindle Unlimited or the free books tactics will balk at paying $18 for a paperback or $28-30 for a hardcover. My books used to always come out in hardcover first and then paperback the following year, but for ONE YEAR AGO IN SPAIN, my publisher, agent, and I decided to just go straight to paperback because of the price point.
I believe that the fiction industry is changing, just like the music industry did before us. That doesn't necessarily mean doom for writers, but we just need to be aware and we need to adjust as necessary. We can look to what happened in music as a lesson in history and learn from it. (physical books being like CDS, ebooks being like mP3s, then Kindle Unlimited being like Spotify). Where our industry goes next, I'm not sure, but I'm glad we're all able to talk about it openly!
Excited to watch when I get home! Also excited to start your book🥳
For me, there’s a part of me that blames my high school experience. Three years of career days and not once did they have someone come in with a more artistic career. They pushed safer, more traditional career paths so the arts felt more like hobbies and it creates a mindset of it’s not work so I can’t ask for money. Or the opposite where people don’t believe it’s work so they don’t want to pay handmade prices over mass manufactured ones.
That's a fantastic point that careers in art are not particularly encouraged. Maybe it's because parents would retaliate if schools told kids about how to be a starving artist, haha.
I'm so glad you feel that way, Imola! It's my goal to share all the knowledge we artists have learned over our careers. Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!
Sorry I'm late to the party! Congratulations on your book release, Evelyn! I found this interview very interesting. I love the connection between art and writing. (And music and writing!) I often include art in my newsletter. Also, I have written poetry inspired by art, and I have been part of a poetry + art collaborative where art is created in response to poetry. It is such fun learning about other creatives and how they approach the creative process. :)
Although I have no talent in the visual arts myself, I found the interview very interesting. All creatives do share some common ground.
I don't think reluctance about issues involving pay is unique to women by any means, at least not as far as writers are concerned. There continues to be a lively debate among indie authors about whether to price low and go for volume or price higher to show that we value our own work.
Amazon has complicated the issue by giving the 70% royalty on ebooks only to those indie ebooks that fall between $2.99 and $9.99. Books priced lower or higher only get 35%. That tends to focus everyone on that price range, regardless of length, time needed for completion, or other factors.
Then Amazon further complicated the situation by introducing the free giveaway as a promotional tactic. Any book enrolled in Select could have up to five free days a year. It was very effective in the beginning--because it was used sparingly. But it gradually led to an avalanche of free books. People discovered they could price something free on other venues and get Amazon to match the price., eliminating the five-day limit.
Discount pricing is also a problem. I've seen $0.99 six-novel sets. That seems a bit low, even as a sale price. Yesterday, I even saw such a set being offered free as a reader magnet.
It used to be that you could put up a $0.99 short story on Amazon, and there would be a market for it. But people can get free novels and $0.99 box sets, $0.99 for a short story doesn't seem like much of a deal.
Sigh! And now there's Kindle Unlimited ($11.99 per month for all you can read.) Get novels for a fraction of the cover price. The "Spotification" of literature has begun.
So yes, there are a lot of problems with pricing, some philosophical, some practical.
Oh wow, thank you for sharing all that detail about Amazon ebook pricing, Bill! I appreciate you laying that out for everyone, in the spirit of this podcast interview. I think you're right that this is the "Spotification" of writing...
From my side of publishing (traditional), it also makes it much harder to sell books. Readers who are accustomed to Kindle Unlimited or the free books tactics will balk at paying $18 for a paperback or $28-30 for a hardcover. My books used to always come out in hardcover first and then paperback the following year, but for ONE YEAR AGO IN SPAIN, my publisher, agent, and I decided to just go straight to paperback because of the price point.
I believe that the fiction industry is changing, just like the music industry did before us. That doesn't necessarily mean doom for writers, but we just need to be aware and we need to adjust as necessary. We can look to what happened in music as a lesson in history and learn from it. (physical books being like CDS, ebooks being like mP3s, then Kindle Unlimited being like Spotify). Where our industry goes next, I'm not sure, but I'm glad we're all able to talk about it openly!
Excited to watch when I get home! Also excited to start your book🥳
For me, there’s a part of me that blames my high school experience. Three years of career days and not once did they have someone come in with a more artistic career. They pushed safer, more traditional career paths so the arts felt more like hobbies and it creates a mindset of it’s not work so I can’t ask for money. Or the opposite where people don’t believe it’s work so they don’t want to pay handmade prices over mass manufactured ones.
So excited for you to read my book--thank you!!
That's a fantastic point that careers in art are not particularly encouraged. Maybe it's because parents would retaliate if schools told kids about how to be a starving artist, haha.
Great Interview Evelyn! So much to learn from you and the creative people you interview. Thank you!
I'm so glad you feel that way, Imola! It's my goal to share all the knowledge we artists have learned over our careers. Hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!
Oh! I forgot to mention that I just picked up your new book. It looks very appealing!
thank you SO much, Bill! I appreciate you supporting my writing!!
This was wonderful. I enjoyed the conversation and loved hearing about how her art inspired the creation of your character.
Sorry I'm late to the party! Congratulations on your book release, Evelyn! I found this interview very interesting. I love the connection between art and writing. (And music and writing!) I often include art in my newsletter. Also, I have written poetry inspired by art, and I have been part of a poetry + art collaborative where art is created in response to poetry. It is such fun learning about other creatives and how they approach the creative process. :)