Forum: Author Hangout

I was surprised to see an 8,500 word story for sale on Bookapy.

That would depend on the price, I think. I've got a couple of books that are under 10,000 words on Bookapy, but they're freebies and I see them as being a way to spread the message in them while also allowing someone not familiar with SoL to get a freebie and help promote Bookapy. I do try to have what I charge for to be 50,000 plus words, so most shorter stories get put into collections for sale.

That would depend on the price, I think.

I think of Bookapy and Amazon and others as bookstores. You wouldn't expect a book in a bookstore to be a short story. A collection of short stories, but not a short story.

I noticed that 8,500 word story and that it was the same price as my 50k to 120k stories (which are all priced the same). I wonder if I am massively under-pricing my books.

I wonder if I am massively under-pricing my books.

Pricing is an art.

Price it too low and some people will equate that with poor quality. Price it too high and it will be too expensive for some.

Don't go by that story. It's overpriced.

Pricing is an art.

Price it too low and some people will equate that with poor quality. Price it too high and it will be too expensive for some.

There's art, and then there's 'the art' of the scam.

An attempt to avoid writing an entire novel, yet hoping to jump start their writing career by selling short tripe for the full price as a 70,000 to 150,000 novel is nothing short of gaming the system.

I can certainly see why it's so popular, as writing is tough, and on an hourly basis, it pays shit for wages. But I certainly don't condone someone playing fast and loose with the truth, as it gives every SOL author a bad name.

selling short tripe for the full price as a 70,000 to 150,000 novel is nothing short of gaming the system.

When I was young, I read a novel called "Johnathan Livingston Seagull." The bestseller was very good and only 12,500 words.

When I was young, I read a novel called "Johnathan Livingston Seagull." The bestseller was very good and only 12,500 words.

I remember the story well, and though written as a children's story (styled as, I should say) it was actually rich in metaphor and imagery, much like the earlier Watership Down, which featured a war between rabbit barrens). Plus, at the time, it was considerably cheaper than the typical novel was.

I was surprised to see an 8,500 word story for sale on Bookapy. That's not a novel or novella. It's a short story. In fact, the story is available in the general free section of SOL, so what's the point of putting it on Bookapy?

Some readers like to buy e-book versions as a way of saying 'thank you' to the author. It's certainly better for SOL than readers going to Patreon or Amazon.

AJ

Lazeez could automate it based on the word count,

That could be a slippery slope.
The fact he supplies the word count should suffice.

The only thing that the management of Bookapy can do is to be sure if the author uses the term 'novel' that it is novel length. That would mean defining the terms and putting them in the user's agreement along with a rule about misrepresenting your product.

Nowhere in the Bookapy submission process does it ask what type (novel, novelette or short story) the work is, and I can't recall having seen any that declare that they're "novels".