Why You Should Stop Selling Rolex Books at Timex Prices
Every few weeks, someone laments that Kindle has “trained readers to read for free.”
And those critics are right … partly.
But the deeper issue isn’t that readers expect free books. It’s that authors have spent the last decade training each other to devalue their own work.
When Amazon launched KDP, it offered instant global distribution, sure. But it also gave the illusion of meritocracy. Anyone could publish a book, and we were assured the algorithm would reward the diligent.
At first, it seemed to work. Early adopters struck gold because they understood one golden rule: Scarcity sells.
But that window slammed shut years ago. The old indie wisdom of selling cheap eBooks at high volume has become an albatross around authors’ necks. They keep pricing 100K-word novels at $2.99 because they think that’s what readers expect. Except those readers were conditioned by authors, not Amazon. The platform simply capitalized on creators’ self-imposed poverty mindset.
And here’s the proof: Starting in June, I raised the prices of all my novels on Amazon to $9.99. My goal wasn’t to milk KDP harder, but to guide readers to my preferred storefronts where I keep a much larger share of the sale.
I expected a drop in Amazon sales as a tradeoff.
Instead, my KDP sales tripled.
That’s right: tripling my prices tripled my sales and my royalties per book.
At first, I thought the sales spike was a coincidence due to overlap with my Kickstarter launch in the last week of June. But after a temporary dropoff in late July through August, which is normal for back-to-school season, sales have rebounded and stayed higher than before the price adjustment.
It turns out that the same readers who supposedly won’t pay more than three bucks for a novel will gladly spend ten, as long as the quality commands the price.
That’s the psychology dynamic most authors overlook: Price communicates value. Readers subconsciously associate higher price with higher worth. In contrast, what low prices signal is not generosity; it’s cheapness. So when you sell Rolex books at Timex prices, you telegraph that your work is low-status.
KDP—and especially KU—dependent authors still chasing pennies are stuck in 2013. They believe volume compensates for value, but all they’ve done is fill the digital bargain bin with unread eBooks. You can’t sustain a career on infinite inventory when Amazon bargain bin pickers’ time and numbers are both declining.
Are some OGs still making bank on the rapid-release plan? Yes, but the advent of A.I. slop mills means they’re getting an increasing share of a shrinking market.
From here on out, enticing Kindle bingers with cheap or free books is the best way to go broke.
Screen cap: Warner Bros. Pictures
Which brings us to another common blunder: loss leaders that don’t lead anywhere.
Do the math. If selling your book at a low price telegraphs low value, giving away your main product for free is a great way to convince readers it’s worthless.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t use incentives. Just don’t hand propspecive newsletter of Substack subscribers the finished book. Instead, offer background lore, concept art, or production notes. Share a short PDF with behind-the-scenes commentary or practical writing tips.
In other words, give away material that’s adjacent to your art. That way, you strengthen appreciation for your work without cannibalizing your sales. That’s how you build value loops instead of dead ends.
The biggest change in perspective authors need to make right now has nothing to do with battling A.I., optimizing Amazon keywords, or pumping out a book every month. Your top business priority should be rediscovering your self-respect.
Your work is worth more than pocket change. You’re not competing with Kindle Unlimited content or LLM-generated fanfic. If you’re reading this blog, you’re building the mythos of the new counterculture. Price accordingly.
That’s the often-overlooked truth behind the Neopatronage model I’ve been advocating for years: You don’t need everyone. You just need the fraction of readers who want what only you can make and who are willing to pay for it.
Setting your prices to actually make writing worth your time, building your own storefront, and curating your audience are acts arising not from hubris, but from stewardship.
What you probably don’t realize is that readers want to take your work seriously. When you teach them your books are valuable, you give them the cues they’re looking for.
So stop underselling yourself. Kindle didn’t train readers to read for free; authors with no theory of value trained themselves to sell for nothing.
It’s past time to unlearn that conditioning and remind the world what good stories are actually worth. The worker deserves his wages, so go forth and get that bag.
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Brian Niemeier is a best-selling novelist, editor, and Dragon Award winner with over a decade in newpub. For direct, in-person writing and editing insights, join his Patreon.