Pricing the ebook continues to be a subject of debate for indie authors. Everyone is looking for that "right" price, the price that feels fair to the author and at which readers are willing to pay for it.  Is it a crap shoot?

Traditional publishing was more straight forward. The hardcover would come out priced somewhere between $15 and $20 for those who wanted the book right when it came out and were willing to pay a premium price for it. After some time, the book would come out in paper back for about $7. Readers who wanted a book that was easier to carry around and easier on the wallet would wait for that.

But today the traditional publishers are struggling to figure out the new market. They don't release the ebook until after the hard cover and paperback have come out and sometimes the ebook costs more then the paperback. Reading the reviews for some of the popular authors recent releases you can see that the readers have voiced their displeasure with the price the publisher set for the ebook by leaving 1-star reviews.

The indie authors have stood the pricing model on its head. Many initially release the book at $0.99 to try and generate some sales and favorable rankings, then raise the price to $2.99 or more to benefit from the larger royalty percentage they will get above $2.99. Indies are finding that their readers stretch across the board. There are those who will suck up the books at $0.99, maybe never read them, there are those who will pay $2.99 for an indie, it's still a good deal compared to traditionally published releases, and there are readers who believe that a higher price means better quality.

In order to attract readers, the indie author needs to put together a pricing strategy. Leave it low, like John Locke, or move it around in order to attract different readers who are looking for books at different prices.

Personally, I started at the $0.99 price for a few months, then moved to $2.99 and now I'm beginning to experiment with $3.99 or $4.99 while I try to decide what to do for the holidays and post holidays.

I don't worry about the value or price of one book as some writers do, thinking their book should cost more than a cup of coffee, but rather I'm looking at the total value I can get from my book over the long haul as readers discover this one and others I will release.

What are your thoughts on the pricing of ebooks, is there a sweet spot?