Paulo Coelho has launched a new promotion, offering most of his books (with the notable exception of The Alchemist) for just 99 cents. The promotion seems to be just for North American customers for now, but it’s in line with Coelho’s oft-stated belief that low prices will discourage piracy and encourage people to pay for content.
Noting that each book is now roughly the same price as a song from iTunes, Coelho says that someone who buys all the books at the offer price will get ten books for just $10.89, compared to the previous total of $74.19. The Alchemist remains at a higher price, presumably because it’s Coelho’s best-known work.
Perhaps the most significant thing about Coelho’s deal is that he seems to have persuaded his publisher HarperCollins that it’s a good idea. So if it works out, HarperCollins and other leading publishers might start to be converted to the virtues of the 99 cent ebook.
You can find Coelho’s 99 cent ebooks at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The author says that he hopes he can help to change the way publishing companies view ebook pricing. With many publishers claiming that ebooks cost just 10% less to produce than physical books, that might be a tall order, but as Coelho recently tweeted, “life is changed by examples, not by opinions”.
Leaving out the Alchemist is very notable, that’s my favorite of his so far. I also liked and would recommend “The Devil and Miss Prym.”
Posted by Christine Keleny | May 2, 2012, 8:22 pm