What Is The Perceived Value Of A Writer?
by Lisa Norman
“I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet.”
This quote, often attributed to John Quincy Adams, stuck in my brain the first time I heard it. It beautifully captures the idea that being a poet—or any kind of creator—is of the highest value, something generations could strive toward. So why do many authors undervalue their work—and themselves? The challenge is understanding “perceived value.”
What is Perceived Value?
The Cambridge Dictionary defines perceived value as “the value of a product based on how much customers want or need it, rather than on its real price.” This differs from “intrinsic worth” or items that have a specific value.
Another way to look at this is that perceived value does NOT equal the cost of a thing specifically; however, it can influence what an author charges and what a reader is willing to pay. Intrinsic value is what a thing costs. The intrinsic value of an ounce of gold in the moment that I write this is $2500. If you melt that down and turn it into a family heirloom, the perceived value might be higher. Or if it was an ugly thing, you might just give it away!
It is important to understand that both the author and the readers are dealing with the concept of perceived value.
For authors, many factors influence perceived value, including self-worth, feedback from reviewers, and market trends. Not understanding the true value of our work can lead to stress as well as confuse readers.
Pricing Strategies and Perceived Value
Many authors price their books low, hoping to attract more sales. However, as Mark Coker of Smashwords pointed out many years ago, raising the price of an ebook can sometimes enhance its perceived value and lead to better sales.
One author I have worked with for years consistently works to price her books as low as possible. She covers her costs and makes a small profit. Her books sell extremely well for their genre, but the profit is barely above cost. She’s just been happy that so many people want to read her books. Recently, one of her friends published her first book and priced it at over twice the price of my friend’s book. And people bought it. My friend finally questioned her pricing strategy.
Was the first author undervaluing her work or was her friend overvaluing hers?
Impact of Pricing on Self-Worth
Pricing decisions can significantly affect an author’s self-esteem and perceived worth. A friend of mine raised their Substack subscription price from $7 to $10 per month and found that their own sense of self-worth improved. They commented, “Funny, I feel MORE confident now.” And their subscriptions increased. Pricing can influence not just sales, but also personal confidence.
Ethical Considerations
It’s important to mention that price collaboration between publishers—even indie publishers and authors—is illegal. That is price fixing. Don’t do that. Instead, thoughtfully consider the value of your work when setting prices. Get access to statistics on current book sales trends. Talk to your fans and look at what other books in your genre are selling for.
My own experiences with Perceived Value:
Undervaluing Work:
My mother had a natural gift for art, but growing up, she was always told that art wouldn’t pay the bills. Coming from a poor background, she chose a career that would keep her out of poverty. She never took her art seriously, only doodling on the edges of papers and contracts.
Later in life, after battling cancer, she finally had the freedom to study art and discovered just how talented she was. Her friends were amazed by her skill. I often wonder what beauty she could have shared with the world if she had pursued her passion earlier.
Just before she passed away, she lived in an area with many highly respected artists. She saw the value of art firsthand, visiting their mansions and seeing their paintings sell for thousands of dollars. Her regret has fueled my determination to pursue my writing passion.
Overvaluing Work:
My father, on the other hand, had an inflated sense of his own worth as an author. He once sent me a manuscript to critique, and I gave him extensive feedback. He was furious, insisting I had no idea what real writing was. Later, he paid a company to print many copies of the book without making any changes from the draft I’d seen. Those books sat in his garage until he died. One reviewer even called it “the worst book ever written.”
Whenever I seek critiques on my writing, the real question I’m asking is, “Is it actually any good?” Because I’ve seen firsthand how blind someone can be to their own lack of talent.
Just Right:
My father’s brother also wrote a book. After my harsh critique of Dad’s book, he sent me his brother’s draft, hoping for similar feedback. Misery loves company, right? But to my surprise, his brother’s book was well-written and edited, with a clear plot and engaging story. I suggested he try to get it published, and he found a small indie publisher who published it successfully. He learned to value his own worth through positive feedback and successful publication.
Practical Tips for Authors
Assess Your Value: Keep track of market trends, reader feedback, and your own self-worth. Good pricing strategies include researching similar books in the market and setting a price that reflects the quality of the work.
Invest in Yourself: You are worth it! If you find that your writing is lacking in some area, invest in your craft by taking classes, using tools and technology, and collaborating with editors and professional artists. These investments enhance the quality of your work and its perceived value.
Something as simple as treating yourself to a trip to an artsy coffee shop to spend time with a fellow writer can increase your confidence.
Prioritize your emotional well-being.
Recognize the worth of both yourself and your art.
Remember, the value of your work is not just in its price tag but in the impact it has on your readers and yourself.
How do you determine the value of your work, and how has it affected your pricing strategy?
* * * * * *
About Lisa
Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.
Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of Deleyna's Dynamic Designs, a web development company focused on helping writers, and Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.
Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her school, No Stress Writing Academy, where she teaches social media, organization, technical skills, and marketing for authors!
Top image by Markéta Klimešová from Pixabay
Leave a Reply
18 comments on “What Is The Perceived Value Of A Writer?”
Subscribe to WITS
Recent Posts
- What's Your Character's "WHY"?
- How Substack is Revolutionizing Writing Careers
- Capture Readers with the Magic of Interactive Fiction
- The problem with “fantasy races” (and what to use instead!)
- How Small Setting Elements Can Pack Big Emotional Hits
Ouch. But that's a good kind of ouch. This is such an important topic. Perceived value is something I've struggled with for years. My mentors, my peers, my readers, and articles like this have helped me value myself and my work more realistically. But I needed the ouch of this article to remind me to periodically review my perceived value from the price of my books to my blog posts and more. Thank you.
Hugs, Lynette! You have GREAT value!
Great article, Lisa. I will share. 🙂
Yours,
Denise (Dee)
Thanks, Dee! That's a gift!
It's sad your mother didn't pursue her art earlier. It just goes to remind us that we should not ignore our talents.
Nor undervalue them, either.
It is sad. But it is interesting how powerful her story has been not only for me, but for my children. Because they can see the paintings on the wall... Creatives, regardless of art form, are so precious!
If you can't afford my work, as many of my readers can't because of chronic illness, please let me know, and I will ask you if you would CONSIDER writing a review (to satisfy the arrangement many of us have with Amazon), and send you an epub ARC. I would rather you pay nothing - I don't nag about those reviews, and many have not written one - than to put my work out at some of the prices indies are encouraged to use.
I have asked a couple of those who recommended the lower prices, accepted an ARC, and wrote some stunning reviews, if they now thought I had overpriced my books - and the answer was that I had not, that they were worth it.
But many indies have jumped on the very low price bandwagon, whether or not they are selling, and the indie world now expects a free book or two or three and then MAYBE they will consider paying for them.
As you point, that treats the work as worth about what you paid for it.
I won't tell you why I think I'm pricing correctly - the blog post about it isn't finished yet - but I do not consider other indies my 'competition' (we indies don't commonly write mainstream literary works intended to be as long as GWTW), and the traditionally published price much higher than I do, so I'm technically a bargain.
The perceived value of indie work IS a problem - many readers won't even consider us.
Do I have to do this as an SPA? I think so, though there are a couple of things that might change my mind. The traditional publishers do NOT treat most of their authors particularly well, and do everything they can to cast aspersions on self-published work.
When I finish my trilogy, it will have been maybe thirty years since I started it. You know I'm probably going to continue to do it my way - and wonder how to market.
Pricing questions are HARD, Alicia. And you're right: some readers expect to be able to read the first one or several free. One author my husband loves does free for the first, occasionally discounts the first 3 trilogy set, and then charges a more normal cost for all of the others, what might even be seen as a higher cost. (Don't want to go into numbers.) And he's worth every penny. We routinely buy his books well in advance.
The external disapproval of SPA is hard to deal with. But I think over time that is getting weaker, because there's so much value coming from these new independent voices.
I love everything about this -- the discussion in the comments, and the post. Pricing is hard, because the publishers overcharge and some of the newer authors potentially undercharge. And stories take so very long for most of us to write. (SO long!)
A hybrid romance author, Grace Burrowes, sells books from her site in addition to all the usual places. She sometimes will put books on sale, or perma-free some first-in-series books, but most of her stuff is $4.99. Period. It's kind of her thing.
I'm happy to see this post here at WITS, and am eager to see the comments as more people weigh in.
Thanks, Jenny! Price is a number. Value... goes deeper. The two are related, but different in some ways. You are so wonderful to keep WITS as a place where we can have these discussions!
Great topic! My small publisher, The Wild Rose Press, does not see the overall advantage to the bottom line in cutting prices or discounting your books. Since they control the pricing, very few TWRP books ever go on sale. Value your work. An author friend feels the same way. She refuses to sell her self-pub books at a low cost. She worked DAMN hard on them, and they're beautiful books. This strategy can limit some promo sites, like BookBub, that tend to accept discounted books to promo.
Barb,
You're right that some sites will limit your options if you don't have the ability to discount. BUT... that leads you to be more creative and try other options. And who is to say they aren't as good as the discounts?
Thank you!
Thank you for reading, Denise!
There is SO much truth in this, Lisa. We all need to see our value -- in all aspects!
Indeed, Sally! This world is so blessed with beautiful creatives.
I’m touched, Lisa, by the courage you’ve shown to write this, to post it, to get knocked down by life and to get up and keep going. We must all deal with the self-doubt that adversity brings to us, whether self-inflicted, inflicted by outsiders, or sometimes inflicted by those we love. Rising above the self-doubt and showing courage in the face of adversity helps us determine our true worth as writers, and as human beings. No matter who you are, it takes courage to write, to publish, to price, to face criticism.
Your column brought me beyond the realm of writing and into other areas of my life. Thank you.
Thank you for reading, Victoria! In my work, I'm with writers every day. Some are clients, some are students, many are friends... And this post was for them, because I see so many who don't realize what treasures they are.
One bad review (among hundreds of good ones) can send a person spiraling. I just wanted to take a moment and address this... As well as the internal value of worth I face all the time.