Box sets

Posted by Patrice Wilton | 7:45 AM | 7 comments »

Good morning,
Gemma Halliday blogged recently about selling her high heel mysteries as box sets, and now I would like to share some of her wisdom. She has been on the NY times best seller twice this year with her "box sets" and has adjusted the price several times to push sales. Number one rule - never give it away for free, as once they have it there's no need to buy anything else. Rule number two - less is better. If you have a 4 book series, box up three, and charge a little more for the fourth. Makes good sense right? Rule three- price it sensibly, at a lower overall cost than buying each book separately.
If possible have a 3D cover made, but a flat one will do. The books don't have to be a series, but they should have something in common - such as Rom/Com, Single Titles, Mystery, etc.
What you need to do is create one big file with say all three manuscripts, download it as usual on Amazon or wherever you choose, have your cover, give a brief description of what they will be getting, and voila, you have another pricier item to sell.
I'm going to give it a try with my Candy Bar series, and also with my 3 single titles. I haven't done this yet, but will report back when it's up for sale.
Good luck to you all. 

7 comments

  1. Pamela Varnado // September 26, 2012 at 12:58 PM  

    Great suggestions, Patrice. I'm about to self-publish two short stories and had planned to give the first one away for free, but now I'll have to rethink my strategy.

  2. Mary Marvella // September 26, 2012 at 1:38 PM  

    Interesting! Idea. Any way to make more $$$.

  3. Patrice Wilton // September 26, 2012 at 4:59 PM  

    Pam - giving away one book for free is still a great idea, just not a box set. You can give the first one away to entice people to read the others, and charge a little more for each book and discount the entire set.

  4. Judith Keim // September 27, 2012 at 9:39 AM  

    Interesting...thanks for the information. Good luck with your sales!

  5. Beth Trissel // September 27, 2012 at 1:48 PM  

    Really helpful to know. Thanks.

  6. Mary Ricksen // September 28, 2012 at 12:57 PM  

    What if you can't walk in heels! Can I still make it?? Interesting stuff Patrice! Helpful for sure!

  7. Josie // September 30, 2012 at 8:42 PM  

    Brilliant, Patrice. Let us know how the boxed sets work out for you.