What would you pay for a book?

[Fenris-77]

I plan to sell it with a mark up of 5 bucks, so that the final price should be in the range of 15 usd... According to the post of the blog no one would buy it for it is considered "low quality"... As a matter of fact i don't think so but at the same time i don't want to rip money for a playtest book. I am now thinking what would be the best for me (ah, the overarching idea i have is that i don't look for money out of my work... I am looking to be read by the an audience as wide as possible!)

I'm not here to tell you what to do. If you think you can move units and get your game out there with a hard back playtest then you should do that. Just because I haven't seen it done doesn't mean much. I don't claim to be an expert on indie game marketing. There's nothing stopping you from having a PDF option as well.

I also wouldn't take the tiny slice of opinions from this thread too seriously, or at least don't read them as a straight index to how most people feel. While that might be true, it also might not.

 

[aramis erak]

I have difficulty reading large pdfs (actually any large amount of text) on a computer screen. It triggers migraines and visual issues quicker than hardcopies.

You may want to consider a 10" eink reader - they use a reflective rather than emissive rendering. Most people with migraines and/or eye strain from screen use but not physical books find eink to be book-like enough to avoid the issues. Most of the current large format note-taking eink devices also handle PDF and e-pub. Plus, unlike dead tree, one can zoom in and do automated search.

Still, I prefer a book simply because I cannot afford a 12" reader nor a 10" color one.

(I have a Boyue 10" grayscale that I use a lot. I have had several sony PRS series, and for novels in epub; the PRS 515, still available, is perfectly serviceable 6" button-driven reader. The 600 was much nicer, but not available anymore, and only a 7" with frontlight and touch.)

 

[Lanefan]

What is the most you would you honestly pay for:

a) a softcover adventure (say 100 pages?)

An adventure should never be 100 pages long, but I'd pay $15 for a good 1e-format* 24-to-32-page module.

* - i.e. hard-card detached cover with the maps printed on its inside.

b) a hardcover rulebook the size of the D&D core books (about 300 pages)

$60 - maybe $70 now, thanks inflation.

c) a hardcover rulebook the size of the Pathfinder core book (about 650 pages)

I wouldn't, as at over $100 such things are likely out of my price range. Money no object: $110.

d) PDFs of each of the above

For DM-side material, zero or very near zero; as I'm having to absorb all the time and production costs involved in printing and binding it. If it's not on paper, it's ultimately of no use to me as a DM.

For player-side material, 25%-50% of the printed-work cost provided the one copy could be distributed among my players or put online in a secure LAN or hidden website. Otherwise, outright zero as I'd potentially be absorbing the time and cost of producing multiple printed copies rather than just one.

Note this isn’t what would you prefer the price was (free obvs!) but what would you honestly pay, assuming you wanted the product?

(If you’re not interested in that type of product assume you are for the purposes of the question)

You're also asking about two different formats here, of which one is of use and the other is often not.