Box sets – Arthur and Gabriel’s future (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this mini-series I discussed bringing Arthur and Gabriel into the real world so you can get your hands on them… in the form of paperbacks, that is (sorry about it). If you want to hear the why, what, where, when and how of the paperbacks, check out this recent post. And if you want to be kept up to date on all this, jump on my mailing list.

Now, these boys have been the test dummies for my various drafting, editing, publishing, marketing, and promoting experiments. And now it’s time – while I’m working on my new novel which is unrelated to these boys – to see what else I can do to them. Today, for Part 2 of this mini-series…

Box sets!

What’s that? TV shows on DVD? No, I’m talking about bundling all three novellas of the Rise and Shine series together into one cosy package. That way, you’ll make one purchase and get one “book” on your Kindle which will include all three novellas back-to-back.

All the books, all together

Rough 3D mockup of Rise and Shine series box set

Together the three novellas of the Rise and Shine series would total approximately 100,000 words (or around 300 pages) – comparable to a typical novel.

I quickly pulled together this rough mockup to give you an idea. The future potential box set would likely have a special ‘Rise and Shine’ series cover for the box and be much tidier overall. Don’t look too closely or you’ll see random misalignments and bits of green – my Photoshop skills are not the sharpest.

But, why a box set? When I can already buy them individually?

I’ve seen plenty of authors package up their books this way, and it’s a great way to pick up an entire series all at once. I can see it appealing to new readers who haven’t tried anything of mine yet, or those who enjoyed the first book but haven’t got around to picking up the others.

As a reader, I like using box sets to introduce friends to authors and book series I’ve enjoyed. And for myself, I’ve taken advantage of back catalogue box sets when I’ve come across an author for the first time. So, my thinking is that if I’m buying box sets to read, perhaps my readers might like the same for my books?

Yes, OK! I’m sold, how much?

Well, I don’t know… This is all very much a work in progress. Box sets are generally priced to be cheaper than buying each book individually, otherwise what would be the point?

For reference, the books of the Rise and Shine series are currently listed at:

Cost comparison for individual books vs box set

I’ve asked the wonderful people on my mailing list what they think would be a reasonable price point for a box set, so we’ll see what they come back with. If you want to get involved in future developments too, join my mailing list!

But for now, if you have any thoughts or suggestions regarding box sets – would you even be interested, or nah? – please drop me a message or hit me up on social media!