What guidelines should self-publishing authors follow when pricing print copies of their books?
If you are self-publishing your books through an online publisher, such as Author House, Create Space, or LuLu, you get to set the price of your book, completely independently. The price you set might help interested readers decide whether they want to take a chance on a new author. Or, it might also discourage others.
For this reason you want to make sure that the price of your masterpiece is competitive.
It would be great if you could simply under price your book so that you have a competitive advantage over the others in you genre, but underpricing is not always an option. You need to consider a number of factors when you are setting the price of the printed version your book.
First, consider the production cost of the actual printed book. With print-on-demand technology, you don’t have to incur out-of-pocket expenses unless you really want to maximize your profit margin. With this type of technology, the orders are processed and produced on a per order basis and the cost for the printing and shipping is taken directly from the consumer.
Profits are maximized when you take advantage of bulk sale prices. Publishers offer authors bulk sale discounts when they buy large quantities of their own books. The authors then turn around and sell their book themselves. Still, authors may find ordering in quantity and selling on their own to be a risky process. Self-publishing authors can be left with cases of books lining their living rooms and no customers.
Your best bet is to do a little research in order to set your printed book’s price at a level that will cover costs and leave you with a fair return.
How do I conduct research into competitive prices?
The easiest way to go about conducting your own research on competitive pricing is to check out the sites where you plan to market your printed book. One of the largest e-retailers is Amazon. From their main search page, look for books that might sit on the shelf next to yours. Next, start looking at what those authors charge. Remember you’re new to the print world and want to give new readers an incentive to buy your book, so think competitively. Also take into consideration word counts and pages, as longer books might justify your pricing to a potential consumer.
If the top sellers are selling their books for $14.95, then try setting your price somewhere between $9.99 - $ 12.95. Even a small price break will give potential readers a reason to give you a shot. You’ll still be able to take home between 30%-50% of the sales price, which will give you a better than average return.
A little research will go a long way here. Plus, remember, you can always adjust your pricing anytime you see fit. After all, you are self-publishing.
Very helpful. Thanks!