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Post by adrianallan on May 15, 2021 19:16:59 GMT
I like to think that my books are reasonably priced - around 400 pages Crown Quarto size at £20-£25 paperback, £28-£30 Hardback. And it's non-fiction, so not really to be compared with fiction.
Interestingly, a writer in the same genre as me has published a book with 250 pages paperback, for which he is charging £40 per copy.
A few people on a forum commented that the book was too expensive but other leapt to his defence, saying that self-published books are generally more expensive. Somebody even said they had paid £100 for a self-published book.
I have never thought that a self-published book should be more expensive. I really don't think that £40 is a reasonable price for a book, let alone £100. From the feedback I am getting on forums (music -oriented), there seems to be a perception that self-pubished is more exclusve, or a lower print run etc. Which sort of reverses the perception that I thought was popularly held - that self published equates with lower quality and therefore should attract a lower cost price.
Let me know what you think.
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Post by potet on May 15, 2021 19:28:28 GMT
Twice the cost price. If Lulu sells you a copy for $13, put your commercial price at $26.  |
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Post by adrianallan on May 15, 2021 19:37:26 GMT
Twice the cost price. If Lulu sells you a copy for $13, put your commercial price at $26. Yes, I am working on that basis However, it seems that some people are not And it might be interesting to learn that for some members of the public, self-published is viewed as "exclusive", which I found quite surprising. |
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Post by BlueAndGold on May 15, 2021 20:40:28 GMT
If I set retail prices at 2X Lulu's price, I would get zero royalty after distributor fees.
So I set retail costs such that I get a set royalty after distributor fees. If a book sells through Lulu (which almost never happens) then that is a bonus.
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Post by adrianallan on May 15, 2021 20:52:03 GMT
If I set retail prices at 2X Lulu's price, I would get zero royalty after distributor fees. So I set retail costs such that I get a set royalty after distributor fees. If a book sells through Lulu (which almost never happens) then that is a bonus. What sort of a profit margin are you aiming for on a site such as Amazon? It's always a difficult decision. There is that thin line between it being too low and profits being compromised and being too high and sales being hindered. I expect that professional publishers know exactly where this point lies, as it's something that could be charted on two axes of a graph - and there will be an optimum. We don't have that sort of market analysis at our disposal so it's a bit of inspired guess work I suppose. |
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on May 15, 2021 21:21:56 GMT
Traditional Publishers have the advantage of Economy of Scale, wherein between lower printing / distribution / marketing costs they make a profit while charging somewhat less and ostensibly taking a lower profit per copy.
Self Publishers can cut out some costs while accepting others, as in POD isn't cheap. Printninja.com can allow a Self Publisher to do offset print runs [the higher the number of copies the lower the price per copy] but then storage and distribution becomes a factor.
From what I've seen in different queries an author should expect to make a royalty between 5% and 20% for print.
One suggestion is to look at what a similar book from a Traditional Publisher costs [same general subject matter and approximate length], then price yours as closely as possible while taking a royalty of around 12.5% to 15%. While you can't compete with Economy of Scale you can try to emulate the pricing structure.
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Post by benziger on May 15, 2021 22:21:43 GMT
How much do other (comparable) books cost? (approximate value)
How much does the customer pay including shipping? (rather too much)
How much is left for me? (rather too little)
Is there a nice price? (there are thresholds, the numbers of the 5 series, which can be approached without exceeding: 8.90 can also be 9.50, but not 10.xx)
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