by

IWSG — To Raise Or Not To Raise…

Today’s the day for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) where, on the first Wednesday of every month, writers get together to share their insecurities and offer encouragement. The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and you can learn all about it and sign up for it here. IWSG_Badge

The print version of my book, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble, is printed on demand by the distributors Lightning Source/IngramSpark (LSI), so I don’t have to keep cases of books as backstock in my basement. Recently, I received notice from LSI that their printing costs would be increasing to cover their rising costs. I was given a window of time in which I could raise the retail price of my book and submit a new cover file reflecting this increased price without having to pay for the file update. The deadline is the end of February.

So I have to decide — do I raise the price of my print book, or leave it as is?

I had originally set the price at $16.99, which was about as low as I could go without selling at a loss. I figured if I priced my first book too high, no one would buy it. But with the 55% wholesale discount the big retailers get, the margin of profit is miniscule.

If I leave the price as is, I’ll still be in the black, but just barely. I tell myself, it’s okay, I’m not in it for the money. And yet I have to say it would be nice to make at least a little profit. But I’m concerned that if I raise the price a dollar or two, I’ll lose sales, and that would defeat the purpose of getting my book out there into readers’ hands. What to do?

Has anyone else ever run into this problem? What did you decide?

 

 

 

 

© Lori L. MacLaughlin and Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams, 2016. All rights reserved.

42 thoughts on “IWSG — To Raise Or Not To Raise…”

  2. I think you’d probably be okay if it was only a few dollars more expensive – if it’s content people want to read, they’ll buy it :). Could you raise the price, but then lower it again if your sales do drop? (sorry, I don’t know much about LS!)

    Rachel Pattinson
    February IWSG Co-host

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Oh geez… I wish I could offer help, but you’re leaps and bounds ahead of me with actually having print copies available. I’d maybe suggest looking at other print options? Create Space or (I know there are others, but I can’t think of them right now.)

    Either way, good luck!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Hi Lori. I do not hand first hand knowledge with this situation but as a book buyer as long as the price increase doesn’t impact an increase in the larger bill size, I would be in. So I agree with Alex. A dollar increase wouldn’t persuade me not to buy it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. When I decide to buy a book, I’m drawn to the author and story. If the price is a few dollars higher than a similar book, I’ll pay the difference. I know you’re not doing it for the money, but golly fair pay is only right.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. This might not be helpful, but I’m wondering about your wholesale discount. From what I understand a 55% discount is what you need to get into physical book stores. So what I’m wondering is whether or not that is happening for you. If it is, awesome! You rock! If not, you might want to consider lowering your discount. But if that’s not an option, then I don’t think raising the price a dollar or two would be terrible. It’d put you at the top of the price range for fantasy paperbacks, but that’s OK, in my opinion. Anyway, good luck!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. Inflation is a reality.
    Everything goes up.
    A dollar or two won’t hurt readers, who don’t flinch when it comes to spending extra money on lots of other luxuries. So why not spend it on something educational/creative? They need to realize that a lot of hard work goes into creating and publishing a book. 🙂
    Hope you do well with the sales!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. The truth is readers are loyal and often won’t buy a book under a certain price because they think they won’t get their money’s worth. I think you should listen to your instincts and act accordingly. Know that you can always buy your book back and turn it into an ebook.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.