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.
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.
Like everything else, inflation. I don’t think a dollar more would scare off buyers.
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Thanks for your input, Alex! It would be nice if it didn’t.
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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
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Yes, I could lower it again at a later date. I would just have to pay a fee to do it. Thanks for stopping by!
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I agree with Alex. We can’t help inflation. A dollar or two more probably won’t make a difference.
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Thanks! I’m glad people feel that way.
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I agree with Alex as well. If people want to read the book I don’t think a dollar or two would scare them away. It is a frustrating situation though, isn’t it? Good luck!
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Thanks! Yes, it is frustrating. That I might have to change the price of my book never occurred to me.
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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!!
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Thank you, and thanks for visiting!
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I agree with Alex. Inflation sucks but there are readers, book lovers who’d give their right arm for a book so a dollar or two shouldn’t scare them off.
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That’s great to hear!
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I’m going to agree with everyone else so far. 🙂 A couple of bucks probably won’t hurt business.
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Thanks, Loni!
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I’m with everyone else on this – it won’t make much of a difference to folks
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So far, it’s unanimous.
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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.
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Thanks! That’s good to know from a book buyer’s perspective.
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Everything costs more, and I agree with others that raising your price by a dollar won’t hurt your sales.
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Thanks, C.Lee!
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I say a dollar or two can’t hurt!! 🙂 go for it.
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It sounds like the thing to do.
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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.
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Yes, it seems like it should be that way. Thanks for stopping by!
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What are other books similar to yours priced at? Hit Amazon or better yet a bookstore and check it out. Then price accordingly. If you want a short cut talk to your local librarian.
Anna from elements of emaginette
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Thanks for the suggestions! Right now I’m reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. It’s similar in size and page length, but it’s only $10.99. The big publishing houses can publish books for so much less.
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Sorry, I was hoping to be more help. 🙂
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You were helpful. Not all the books are that inexpensive. The ones that are, though, are hard to compete with.
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If someone wants to read it, they’ll make it work.
Heather
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I like that positive way of looking at it. 🙂
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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!
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Thanks, Sara! The big retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble take the wholesale discount. The independent bookstores where I have my book on consignment do a 60/40 split. (I get the 60%.)
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It’s a tough call. And I don’t know much about this sort of thing. But I’ll go along with the majority and say a dollar more shouldn’t hurt sales. However, you can always change the price.
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Thanks, Cathrina! Yes, I can always go back to the original price.
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I’m clueless right now about such things. Much Success With It
Juneta Writer’s Gambit
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Thank you, Juneta!
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I have to agree with almost everyone else:A dollar or two more won’t be a big deal.
In any case, good luck with sales.
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I’m glad to hear it. Thank you!
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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!
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That’s very true. Thank you!
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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.
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That’s interesting. I hadn’t thought of it in that way. Thanks!
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