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how do I price my book?

One of the hardest parts of publishing your book is setting the retail price of the finished product. Many first-time self-publishing authors worry that if they price their book too high, noone will want to pay and it won't sell; price it too low and it will sell, but they won't recoup their investment. How can you figure out your retail price without just picking a number out of a hat and crossing your fingers?

Comparison Pricing

One simple exercise that you can do very easily is take an excursion to your local bookstore and investigate your competition. What are books like yours selling for? Are they the same page length and quality? Is yours a unique perspective on the topic? Do you have photos or illustrations that the other books don't? These variables all increase or decrease the value of the book.

Consider All Your Costs

You can also use your per book cost to ascertain your retail price. When doing so, you may sometimes forget that the printing of your book is not the only cost - just the most evident one. Make sure that you include the following costs in your spreadsheet:

book design/layout
editor
ISBN/barcode
permissions (if needed for photographs/illustrations)
packaging/delivery
postage/mailing
advertising/marketing
web designer/hosting/e-commerce
bank charges/credit card account
phone/cell phone/long distance
write-off of 20-30 books as sample to stores/reviewers/giveaways
damaged book return costs

The Rule of 5

If you don't want to spend the time figuring out all the different costs that went into publishing your book, you can use an easier method to figure out your retail cost. In order to make sure you recoup your costs, some people recommend that you use the "rule of 5" when pricing your book - take the per book printing cost and multiply by 5. For example, if your printer is charging you $5//book to print, you would price your book at $24.95. Although this seems a little high, when you consider all your additional publishing costs and bookstore retainers, it starts to seem like not much at all.

It's Your Call

In the end, you need to consider all the variables before you set your retail price. If you make a list of all your publishing costs to determine an initial retail price (or use the rule of 5) then explore your competition to see if your price is within range of similar reading material, you should do well with your sales.

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