I apologize for no recent postings, but I got married, honeymooned in France and have had to deal with the print-on-demand publisher's inability to produce a proof worthy of going to print with since my return.  What I would like to talk about here now is the cost of my upcoming book.

I just realized just how money-hungry bookstores are.  For simply paying rent for a fashionable building (I'm talking the mega-giants, like Barnes & Nobel and Borders), they provide space for books with a printed retail price.  That retail price has somewhere between 40% to 55% built in for their profits.  when you go to the discounted book shelf there they are still selling those books for minimal profit.  My new book is 412 pages and cost $8.62 to print.  However, for me to list this as a $19.95 book, which I have told them to do, the bookstores will be told they can only get the minimum of 40%, or $7.98.  My royalty will amount to a mere $2.51, which is fine with me, because I want this book as attractive as possible for people to be able to buy it.  The problem might become that the 40% is too low for bookstores to order it and place it on a shelf for someone to find. 

I will have a link to the print-on-demand publisher site, where the book can be purchased for this $19.95 price.  I will purchase copies to take with me to speaking engagements, where I will sell the books for less than the list price, after shipping costs have been calculated.  I will also have a hard cover, with dust jacket version available, which will retail for $37.50.  In my mind this is way to expensive to lead someone to buy it, so the only ones of this version that will ever see the light of reality will be the ones that I buy and give to friends and family.  I might be able to sell these at speaking engagements for just under $30.00, again making very little profit.

I sent my publisher an email explaining that if I listed my paperback book at $100 a copy (which no one would buy), this would be $91.38 more than the book cost to print.  However, after the bookstore would rip off $50 as their necessary profit and the publisher would rip off another percentage of the net, I would make about $31.03 per sale.  This shows that 69% of what you pay for a book at a book store is for cost & profit, with the cost only 9%.  This speaks volumes for what Nostradamus wrote would come to the world, which is death by greed.

My manuscript is still being considered by one real publisher, but having not dealt with that area of profiteering I don't know what to expect if they want to pursue obtaining rights to my book.  I will only go in that direction if they can offer the book at a reasonable price, while still making their unreasonable profit.  It will be a situation of the lesser of two evils.  Still, before that decision is due (if due) the book will also be made available as an E-book, which should be the best price of all.  This is supposedly the new wave of affordable books - at least until they see a market is there and turn it into a rip off for profit sideline.  I recommend you check for my link when it is available and order the E-book.

Till the next time.