Book pricing is important to consider when exploring self-publishing options. Many authors get pulled in by little or no upfront costs. It’s important to investigate how that publisher benefits from such a model.
The fact is, most publishers charge you the wholesale price (or higher) for your own book unless you buy it in bulk?
The wholesale price! How are you supposed to make any money reselling your book to retailers? The wholesale price is what retailers will expect to pay.
Make sure your publisher offers author copy base prices below wholesale. Through a bit of investigation you’ll likely find that with a strong publisher your base prices are usually dollars below other publishers.
Most publishers attempt to conceal this by offering “bulk discounts” on large book orders of 100, 200, 500, or more.
Do you really want to buy 500 copies all the time, just to get a reasonable “per unit” price? Yes, when your book is first published, this might be okay because you’ll need marketing copies.
But what about 1-3 years down the road, when you just want 10 quick copies? Then what will each book cost you?
Just something to be aware of as you finish up your manuscript.
Have fun and keep writing.
– Karl Schroeder
Self Publishing Advisor 