November 19, 2008

OUCH! Some POD Publishers Raising Book Prices TOO HIGH!
printable version

Last week, we talked about FORCED MARRIAGE: When POD Publishers Take Your Money AND Your Rights.

This week, I'm going to discuss a disturbing trend among POD publishers. The list prices of some POD publishers' books are going up - and fast. Some of these prices are so high that authors know potential readers will not buy their books. Authors should not spend hundreds to thousands to publish a book that will ultimately be priced beyond what the market will bear!

Here are just a few of the disturbing comments I've received from authors in recent weeks:

"Can you give me a better print deal than Lulu.com? It is essential for me to offer reasonable pricing to my lovely customers!"

"My current POD publisher suddenly raised all their prices up and as a result, all the numbers are completely weird on their storefront and don't, in any way, match the figures on my website. This has been the case for sometime. I only just happened to notice it!!! I wondered why no one has bought any books for ages!!"

"Although I have developed a small, loyal readership, Publish America has decided without the authors' consent to raise our book prices anywhere from $2 to $5 per book, in effect pricing our work way above any market standards. As my book is 166 pages I do not see ANY justification that a reader would want to pay over $27 for a soft cover novel. When I asked how they could justify the price hike, I was unceremoniously removed from the P.A. message boards. Many P.A. authors have been complaining and have now been removed as well, and offered the courtesy of paying P.A. $300 to break their contracts."

I also found posts online about price these increases:

LULU

"Lulu just raised their prices on me..."

"This morning I have logged in (to Lulu) to order another batch of books and notice that my price per copy has risen from £9.45 to £20.45..."

"The amounts they charge are nothing like what it actually costs to ship a book, or a dozen books. And why do they charge rediculously more, the more copies you order? The majority of online retailers charge less if you order in bulk!"

"WHY THE SUDDEN - AND MASSIVE - INCREASE IN PRICE??? We're not talking about just a few pence - but by a THIRD."

"If we have to raise the price of our books so much that people won't buy them, it's not going to help us OR Lulu any."

PUBLISH AMERICA

"Now I am pissed, too. My book, Mother's Journals ... was published and offered at $24.95 last year. Then they dropped it to $19.95. Now it is listed at $29.95 retail, with my price at $24.95! Talk about inconsistent!"

"Has anyone every had the price of their book raised by $2.00 out of nowhere by PA? I just can't imagine what happened...."

"I don't understand why PA is overpricing the books. Even the original prices were well over what a mainstream book would cost."

If your POD publisher has raised your prices, please contact Angela at: angela-at-writersweekly.com. Your confidentiality will, of course, be honored.

Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker. WritersWeekly.com provides paying markets, job listings, and more for free every Wednesday. BookLocker provides affordable one-on-one Print on Demand (POD) publishing services. (All new authors work one-on-one with Angela.) Setup for full-color cover / black and white interior books is $492 (deduct $175 if submitting your own cover). Fee includes setup, original cover design, print proof, ebook creation, no limit on interior photos/graphics, an ISBN, barcode, a listing on the publisher's website and distribution by Ingram, all within 6 weeks. Color-interior program also available for more. See http://www.booklocker.com or contact Angela directly at: angela -at- booklocker.com.