Many self-published ebooks cost just $2.99 to write and anywhere between $15,000 and $20,000 to fully develop and publish.
This seems like a huge markup given the low costs associated with most ebook production companies. Why pay so much when you can do it yourself for so little?
The short answer is that you shouldn’t. Even with the amazing affiliate marketing opportunities offered by sites like Amazon, you shouldn’t price your ebook high just to sell a few copies and make a few bucks. What you need to do is figure out how much you should actually be charging based on your costs.
The Cost Of Self-Publishing
The cost of self-publishing an ebook varies by how long you want the book to be. If you’re looking to sell your book and don’t care too much about how long it takes to find your audience, go with a shorter option. Shorter books usually cost less to produce and, in some cases, can be had for free if you’re willing to do the legwork yourself.
The longer the book, the more it will cost you. Longer books generally mean more content, which costs more to produce. If you want to maximize the amount of money you’ll make from your book, go with a longer option.
The Markup For eBooks
All books, including ebooks, have a markup. What is a markup? Think of the cost of a traditional printed book and compare it to a ebook. You’ll see that there’s a significant difference in price. Why? Because there’s more than one way to sell a book: You can sell it directly to a reader for $15 or $20 or you can choose to sell it to a wholesaler for $25 or even $30 before the reader even sees it.
You might consider the latter option to be more profitable because it allows you to retain more of the sale. What happens if you decide to go with a wholesaler? You’ll usually get a significant discount (30% to 50% off) and will be required to pay only after the book is delivered and the cash is in your account.
You’ll also have to decide how much you’re willing to risk on a book you haven’t tried out yet. Are you willing to take a chance on a book you’ve never read before and hope it’ll be a bestseller? Or do you want to wait until you’ve read a few books by the author and are certain you’ll enjoy what they write?
When To Charge More
It’s always best to look at the situation from the point of view of a reader. If you’re wondering how much an ebook should cost, you should ask yourself, “How much are people willing to pay for this content?”
You might also want to consider other variables such as how much you want to make and the amount of work you’ve put into the project. For example, if you’re an independent professional who worked hard to produce a well-researched, 100-page report and you want to sell it for $20, you may want to ask yourself, “Do I want to spend three hours on the phone with a potential customer or do I want to just hand them the content and have them contact me if they have any questions?”
The fact is, there’s no one single answer for this question. It depends on so many variables. However, once you have the data, it’s much easier to decide. You can either decide to charge more or less than you originally planned.
Takeaways
To conclude, let’s look at some of the key takeaways from this information.
First, if you want to sell a lot of ebooks, go with a cheaper option. Second, if you want to make the most out of your book, go with the longer version. Finally, try to find a balance between what you want (i.e., how much you want to make) and what your customers want (i.e., price point). With these three tips, you’ll be able to maximize your ebook sales and make the most out of your self-published efforts. Thanks for reading! I hope this was helpful.