I felt like this needed to be addressed and I hope that other published authors can relate. I have been getting some flack about the price of my paper copy book being $17.95 through Amazon. When I set up the book through Createspace and then KDP, the minimum price it allowed me to enter is $17.43. There are two categories with pricing – one is within Amazon and the other is through other sellers. Sure, I make more through purchases on Amazon, but it is not comparable to the EBook version, which I am selling for $4.99.
Part of the reason that the prices differ so greatly is because of the book itself. Obviously, a physical copy is going to cost more to produce than simply hosting an electronic version. And yes, I make more per book than I would if I had traditionally published Purpose. Either way, authors are artists who get very little comparatively.
If you think about it, tattoo artists get paid hundreds for their craft. Don’t get me wrong, it is well-deserved. I have a few tattoos and plan on getting more, gladly paying the money for another piece of art on my skin. Artists who sell stuff on Etsy charge for their time and their craft as well, which is why you tend to spend a bit more than if you were to purchase a similar item on a mass-produced website.
That is to be expected. If you provide a service and hand-craft something, you should charge more than something that a machine makes. Us authors spend years on our own craft, creating worlds, and working diligently to create a story. Hours of drafting, editing, and rewriting for one final copy, and I am charging $17.95 for a Print Copy.
