Finding the worth of your book and settling on the price is way more challenging than writing a book itself.
If the price & cost of your book are too relatively low, you will lose your worth. Price is too high, and you will lose potential sales. In such a scenario, an exceptional book pricing guide will help.
So you must consider the pricing from the initiation. Don’t keep it for the end to ponder over.
After writing your book, you either underestimate your skills or overestimate them. So start making up your mind about the pricing from the start.
Table of Contents
Why is Book Pricing Important?
Thinking how much does a book cost?
Pricing is crucial because, in the end, after all your rough drafts, tears, frustration, and hard work this is the form of outcome that you get.
Why will you waste your priceless investment of months and years just out of idleness?
Alright, so your book is finished! Congratulations! You documented, edited, and polished the entire book content. You agonized over cover and formatting. Maybe you even planned a series of sequels. Finally, it’s good to go!
With all that time, energy and struggle put into your book; it’s invaluable to you. But what’s it worth to everyone else?
Let’s discuss how much does a book cost?
Pricing a book is a tricky job. It’s not rocket science but an art. Some of the crucial factors while pricing include what you’ve invested, the market, your core demographics, the trim size, the format, the category & genre, your competition, the method of sale–deep inhale–the time of year, your business objectives, your sales goals, and countless other elements. You have a long road to go, and there is a lot to sort out! So before getting overwhelmed and curious, let’s explain why detailed book pricing or book pricing guide is critical.
Did You Know How Much Does The Average Book Cost?
Okay, so you have invested more than 6 months writing a book, and you are now going to sell each copy for $9.99, which implies you get around $0.05 per day to write.
You will have to sell individual copies to live with that wage barely. But, again, a cost book isn’t crucial for you to write with enthusiasm and passion.
You’re still struggling with book pricing guide. Isn’t it?
When you’re writing for yourself, any customer purchasing your book is like a gift or a bonus and more like a validation as a writer.
This is why it is said that pricing a book or understanding how much does a book cost is an art. As cliché as it sounds, you could set a certain price range by opting for a strategic approach, or you might as well think that it doesn’t matter as long as the reader loves and approves your artwork. Of course, certain factors contribute to the book pricing guide that includes your experience as a writer and your skills to portray and let readers dive into the emotions and the demand in the market of the genre you have written in.
Average Book Price Associated With Book Publication
The cost could be minimal or very high. It all depends upon your book. For example, let’s say you’re writing a novel or an eBook; this might include the cost of an editor, typesetter, and cover designer. Simultaneously, if you’re planning to publish an illustrated book, the cost will be a bit high because of the cost of art.
And then there comes your printing cost. Are you going for offset printing or doing print on demand? The question how much does a book cost include the royalty you’ll get when it comes to print on demand. With Amazon’s Royalty Calculator, you can determine what price makes sense and how much money you’ll see on each book. There are numerous royalty calculators available on the internet. If you opt for a print-on-demand book, it would be worth your time to check out these calculators as you finalize the price point.
Tips to Set Average Price of Books
Let’s determine the right sum that is deserving of your book. Here are the tips and tactics to let you choose the right number for your years of investment.
Realistic yet Transparent Pricing
The crucial thing while dealing with the price part of your book is to be highly realistic.
The more realistic you are, the more favorable outcome there will be. On the other hand, unrealistic prices can be a leading cause of a bad experience as a writer.
To get the right idea, you can have a survey of the appropriate marketplace and statistics.
Examine Your Homework and Complete Accordingly
Checking out your competition and thoroughly checking their prices and pricing strategies is essential what techniques and approaches they take will help you alter yours accordingly.
Before you publish your book, you should watch your competitors, as their audience is no different from your targeted one.
They will be fascinating yet alluring to your audience, and as a writer of the same genre, the details of what your readers are currently buying are vital.
Even if your book has more potential than your competitors do, the readers do not know yet. The readers will notice the new intro or preface in the market and judge your book by the cover, customer testimonials, and blurb.
You should ensure the pricing of your book lies within or is less than that of your competitors to hook your reader with a solid reason to purchase.
This point is crucial, as your reader will not want to pay a hefty amount for the fun and thrill he can quickly get at a low price.
Low pricing does not mean you will undercut your self-published book. Instead, this can pull down the standard book image that the reader might like because the low price makes your book look less desirable.
Try Out Old School Pricing Strategy
This is one of the best-tried and tested formulas that we found from numerous book pricing guides.
Pricing is crucial and is playing with the minds of the readers. However, the unfortunate truth is that if you are terrific at playing mind games, you will win this tournament of your life.
One of the renowned and oldest pricing tricks that psychologically work is setting a price and depicting it as an odd number.
Even if it is just a penny, $4.59 are affordable than $4.60, which is why this approach works when it comes to improving your sales or propelling a reader to buy your book.
Why Hardcover Books Are Expensive? What Is the Average Price of a Hardcover Book?
Hard Cover Binding is a Casebound, Hardbound, or Hardback Binding that enhances your book and can make your printed books prestige.
Hard Cover bookbinding is highly durable, and you can’t find it in soft cover books. This is crucial, as certain types of books – such as children’s books and textbooks, need a hard cover to resist the rigors of frequent use.
Moreover, the durability offered by the Hard Cover binding method improves the book’s longevity. This is a desirable yet reliable feature for all books, particularly for keepsake books and other valued books – including a yearbook, low content books, company history books, or anniversary/wedding coffee table books.
There is a difference in the pricing of hardcover and paperback. This is generally the deciding factor for customers when choosing between a paperback and a hardcover book. After all, the plot or story inside is just the same!
Hardback books normally retail from around £15-20 in the UK, with prices lowered by a few pounds right after the initial publication rush.
What Is Going On In The Market? What Is The Competition?
Alright, so competition comes in traditionally published books and self-published books. Before moving ahead on price range, observe what else is out there. We recommend you to visit a bookstore and check the books that look similar. What’s their genre and pricing? What amenities do they have? For example, with a picture, cartoon, or illustration book, a hardcover will cost more or is a bit more expensive than a paperback. A jacketed hardcover will be much more expensive than one without a jacket.
Let’s talk about the novels.
Regarding novels, the pricing criteria often go up with page count. If you have a 120-130 pages book, it will be sold for cheaper than one 900 – 1,000 page long. It will come as no surprise that a hardcover costs more than a paperback, but did you know that there are two options for paperbacks? The more expensive is called a trade paperback. This is what you’ll find at the bookstore. It has a larger trim size (anywhere from 5×8 to 8×10), and you can easily print it on thicker paper. Want to go for the cheaper version? It’s called a mass-market paperback. You can quickly get these books at the grocery store, departmental store, or the airport. These are printed in smaller sizes (typically 4.25 x 6.87) and on cheaper paper stock.
Understanding what kind of book, you’re printing and how it stacks up with the competition will help you figure out how to price your book.
So what is the market for your book? Of course, it depends on the genre and kind of book!
What Is The Average Price Of Paperback Book?
A paperback is also called softcover or softback. This type of book is often characterized by a thick paper or paperboard cover, and it can easily be held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover or hardback books are held together or bound with the help of cardboard covered with cloth, plastic, or leather.
The moderate retail cost of a paperback book with about 200 pages varies from $9.99 to $18.99. It’s crucial to recognize that this price range has traditionally published and self-published books and holds for fiction and non-fiction titles.
Usually, the paperback price is based on the printing cost. This is accurate for all of the trim sizes. A lot of platforms offer no fees or set-up costs. The retail price or the list price is a composite of the printing cost, shipping, and the revenue amount you set.
What Is The Average eBook Price?
New writers and authors usually ask the most frequent questions: “How much should I charge for my eBook?”
There is no rocket science or hard and fast rules with many factors that go into this decision.
There’s no harm if you treat your eBook pricing like an experiment. Then, when you finally land on a price, remember that you could modify that price, cut it, or maybe you can raise or double that price, depending on the reception it gets.
Or you can also offer your eBook for free. There are several convincing reasons to do that in the right situation.
Pricing an eBook and getting to know how much does a book cost can be pretty straightforward and easy.
Best Pricing Point For An eBook
The best and most suitable pricing point for an eBook is $0.99. So you’re making money and simultaneously getting your work out to many readers. But at $0.99, Amazon only enables you as the author to earn a 35% royalty. Once you increase the pricing above $2.99, you can easily set the royalty to 70%. Therefore, you might get fewer readers, but not less as you think. Though the best pricing for an eBook is between $2.99 and $9.99—in that range, you’re capable of the highest royalty percentage of 70%.
While selling your book on your website, the “rules” are slightly different as you get 100% no matter the price.
Remember that your pricing point is not set in stone or that you must follow pricing like everyone else. Every author’s situation differs, so feel free to carve your path with how you price.
The eBook world is transforming fast, so remember to keep a check on your price from time to time and observe whether it’s still the right or suitable one. Pricing correctly can help you create an eBook that earns well, so keep tinkering.
FAQs
What is a fair price for a book? ›
Most average-sized trade paperback novels fall into the $13.95 to $17.95 price range. That being said, this range is true for most books—always do the research into comparable books and price your book accordingly.
How do I know how much to sell my book for? ›Go to any bookstore and take a look. You can learn a lot by observing the books your book will be rubbing shoulders with, including the average price readers expect to pay for the type of book you've written. You can also ask a bookseller at what price point they typically sell a book like yours.
How much should a 300 page book cost? ›For a typical 300-page paperback, you could be looking at a cost of something like $9 or more. With that cost, you'd end up charging $18 for your paperback to get a 100% markup.
How much does a 200 page book cost? ›The average retail cost of a paperback book with about 200 pages ranges from $9.99 to $18.99.
How much of a book can you legally quote? ›Unfortunately, quoting or excerpting someone else's work falls into one of the grayest areas of copyright law. There is no legal rule stipulating what quantity is OK to use without seeking permission from the owner or creator of the material.
What is a fair and reasonable price? ›A determination that a price is fair and reasonable is really a conclusion that the proposed price is fair to both parties, considering the quality, delivery and other factors. The basis for reaching the conclusion is found in the facts and information considered and analyzed by the buyer.
How many copies should my first book sell? ›The average traditionally published non-fiction book sells about 250-300 copies in the first year, but when we manage a book launch, our target is to sell 1,000 copies in the first 3 months. Why 1,000? Because at that number of sales, a book has the momentum it needs to keep spreading by word of mouth.
How many copies of a book sell on average? ›Thus I usually say that the “average” book sells 10,000 copies with a major publisher. But if all their books only sold 10,000 copies, they might struggle financially. There have to be exceptions to the rule. Be aware that the word average means that for every book that sells 15,000, there is one that sells 5,000.
How do you know if your book is selling well? ›Visit online retail sites such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Buy.com to view the sales rank of a volume relative to the other books listed on the website. Many sites also offer the ability to view a book's sales rank within a particular genre.
Can you finish a 250 page book in a day? ›Answer: the average reader takes about 6.9 hours to read 250 pages. You might take more or less time than 6.9 hours to read 250 pages, depending on your reading speed and the difficulty of your text. The average person's reading speed is around 300 words per minute (WPM).
How long should a 200-page book take? ›
That's about 4.5 hours to read a 200-page book (55,000 words). By increasing your reading speed to 600 words/ minute, you could read a 200-page book in 90 minutes. The best speed readers can reach 1000 words per minute which equates to approximately 55 minutes to read a 200-page book.
How long does a 100 page book take to write? ›A 100 page book is about 30,000 words. If you write more than 1500 words per week, you can expect for it to take 2 – 4 months to write a 100 page book.
What is a good amount of pages for a book? ›When wondering how many pages a book should be, it is notable that the average book length is between 200-400 pages. With this in mind, what considerations should be taken when deciding how long a book should be? Check comparable titles. Go to a bookstore and find your book's genre.
Is 100 pages enough for a book? ›No. A 100-page book is too short to be considered a novel, regardless of the genre. Here's why: stories are classified according to their word counts. We'll dive deeper into that a little later, but for now, remember that if it's 100 pages long, or fewer than around 40,000 words, it's not a novel.
Is 700 pages a lot for a book? ›Typical documents that are 700 pages or more include full-length novels. A typical single-spaced page is 500 words long.
Can I quote someone in my book without their permission? ›As a common practice, all quotes are copyright to the author, which means that legally you should get permission from the author you hope to borrow from. This can sometimes be very difficult if the author is deceased or a public figure.
Can I publish a book with 30000 words? ›30,000 words are enough for a novella but would be considered too short for most fiction novels or a nonfiction book. As you can see, having the right number of words per page is important to its success.
Can you quote from a book without permission? ›However, extensive quoting of text from a copyrighted source can constitute copyright infringement, whether the appropriated text is properly enclosed in quotation marks or correctly paraphrased, even if a citation is provided according to established scholarly conventions.
What is fair price example? ›Example of Fair Value
The management of company B believes they could sell the stock at Rs. 40 per share after they acquire. Thus, the management decided to buy one lakh shares at the original price. Therefore, it is considered to be the fair value because the price is agreed upon by both sides.
1. Reasonable. A cost is considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services, and the price paid for the goods or services, reflects the action that a prudent person would have taken given the prevailing circumstances at the time the decision to incur the cost was made.
What is a reasonably price? ›
adjective. If you say that the price of something is reasonable, you mean that it is fair and not too high.
How many pages is a good first book? ›Number of pages in a book for a first-time author
How many pages in a novel? For a first release, 200 pages are enough. One can also look at authors like Chetan Bhagat, who continue to release books well below the 300-page mark even today.
Want to hit top 10? You'll need to sell roughly 300 for print, or 2,000+ copies for combined formats. Those numbers aren't exactly set in stone, but they're a pretty close approximation. To get onto Amazon's Bestseller Top 100 radar across all titles you're usually looking at about 1,000 sales of your book.
How many books do you need to sell to make a profit? ›Published by Ol James on 29/05/2022
Of course, there's still a chance to earn money, although it may not be enough to quit your day job. Even still, many aspiring writers want to know how many books they need to publish to start earning an income. You need to publish one book to make money.
A traditionally published author makes 5–20% royalties on print books, usually 25% on ebooks (though can be less), and 10–25% on audiobooks.
How many pages in a book is a best seller? ›A best seller's average length is 375 pages, but in the last 100 years, the average number of words in a sentence has declined over time, as with the use of the semi-colon.
How much does the average author make on a book? ›Self-published authors can make between 40% – 60% royalties on a the retail price of a single book while traditionally published authors usually make between 10%-12% royalties.
What makes a book worth it? ›But what makes a book good? A captivating story and character development are always key indicators for me, which explains why I would much rather read a book than watch a movie. The author needs to be able to write the story in a way that attracts a reader and keeps the reader's attention.
What makes a book a #1 best seller? ›So if you want your book to be a best-seller, you should try to sell at least 5,000 copies in a week — from Monday to Sunday if you want to be a Publishers Weekly best-seller, and from Sunday to Saturday if you want to be a New York Times best-seller.
What makes a book more valuable? ›book which has an enhanced value because the demand for the book exceeds the supply, usually because of its importance, scarcity, age, condition, physical and aesthetic properties, association, or subject matter. If there is no demand for a book, it will probably not become a rare book even if the other factors exist.
What is the 50 page rule? ›
Nancy Pearl rule of 50
If a reader is under 50 years old, then consume 50 pages before dropping a book. If a reader is over 50 years old, take the number 100, subtract your age, and this is the number of pages to read before switching to the next book.
The average novel ranges between 60,000 and 100,000 words total. If your reading speed is right in the middle of the pack at 300 words per minute, and you're reading a middle-of-the-pack novel at around 80,000 words, you'll be able to knock it out in around five hours or less.”
How many pages one should read in a day? ›As with most habits that can greatly impact your life, this will never feel urgent, but it is important. 20 pages per day. That's all you need.
How many pages is considered a long book? ›For example, i consider a 350+ pages book a long book, but for many a 400 pages book is relatively short.
How long does it take the average person to read a 100 page book? ›Answer: the average reader takes about 2.8 hours to read 100 pages. You might take more or less time than 2.8 hours to read 100 pages, depending on your reading speed and the difficulty of your text. The average person's reading speed is around 300 words per minute (WPM).
Is a 300 page book a lot? ›300 pages is a lot, and sometimes, even if you're interested in the book, you can start to slow down after a while. My suggestion would be to read 50–150 pages of one book and then read 50–150 pages of another book in one day, and then the day after do it all over again.
How many words a day should I write for a book? ›It's makes sense to have some idea of how much you can expect to write every day so you can plan around your other commitments. Stephen King has claimed to write 2000 words a day but most new writers end up writing around the 500 – 1000 words a day mark.
How hard is it to get a book published? ›When seeking a publisher, you are facing an uphill battle. Thousands of hopefuls send their novels to publishers per week, and the majority get rejected. Most publishers don't allow unsolicited manuscripts, so it doesn't matter how good or talented you are. These publishers won't even see your work.
Do authors make a lot of money? ›How much can authors expect to earn from their books? A first-time author with a traditional publishing deal might expect an advance of $1,000-$10,000 and 5-18% royalties once they “earn out” their advance. Self-published authors do not receive advances, but their royalties can reach up to 70% for ebook editions.
How many pages is a 30 minute book? ›How many pages can you read in 30 minutes? The short answer is 20 pages with an average reading of 300 words per minute.
How many chapters should a book be? ›
However, there is no exact minimum or standard for how many chapters a novel should have. Because chapters are just places where the author decides to break up the flow of their story, you could go a more traditional route and end up with 12-28 chapters or choose to be more experimental and have as many as 200.
How many pages of a book does the average reader read? ›While slow readers usually read up to 30 pages per hour, average readers can read about 40 pages per hour. When it comes to fast readers, they can go through up to 60 pages per hour.
What is a story with 100 pages called? ›The novella typically runs about a hundred pages, though it can run a bit longer. But usually the novella is designated by word count, not page count.
How long should a 500 page book take? ›Answer: the average reader takes about 13.9 hours to read 500 pages. You might take more or less time than 13.9 hours to read 500 pages, depending on your reading speed and the difficulty of your text. The average person's reading speed is around 300 words per minute (WPM).
What page size do most books use? ›The page size tends to vary depending on the publisher but can usually be found in the range of 5.5″ x 8.5″ to 6″ x 9″ (please see our page size guide for measuring hardcover books). Mass Market Paperback books, which are usually around 4.25″ x 6.75″, are also a popular option.
How long should a chapter be in a book? ›There are no rules when it comes to chapter length. The important thing is to concentrate on making your chapters fit your story, not on making your story fit your chapters. Many novelists these days prefer chapters that are between 1,500 words—or six book pages— and 8,000 words, or 32 book pages.
What is the best length for a first novel? ›If you're writing your first novel, the general rule of thumb for novel writing is a word count in the 80,000 to 100,000 range. While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length. Anything over 110,000 words is considered too long for a fiction novel.
How long should a book be to get published? ›Typically, a book that is published in paperback format at a length of 300-400 pages will come in between 80,000 and 100,000 words. For adult fiction (especially crime, thrillers, women's fiction, saga and romance), 100,000 words is a good benchmark to aim for.
How much do authors make per book? ›Publishers typically pay a $5,000 to $10,000 advance to good first-time authors. This means they would need to sell around 1,000 copies of a book that costs $20 per copy to break even after printing and distribution costs. Following that, the author will receive royalties, typically about 10%.
How much does 1,000 books cost? ›It's almost impossible to quote a price here without knowing the quantity of books you'll be ordering. For example, 1,000 books will usually cost you between $5 and $7 apiece, whereas if you print 5,000, the price goes down to around $3, and more than 10,000, the price often drops below $2.
What is the average book markup? ›
MathAlgebraThe standard markup in the book industry is 50%: the retail price of a book is one and one half times the wholesale price. The New England Mobile Book Fair advertises bestsellers as "30% off retail." What is their markup on bestsellers, as a percentage of the wholesale price?
What is book value vs market value? ›Book value and market value are two ways to value a company. Book value is based on a company's balance sheet while market value is based on a company's share price, which changes often due to stock market sentiment. Book value represents the financial strength of a company based on its assets, an objective number.
What are the basic principles of pricing? ›- Choice of a Pricing Principle: Cost-Plus, Competitive, Value-Based.
- Choice of a Price Positioning: Market Skimming, Neutral, Penetration.
- Choice of a Pricing Structure: Unit Pricing, Tiered Pricing, Bundled Pricing, Subscriptions etc.
The average book in America sells about 500 copies. Those blockbusters are a minute anomaly: only 10 books sold more than a million copies last year, and fewer than 500 sold more than 100,000.
Do authors get paid for every book sold? ›Royalties are calculated as a percentage of book sales. For example, an author might earn 7.5% royalties on every paperback sold and 25% on every eBook sold. Royalties are typical in traditional publishing, where Authors sell the rights to their book to a publisher.