For those of you who have not yet published a book – be clear. Easy it is not. For those who have published, we need to share our journeys with our fellow writers.
Once the writer completes what might initially be considered the hard part, writing the book, he/she will be assaulted with details, minutia, and important factors – like book pricing – that they may not (I did not) pay close enough attention to – because there are 70 other important factors at play.
It reminds me a bit of what getting divorced felt like. You place your focus on the aspects you believe are important and where you think you have control. This is a large list, in an unfamiliar land, and you will miss paragraphs and sentences that come back to haunt you. So it is with publishing.
As a first timer, I don’t know what I don’t know. One hopes that the self publisher, or an article by a writer that has been through the process, will feed us the nutrients from the recipe. Which will then come out right and make us healthy. Or not.
I saved articles I thought would ‘someday’ be important and stuck them in a folder. Most of them I never read, many were unimportant, and some mattered but I was way beyond their expiration date.
I suppose it’s a part of the process, making mistakes, using damage control on what we can, finding resolution, if not solution, elsewhere.
I’m an idealist and an optimist – this does not work well when dealing with opportunists. I remind myself that a book will be published, in my name, in the very near future. It will not be perfection – without a typo here and there (although I gave it a mighty try!) or a grainy picture, or a price tag set by Balboa that should be lower. It will, however, exist.
I am once again reminded that there is a ‘good enough’ and that there is completion. I cannot deny the thrill of holding ‘The Moon To Play With’, in my hands!
Thanks for listening.
Wendy Karasin - Musings of a Boomer 
I don’t imagine there is anything easy about it. Shoulder to the wind, Wendy.
Exactly. I’m toughening up and I like your ‘sailor’ analogy!
Hi Wendy,
I don’t know if you remember me, but I wrote a lengthy comment to one of your posts last summer (June, I think) about publishing and publishers from my experience and perspective as a former retail bookstore owner. When I read that one of your concerns is that Balboa over-priced your book I immediately popped over to Amazon to check it out…and, while there, I ordered a paperback copy.
The price is not great, but it’s not that terrible, either. Yes, it would probably do better in the $12-$14 dollar range, but at least it’s not $19.99 or more–$20+ is the killer price range for paperback books. The hardcover price is high, but it’s also typical for a small publisher, so I wouldn’t expect too many HC sales, but the Kindle price seems reasonable (competitive) for a new author. For comparison, the Kindle price of Sue Monk Kidd’s “Invention of Wings” is $5.99. As I’m sure you know, there’s a psychology to pricing, and as I’ve watched the electronic market develop over the past few years, this seems especially true of e-books. A price not only places a monetary value on the physical creation of a book (paying for paper, ink, people), but also places a value on the content and/or author (meaning, name recognition), and since e-books (obviously) don’t involve paper, ink, shipping, etc., the price is mostly placing a value on the content and/or author. In a way, the price (especially the e-book price, in my opinion) is a book’s first review. I would have been concerned if your Kindle price was $.99 – $.1.99, because as a new author, all it’s really valuing–or devaluing–is the content, especially if it had been priced at $.99. (While Stephen King could probably sell a few hundred thousand copies his grocery lists as a $.99 Kindle, I think the impression among the general public is that anyone can publish anything as a $.99 e-book, and that a $.99 e-book by an unknown author isn’t really worth more of a reader’s money or time).
So, overall, I think the pricing of your book is okay–the paperback is a few dollars higher than comparable books by well-known authors being published by the major houses. By the same comparison, the HC is over-priced, but HC sales have been declining for years, even for well-known authors, so all publishers have been reluctant to invest too much in HCs. And, as noted, the Kindle version is well-priced–low enough to not discourage someone who might be interested, but no so low as to send the message that it’s not worth a reader’s time.
Lastly, (I know–hurray!), as for the typos, unless they are numerous and glaring, I wouldn’t be too worried. This past year I’ve been reading “real” books, as opposed to the ARCs I used to receive (which usually haven’t gone through their final proofing, so I was accustomed to seeing a few errors), and, to my dismay, I don’t think I’ve read a book yet that hasn’t had at least two typos or proofing errors. It makes me wonder if the big publishing houses are now resting on their laurels, or if they think the general reading public is now so stupid we won’t notice the occasional mistake.
At any rate, Congratulations! And, don’t fret over what is now out of your hands, but cherish and enjoy this moment–by hook or by crook, you’ve written and published a book! That’s a genuine achievement, so this is a time to celebrate how far you’ve come, not regret how many times you’ve stumbled on the way.
I’m looking forward to reading your book; if it’s anything like your blog, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.
Carol
Carol, I absolutely remember you! And thank you so much for taking an experience that was very much disturbing me and putting it in its place! And for reminding me that instead of worrying about a few dollars I could be celebrating that I actually did it! I so appreciate your comments and for ordering a copy. Please let me know what you think of it, and feel free to write a review. I’ll need them.
Awww, just think how much more experienced you will be at this the second time around, said the woman who only did this once. Also, I hope you got my last message on your prior post about being in NYC between May 27th and May 31st to see if there is anything book related to come to? Lastly I see typos in the big house books ALL THE TIME! It’s a game of mine to find them and put them in a book with page numbers!
I know! I see typos everywhere!! Drives me crazy. Anyway, should you have an interest, you can grab a copy of the book from Amazon or Balboa and I’ll sign it when you’re here!