Self-Publishing Book Distribution ~ A Little Less Confusing :-)

Self-Publishing Book Distribution ~ T... Readers' Reprise

Self-Publishing Book Distribution ~ A Little Less Confusing :-)

In our last post I detailed the confusing landscape of how Notes from An Alien is being distributed.

One of the nicest things was that my POD (print on demand) publishing company was working behind my back [read that as I hadn't made myself sufficiently aware of their methods] to make sure more than the original four companies have my book for sale.

One of the strangest things was the wide difference in the price of the book at different outlets.

Both the nice and the strange had light shone on them with the usual speedy reply from FastPencil support:

"Ingram is a wholesaler who has contracts with lots of retailers… actually most retailers use Ingram. That's how your book is available to anyone who has access to Ingram. We also use Ingram Digital so your book will get into lots of online ebook channels as well as the standard Amazon, B&N and Apple—with whom we have direct channels. The reason you see so many different prices is because each retailer gets the standard 40% discount (print or 30% ebook) and they decide how much of that they want to keep and how much they pass on to the customer as a price discount. You still get the same royalty no matter what they charge. FastPencil keeps track of all the purchases and they filter through to your reports and quarterly check."

So, even though this explains why some are lower than the $12.33 retail price I put on the book, it doesn't explain why a few are more expensive.

I'm not going to trouble FastPencil with another email because, basically, I think the answer is that some outlets are looking to make a killing.

It still seems very odd that someone thinks a 126-page paperback should cost $28.00 but, since I never have had an overabundance of respect for money, and, since I still get my royalty, they can have their ill-won profit, if some readers really think the price is fair…

On a slightly different note…

I'm currently at page 87 of yet another read-through of the book and, so far, I've spotted five small mistakes. While this bothers me, a friend who's a former publisher said that's actually not so bad.

Not so bad? When an editor and about six authors and a small multitude of readers never caught those mistakes??

I word to the wise:

Get absolutely as many eyes on a manuscript as humanly possible. Then, get a bunch more!

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