Self-Publishing and Paperbacks — Is Print Still Worth It?

The main reason so many independent are doing well right now is the coming of the ebook. Well, the ebook has been around for a while, but with iPads, Kindles, Nooks, etc., we finally have a convenient way to read them. Because it doesn't take resources to make copies of ebooks, we can put them out there at reasonable prices, often undercutting the traditional publishers who must still pay the costs associated with maintaining offices and having employees.

But what about those paperbacks? Not everybody has an ebook reader, so does it make sense to publish physical copies of your books?

Though I don't talk about them much, my first three Emperor's Edge novels are available as paperbacks at Amazon (and they should be at B&N too–I have a customer support ticket out at CreateSpace to see why they've disappeared over there). That said, I wasn't terribly speedy in getting the paperbacks out there. The economics are such that you make more on a $3.99 ebook than you do on an $11.99 paperback, at least when you're using print-on-demand technology (the way most self-publishers go these days).

And, as you might guess, it's easier to sell a $3.99 ebook. With POD publishing, you can't get paperback prices down to the point where they're competitive with mass market paperbacks selling at $8 or so. In going through CreateSpace, $11.99 was as inexpensive as I could price my books without losing money (and I've heard it's a similar scenario with other POD publishing companies).

There also tend to be additional costs associated with making hard copies. Unless you're handy and can do everything yourself, you'll need to pay for formatting (a different way of formatting than for ebooks) and additional cover art (you probably only commissioned a front cover for your ebook, but you'll need a spine and a back for a paperback version). Then there are a few fees associated with CreateSpace. It's free to upload your files, but you'll have to pay $25 (it used to be closer to $40) for a plan that gets your book into more stores than Amazon. You'll need to order a proof to look over before okaying the book for sale, too, though that's not a huge cost (perhaps $10 including shipping).

Overall, it might cost $250 or so for each paperback book you put together (again, I've seen people who learn to do everything themselves, which brings the costs down to closer to $30).

So, is it worth making print copies? Will you sell enough copies to break even?

As you might guess, it's going to depend on a few things. I make about $50 a month from paperback sales (about twice that over Christmas this past year), and that's not much compared to what I make from my ebook sales ($X,XXX/mo). But I also don't do anything to promote my paperbacks.

I've met other people who buy copies en mass and hand-sell them at conventions, renaissance fairs, and the like. You can typically purchase author copies for around $5, so there's money to be made if you turn around and sell them for $12 or more. When I visited fellow indie Gretchen Rix in Lockhart, Texas, she had talked a number of small businesses in town into selling her book, and I believe she also has copies at Book People (a large indie bookstore) in Austin. If you don't mind dealing with shipping hassles, you can sell your books directly from your own website too.

Even at my $50 a month, I've earned back the "start-up costs" of creating paperbacks of my books. Most of those costs are one-time, so you have the life of the book to make your money back.

That said, if you're struggling to sell three ebooks a month at $2.99, you may not yet have the fan base built up to make paperbacks worth it. I waited until I had people asking me about physical books before I made the jump. In the end, it was more about making sure my books were available in all formats for the convenience of the readers than about adding a revenue stream.

What do you think? If you're an author, have you found it "worth it" to create paperback versions? If you're a reader, have you purchased paperback versions from indie authors, despite the extra cost?

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