Pricing Nonsense

The last trade paperbacks I bought both cost just over $10 each. I bought two books for less than the price of one PA book. Oh, btw, both of these $10 books have over 600 pages each. I also bought a hard cover edition with over 800 pages for just under $18. So for just over $40, I bought three books (at a bookstore, new additions) for what one badly edited, badly put together, PA printed book would cost by the time the S&H was added.

If PA was selling huge numbers of books they wouldn't have complained about Amazon's policy a few months ago.

I'd ask for the definition of "huge numbers", Kerri. Most authors can sell around 75 copies of these books - to family, friends, co-workers and community, where knowing the author helps to overcome the cost of the book.

kerrivitale said:

I didn't realize that I'd asked a difficult question

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It's not a difficult question. PA supplies authors with significantly fewer free copies of their books than publishers do. Even at a discount of up to 50%, authors are going to be seriously out of pocket if they buy the books in bulk (which they may have to do to get the discount) and then pay shipping and handling charges as well.

I would prefer that my publisher give the discount to bookstores and sell books to them, rather than to me.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a new copy of Ken Follett's book A World Without End

It's an excellent book by the way, and this was paperback. It cost $14.97 plus tax; all 1014 pages.

My publishers provides copies . . . and pick up the shipping and handling.

Then again, I get more than a dollar in advance too.

I want to know their definition of "high quality covers". Mine {definition} does not include clipart from discs circa 1991 with silly generic photoshop layering on stock which curls when exposed to any level of humidity. As for the last book the PA employee bought that priced at $30--I'll wager it was either their own (done through PA natch) or another 'published' by PA.

And even with the set-up costs (and using the same printer service as PA), Lulu produces books that don't turn to pulp when sneezed on that 'retail' for less than $12 per--and the shipping is less than a tank of helicopter fuel for a box of 'em.

PA makes you pay $30 for the 'copyright' (check your contract as it may be theirs now) which entitles you to two 'free' author copies---not including shipping. I have yet to know a Real Publisher contract which contains less than 10 free (shipping too) author copies.

Keri, you asked a reasonable question that any Real Traditional publisher would have the truthful (to their company) answer already listed on their website.
PA needs its clients, err, writers to not want to ask these kind of questions or if they do ask, to believe the version of the PA response (which is always subject to change).

I haven't bought a paper back in a long time, (excluding that 30$ PA book). But i have a book here, Clive Barker's Everville. I see the original price was 6.99 pounds. However, it was then discounted to 4.99$ (I think US).

Also noted, the book IS returnable if there is a defect, AND the paper/print quality is supposed to be better than PA. Also note this book has 640 pages! My PA one has only 200!

The sales board at PA are just CRIMINALS!

Oh yeah, PA books are not returnable. Not even when dumped on the Church St. steps.

Every single book-and-mortar place that will allow you to order PA books (and that ain't many, big or small!) requires they be paid for up front and every single system which lists PA books notes that they are Non-Returnable.

No matter what bull PA releases in its statements, NO PA BOOK HAS EVER BEEN ACCEPTED FOR A RETURN AND A REFUND GIVEN. Not even less S&H.

I just bought a hardcover from B&N online for a mere 17.95 + shipping.

I've some trades lying around here, all under 12.00.

The PA people are being purposely obtuse when they're not flat out LYING, hoping you won't twig to the scam and thus buy your own books so Willie can play on his Hellocopter and get his yacht. (Oh, they get to keep their sorry-arse jobs for another week. Frederick, MD has a terrible unemployment problem.)

All legit publishers give their writers comp copies. A small press (and PA says they're not small, that's [unfortunately] for sure) might send only two, but my last three publishers sent me 24 free copies, 12, and 24 again--essentially a box of books to do with what I will. Even a tiny little comic book press sent me 6 free copies of a trade that carried one of my stories.

These did NOT count the copies they sent to reviewers like Publisher's Weekly, Midwest Book Review, Kirkus, Booklovers Monthly, etc. They sent those on their own nickel, too.

How come all the other publishers in the industry know how it works, but PA wants its victims writers to explain it to them?

PA writers--If you don't sell to LEGIT a paying house next time, then go with Lulu--at least with them you can set your OWN price!

No matter what bull PA releases in its statements, NO PA BOOK HAS EVER BEEN ACCEPTED FOR A RETURN AND A REFUND GIVEN.

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I keep wondering about that Christian lady (who has the joy of the LORD as her strength). She wants over a thousand $ back due to the quality of her shipments being unacceptable.

What are the realistic odds you think of that happening? It's possible the chance is higher than 0% if she can get a lawyer to draft a letter. Maybe that makes it 0.05% ?

but my last three publishers sent me 24 free copies, 12, and 24 again--essentially a box of books to do with what I will.

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Well that's a good sign. I'm curious how many you have left, and what exactly did you do with the others?

I just bought a HARDCOVER copy of James Owen's BRAND-NEW novel "The Indigo King". Cost me UNDER $20. I also got two trade paperbacks, both under $10.

My next book, a trade paperback original from Samhain Publishing (out in just under two months, pre-order on Amazon now!) sells for $13.00 cover, but at least two of the online booksellers are have pre-order prices lower than that. Over 200 pages, by the way.

So tell that PA grunt that wherever he's buying books, they're ripping him off.

As far as numbers of author copies go, larger publishers usually supply a case or more. I'm with two small publishers, both of whom gave me 10 free copies of each of my books.

Heck, my new hardback is $16.29 on Amazon, and that's for 92K words.

Well that's a good sign. I'm curious how many you have left, and what exactly did you do with the others?

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I gave some to friends & relatives who supported me through the writing process, others I gave away free as random drawing prizes on my blog, what's left ends up in a box I take to conventions where I'll sell them at my signing table for a few bucks off the cover price. (It helps pay for my gas to get there.) Not a lot are left!

The publishers involved are Penguin, St. Martin's, Baen Books, and a few others.

Baen surprised me once with a box of my titles that had been lying around the office since the 90s. Someone did a general cleaning and many of their authors got extra copies out of it--and none of us paid for the shipping!

If I want to order copies to sell from my website or at conventions I get a standard author's discount, but they didn't count as royalty sales until I put in for a DBA in my state and got a tax number. I have to pay state sales tax on what I sell in state, same as any bookstore, but that's no biggie.

One of my remaindered titles ended up in the bargain aisle of B&N, for 5.00 each. As it was a hardcover, I'd buy whole stacks, then resell later for a few bucks profit. That was a fun year.

But, sadly for PA writers, it's pretty certain NONE of their books will end up in any bookstore, much less the bargain bin of remainders. One cannot accuse PA of slaughtering an excess number of trees to get books printed! (Just emptying out writers' checking accounts.)

Their books are overpriced because they know their buyers. The authors. They, PA as we know, create excitement because most if not all of their authors are first time. With their skewed message board, by the time the writer get their two copies they're in a frenzy to have more to show and sell to friends and family. Mission accomplished.

That's who the huge numbers sell to.

Ahhh one thing I forgot to point out. In my PA book I purchased, there was not even one lousy coupon! For some reason, there were 2 blank pages (I don't know what the point of this was besides wasting paper). Surely some ink could have been added on these in order to give readers an incentive to purchase another book from PA? Coupons, hint, hint!

It would seem to me, it's true that PA has no plans to ever TRY to make a good selling book out of anything. There is simply no willpower on their part to show this. I would think there should be no excuse. It is bad enough that the prices have been jacked up ludicrously high, on books that were already overpriced.

Unfortunately for me, there is ONE more PA book that I want to buy (because it is just so bad!). Hopefully that will be my last one I ever feel the need to purchase, LOL.

The first one was not as bad as I had feared. Surprisingly it had very little typos and grammar issues, though the writer did break many writing rules! The ink was easy to read, unlike some reported PA prints, though I had to keep pressing hard on the spine because the text had a habbit of dissapearing down that spine-crack (I hate that).

PA's biggest seller (under the old AmErica House imprint), "Graven Images" was due to its author Nancy Mehl really working hard in marketing, getting publicity and hand-selling copies when PA's claim of "availability" proved bunk.

They even continue to illegally sell it after they reverted the rights (due to a LONG fight by Nancy, search here on AW). Always those books are of poor quality, over-priced and not delivered when promised (though this was before they bought the printer).

Every real publisher goes through growing pains. But PA's 'quality' in every aspect of its business has only gotten worse in the last 7 years. Is that really a company anyone should get involved with? PA doesn't want to get better, they just want to get more suckers to fund their cycle of crap.

Time to bump this up again, I noticed price increases for PA books within the last 24 hours at Amazon. I thought it was due to the x-mass season around the corner, but some of the books idling in my shopping-cart dropped in price. Hmm!

Anyhow, the changes are a lot smaller than the last price-jump, so that's the only good news for PA authors.

This is their tactic to "punish Amazon" for their refusal to put active sell buttons on the pages for PAs books.

So instead of PA sending PDFs to Amazon (that would be too much actual work for PA's 'editors') and cutting their prices to match Amazon's discount, they're going to charge more because the books are not for sale through Amazon.

Gah, I hope this plan fails as people point out that the PA books are cheaper everywhere but through PA!