Why I will never put the price on the back of my book again!

When I was publishing my first picture book, The Boy Who Picked His Nose, I wasn’t sure if I should include the price above the barcode.

When I asked other authors and read tons of random blogs, I compiled a few different opinions. 

They were all opinions because there really isn’t a right or a wrong here. And being an indie author means you get to do whatever the heck you want. 

But it also means, you need to do your research so you’re making the right choice for your book so you can make sales. 

Here are some Pros to having your book price listed on your barcode:

• It helps people see the price when browsing bookstores
  • You don’t want someone to pick up your book and then decide not to buy it just because they don’t know how much it is. Having the price of the book on the back can help readers make shopping decisions based on information instead of lack thereof. 
• It looks professional
  • This is totally a preference, but some authors and readers think that having the price listed on the back of the book looks more professional since that is what most traditionally published books do. (That doesn’t mean indie authors can’t have professional-looking books. You just need to know the right resources to make them nice. Sign up for the free Self-Publish Program to learn how) 

Now for the Cons:

• Making price changes becomes difficult
  • Anytime you want to make a price change, you’ll need to update your cover and get a new barcode. As new indie authors, testing the market is part of the marketing process. Which can also be a pain in the butt. Just to test the market will mean you’d have to create many different covers which cost time and money. 
• Companies monitor price consistencies
  • Some Print-On-Demand companies will monitor this and make sure that the price you list matches the price you have on the back of the book. But if you don’t have a price on the back of the book, you can change the price whenever you feel necessary. 
• Some companies charge for cover updates
  • Some Print-On-Demand companies will charge you to make updates to your book once it’s been published. So if you are testing the market and changing prices, you’ll need to pay each time. If you’re a first-time indie author, you probably won’t have the budget for this. 

Now knowing what I know, and having had my book published now for 3 years, I would make the future decision to never include the price on the back of my cover.

Here are my reasons:

• My goal isn’t book stores
  • My books sell online primarily so having the cover display the price isn’t necessary when the price is already displayed for browsing. 
• Amazon tests the price for you
  • Since my books are listed on Amazon and I plan to always have them there (most books are bought on Amazon Kindle), I don’t need to test the price. Amazon will make changes periodically to the price of your book to see what increases sales. The cool thing is, whatever your wholesale discount price is, they have to honor it. So even if they make price adjustments, you’ll still get paid the amount you’ve set for your compensation. Why not, let them test the market for you?



For my upcoming novel, A Cowboy’s Runaway, I’ll include the barcode without the price. 

Overall, I think it’ll be easier in the long run. 

I hope this helps you make an informed decision about the back cover of your future book. 

Good Luck and Happy Writing!

Sincerely,

Sara V.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the new writing resources I’ve added to my shop!