Announcing Strategic Pricing: The Novel

Saturday, November 19, 2016

It's been almost two years since I published my book on software pricing.

At that time, I wrote a post explaining why I didn't make it available on Kindle.

This week I published my book on strategic pricing, and I did place it on Kindle. So what changed?

• Format: Although educational, my second book is packaged as a novel - not as a textbook. Although there are many wildly popular examples of nonfiction works being written in this manner, none have been able to command the high prices common to traditional nonfiction texts. This fact placed a price ceiling upon my work that was not applicable to my earlier book. The optimal price point for my novel is almost certainly within the $2.99 - $9.99 price range (coincidentally the range that provides the highest royalties on the Kindle platform).
• Goal: My objective for this book is to increase my status (rather than the size of my bank account). As such, I'm willing to forgo potential profits, if the move to Kindle puts my ideas (and more importantly my name) in front of a larger audience. The Kindle platform is inherently more trusted than my website, and the average buyer will likely prefer the integrated buying experience available on Amazon.com.
• Discoverability: My previous book was only discoverable via search engines like Google and Bing. However, many people who have a strong (and immediate) intent to buy a book use another search engine: Amazon.com. By making my work available to Kindle, I've placed it in front of a legion of ready buyers. As an added bonus, I also increase my exposure to other search engines via my brand new Kindle author's page. I may find that the increased sales more than make up for the reduced profit per book. This idea somewhat parallels Nintendo's recent decision to publish a game on the iPhone (rather than its own hardware).
• Revenue Sharing: Amazon's bite into profits is substantial (at least 30%), but the dollar cost per sale doesn't feel high for a relatively low cost book. While I am uncomfortable giving up 30% of potential revenue for a high-priced work, 30% of a few dollars won't quite hurt as much.
• Experimentation: My next book will be a traditional business text. I can use the results of this little experiment to help me decide upon the appropriate distribution strategy. As an added bonus, I'll be able to speak more intelligently to potential authors who may ask me questions about the platform. It might even open up avenues for further speaking engagements upon the economic aspects of digital publishing.

Did I make the right decision? Well, it's been almost an hour since I published my book on Amazon. I haven't told anyone about its release, or marketed it in any way.

Not surprisingly, no one has purchased it yet. Why not grab a copy and leave a glowing five-star review?