That is probably the strangest thing you ever thought you'd hear an author say: Don't buy my book.
A few days ago, I obtained an ISBN number (I know, I know ... the "N" in "ISBN" stands for "Number", so "ISBN number" is redundant. I bet you say "PIN number", so there!") to help make Jabez: Conceived in Pain, Delivered in Victory available everywhere books are sold, including Amazon.com, Borders.com, etc. With an ISBN number, the book is then listed in various industry publication catalogs such as Bowker's Books in Print, allowing one to even go to a local bookstore and have them order the book.
The problem I am having right now is that my print-on-demand (POD) source, Lulu.com, requires me to set the retail price of the book at a fairly high price. This is to accommodate the discounts that book wholesalers have with Lulu. The current price of the book on Lulu is $29.50, which I believe is too high.
Now, is the book worth it? Absolutely! I would be hesitant to pay $30 for an unknown author, but if I had bought this book for that amount, I would not feel I had spent my money unwisely. Yeah, as the author I am expected to say that. But, I really do feel this way.
So, even though the story in the book is worth every penny, I still think it is too high. The price needs to be about half of what it is.
Now, it is possible that Amazon and other online booksellers would offer the book at a discount. After all, what better way to show the "deal" they are offering than to be able to say, "Save $10 off the retail price!"?
I am exploring various ways to get the retail price down to where I think it should be. This may mean releasing the book without an ISBN number. Right now, I just don't know what is going to happen. Give me a few days or weeks to find a better solution.
I am sure there are some cynics out there who are thinking, "What a brilliant, reverse-psychology strategy!"
You can certainly think that this is all a ploy. It isn't.
I believe in openness and honesty in my business dealings. As a technical solutions provider, I have sometimes received flak from my colleagues and managers for being scrupulously honest with my clients. On several occasions, I have actually pointed clients to solutions other than the ones I could provide when I knew that a different solution was more appropriate to their need.
I always pointed them to a different division within my company. I would rather have a client be happy with another division of my employer's domain than to have a client miserable with whatever little corner of technology I happened to be in at the time. Yes, I lost the client for that transaction. But, they always seemed to come back later with more business, simply because they knew they were going to receive the truth.
I am not afraid to tell you the truth, even if it means a direct hit to my ego, pride, pocketbook, dreams, goals, or future.
So, don't buy my book. Yet.
Peace.
Bob
A few days ago, I obtained an ISBN number (I know, I know ... the "N" in "ISBN" stands for "Number", so "ISBN number" is redundant. I bet you say "PIN number", so there!") to help make Jabez: Conceived in Pain, Delivered in Victory available everywhere books are sold, including Amazon.com, Borders.com, etc. With an ISBN number, the book is then listed in various industry publication catalogs such as Bowker's Books in Print, allowing one to even go to a local bookstore and have them order the book.
The problem I am having right now is that my print-on-demand (POD) source, Lulu.com, requires me to set the retail price of the book at a fairly high price. This is to accommodate the discounts that book wholesalers have with Lulu. The current price of the book on Lulu is $29.50, which I believe is too high.
Now, is the book worth it? Absolutely! I would be hesitant to pay $30 for an unknown author, but if I had bought this book for that amount, I would not feel I had spent my money unwisely. Yeah, as the author I am expected to say that. But, I really do feel this way.
So, even though the story in the book is worth every penny, I still think it is too high. The price needs to be about half of what it is.
Now, it is possible that Amazon and other online booksellers would offer the book at a discount. After all, what better way to show the "deal" they are offering than to be able to say, "Save $10 off the retail price!"?
I am exploring various ways to get the retail price down to where I think it should be. This may mean releasing the book without an ISBN number. Right now, I just don't know what is going to happen. Give me a few days or weeks to find a better solution.
I am sure there are some cynics out there who are thinking, "What a brilliant, reverse-psychology strategy!"
You can certainly think that this is all a ploy. It isn't.
I believe in openness and honesty in my business dealings. As a technical solutions provider, I have sometimes received flak from my colleagues and managers for being scrupulously honest with my clients. On several occasions, I have actually pointed clients to solutions other than the ones I could provide when I knew that a different solution was more appropriate to their need.
I always pointed them to a different division within my company. I would rather have a client be happy with another division of my employer's domain than to have a client miserable with whatever little corner of technology I happened to be in at the time. Yes, I lost the client for that transaction. But, they always seemed to come back later with more business, simply because they knew they were going to receive the truth.
I am not afraid to tell you the truth, even if it means a direct hit to my ego, pride, pocketbook, dreams, goals, or future.
So, don't buy my book. Yet.
Peace.
Bob
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