"She's selling her paperback book for $28!"

“What do you do for a living?”

It’s a commonly asked question at social gatherings, and, strangely, on airplanes.

Back in the day when I was a pastor, my answer to the question was a sure-fire way to pour cold water on an otherwise interesting conversation.

Usually,  people didn’t know how to respond when I replied, “I’m a pastor.” 

“Oh,” they’d mumble. Then awkward silence would basically kill the conversation unless I rescued it by changing the subject.

Toward the end of my tenure, as I transitioned into full-time publishing, I just told people, “I’m a freelance writer.”

That kept the conversation going.

If you want to pour fuel on the conversation, tell people “I’m an author.” That will keep you busy for hours.

Ignore This To Your Own Peril

The writing life is such a romantic life. Most people envision writers living in a cottage by the beach or in a cabin overlooking a beautiful mountain scene. They sip on lattes as the caffeine fuels their creative juices.

What’s not to love??

If you can stay busy, the writing life can be somewhat romantic. You’re the boss. You work your own hours. You’re the master of your destiny.

Authors are usually primarily interested in expressing themselves through their writing. In my writing days, I wanted tell a good story, highlight a good message, and sell lots of books.

But there’s an overlooked aspect to releasing a book that most authors fail to understand—and it dramatically hurts their careers.

If you’re interested in actually selling copies of your book, you need to read this.

Let’s go!

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Behold, the Trinity of Publishing

The publishing world can be broken down into three basic areas: Editorial, Production, and Promotion. 

"Editorial" refers to writing and editing your manuscript. As a ghostwriter, editor, and author, I entered the publishing world through the editorial end.

The editorial life is the romantic life. Sometimes.

If you’re old like me, you remember Elaine Benes from the TV show Seinfeld. In the first five seasons of the show, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character works in the publishing world.

In one episode, Elaine applies for an editor position at Doubleday. The mysterious Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis recently vacated the job, and Elaine hopes to fill it. At one point in the interview, Elaine wraps her head in a scarf and dons a pair of dark sunglasses, imitating the famous former first lady. 

You can find the scene on YouTube—the 87^th episode, titled “The Chaperone.” It’s hilarious!

"Promotion," on the other end, can provide a different adrenaline charge. If you enjoy standing in front of crowds, appearing on podcasts, inspiring your listeners, and selling lots of books, it’s definitely the life for you.

The "Production" end, however, isn’t as sexy as the other two. Ignore it, though, to your own peril.

Production involves boring subjects like page count, interior design, book cover design, and printing.

Publishers aren't trying to keep certain secrets from their authors. But they often fail to share this important information with their counterparts on the Editorial end.

I didn't know these "secrets" until I began running a publishing company about ten years ago.

Below are five production secrets that you need to know...

Secret #1: You Need to Hit the Sweet Spot on Retail Price

If you price your print book too low, readers will perceive it as cheap. Even worse, they may assume you published it through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. No bookstore in America will sell a KDP-published print book.

If you price your book too high, you’ll price it out of the market.

As a publisher, I do my best to price our paperback books below $20 per copy retail. For you to convince a consumer to pluck down more than $20 for your book, you need to be famous.

It's a tough pill to swallow, but it's true.

I know hardcover copies look good, but the cost to publish them often pushes the retail price above $20. It works when the paperback edition is also available, but not as the only option. 

Read a little further and I'll give you an example.

In order to hit the sweet spot on the price of your book, you want to keep it close to the retail price of other books in your same subject with a similar page count. Because traditional publishers order print jobs in mass quantities, they’re able to keep their printing price lower than indies like Illumify. So keep it close.

Publishers offer most of their books in one of two trim sizes: 5 ½ inches by 8 ½ inches or 6 inches by 9 inches. Obviously, workbooks, tabletop books, and mass market books may differ. Books under about 50,000 words (more on that in a moment) usually feature a 5 ½ inch by 8 ½ inch trim size, and longer books feature a 6 inch by 9 inch trim size, which helps us keep down the page count.

Despite the difference in size, both trim sizes cost the same to print, and hence, offer the same royalty.

Secret #2: Keep Your Page Count Below 250 pages

I won’t drag you too deep into the weeds, but if your release is 250 pages or less—in its final form—we can keep your retail price under $20 and you’ll receive a royalty of around $3.50.

If you calculate approximately 250 words per page on a 6 x 9 book, that translates to 62,500 words.

Just remember “250 and 250”—250 pages and 250 words per page. It's not exact, but it serves as a good rule of thumb for calculating the number of words per printed page and the maximum page count on your book.

And no, I'm not referring to 250 pages in MS Word.

Pro tip: Publishers don't care about the number of pages you've written in Microsoft Word. There's a big difference between a double-spaced manuscript in 14 point Ariel font and a single-spaced manuscript in 10 point Times New Roman. Publishers determine the length of a manuscript based on word count.

Oftentimes, the publisher will decrease the font size to bring down the page count. That works okay in academic books, which normally run long, but older people will likely give up if they struggle to read the font size. 

And just so you know, a 250 page hardcover would need a retail price of $34.99 to generate $3.50 in royalties.

Secret #3: Font Color Drives Up the Price

Another important factor involves color printing, which is stupid expensive. 

If we plugged in the same numbers as I mentioned above, but publish the paperback as a color release, we’d need to price it at $26.99 retail to give you the same $3.50 royalty.

At that point, we’re pricing your book out of the market.

Indie publishers, and even traditional publishers at times, print their books using print-on-demand printers. Those printers usually offer only two options—black and white or color. If you select “color,” it will assume every page is printed in color.

Black and white images won't drive up the price.

When authors insist on color printing, I tell them “Go all in on the color. Make every page look pretty, because you’re going to pay for it anyway.” 

Secret #4: Adding Images Increases the Page Count

Not to add insult to injury, but remember that adding images to your book, which may be necessary, increases your page count. To keep your book under 250 pages may mean you need to decrease your word count.

Secret #5: There's No Substitute for Professional Guidance

Overwhelmed?

I get it. That’s why DIY authors usually bump into problems.

My perspective changed on releasing books when I became a publisher—eighteen years after I started my professional writing career.

Without professional guidance, authors inadvertently produce books that lack focus, clarity, and appeal. This undermines their credibility and ultimately drives readers and business away. In the end, it defeats the purpose of writing the book. 

Want to discuss the possibilities of your book? Click on the button below and let's do some problem-solving!

Here are two of our latest releases.

Thort, a demon from the upper ranks of Hell-ops receives his next assignment, a seemingly straightforward mission: to bring ruin and despair upon the descendants of the Pathrose family. For centuries, Thort has relentlessly pursued this dark objective, reveling in the anguish he inflicts upon the mortal world.

But what Thort doesn't know is the Pathrose family is no ordinary lineage. They are on a supernatural mission of their own involving a secret ancient manuscript.

Has Thort met his match?

Read Thort’s Epiphany, written by the father-daughter team of Carey Slay and Cara Slay Coleman.

Congratulations, Carey and Cara, on the release of your compelling novel!

Land Without a Continent follows author Matt Savino on a meandering road trip from Los Angeles to Panama. Along the way, Matt discovers a world of ancient wonders and awe-inspiring natural scenery, time and again has his preconceptions shattered, and finds himself trapped on the wrong side of Nicaragua during the uprising of 2018. Matt's adventures and foibles blend with a deep dive into the history, habitat, and exceedingly tasty food of this underestimated, misunderstood corner of the world.

Matt Savino is a writer, traveler, software developer, photographer, one-time stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. His goal is to see the world in his beloved Toyota FJ Cruiser.

One word best describes Matt and his book: freaking interesting!!

(Sorry, I couldn't keep it to one word)

Let’s bring your book to life!