Comparative Pricing Approach

THE APPROACH:

When I began the journey through my competitors pricing details I discovered that they (intentionally or not) made pricing a confusing array of web pages, incomplete information, and hyperboles. I sought out what I believed to be the best competitors that exist for Freedom Road Publishing (FRP) to compare them.

CreateSpace (CS), owned by Amazon.com, is a trendsetter. Amazon is a nationally recognized brand that, like a creeping vine, wants market share in everything physical these days. It's the Walmart of the Internet, so it's only natural it would wade into book publishing.

Outskirts Press (OSP), owned by, well, Outskirts Press, was started by an author like me frustrated with the publishing world. He offers some of the most aggressive pricing in the industry. However, I also discovered that he lacks the depth of many of FRP's services, particularly in the area of editing, and that he seems more focused on marketing gadgets (as I call them) rather than substantive marketing strategies.

There are other, larger self-publishing houses that have been in existence longer than the three examined herein. I did not include those because I truly believe their products to be dramatically inferior to either of the three companies represented here. Some of them offer teaser pricing that is less than 25 percent of the final price and use tactics none of these three companies would approve of to "trap" customers.

This is an honest evaluation on one page rather than 15 pages. Freedom Road Publishing is clearly the "value leader" in this comparative approach, I'm happy to say, and I believe it becomes glaringly obvious to the reader after reviewing the features and prices below. However, I leave it to you to judge for yourself. One promise I make is that if you wade into the details below the numbers, you will be enlightened and surprised by what is there.

EXAMPLE: 80,000 word manuscript typical std ISBN quote

FRP

FEATURE

OSP

Book Design†

$973

$1,027

$1,297†

Editing††

$1,280 /$2,400

1,280 /$2,400

$1,200 /N.A.

Marketing

Standard ISBN

INCL

$824

$499

INCL

Total

$2,253 /$3,373

$3,131 /$6,425

$2,996 /N.A.

VALUE PROPOSITION

BEST VALUE

LEAST VALUE

LESSOR VALUE

Book Design

FRP

FEATURE

OSP

Custom Interior

Simple Interior

Custom Cover

Custom Cover Premier

$349

$395

$349

$199

$399

N.A.

$599

$799†

LEGEND

N.A. = Not Available or offered at a substantial increase in price, making it not useful for normal comparative analysis.

†Using the OSP "Ruby" midrange package for comparative analysis

††Using the FRP and CS line editing rates to best compare pricing with OSP. Using the FRP and CS "Editing Package" rates as OSP does not offer line editing on its website's pricing pages.

Printer Setup 1-time

$100

INCL

Author Printed Proof Copy

$50

N.A.

Author books

Separate

Nook eBook (EPUB)

Kindle eBook (MOBI)

$79

$249

Separate

$79

Editing*

FRP

FEATURE

OSP

Copy editing

$160

$240

Line editing

Content editing

Editing Package

Editing Package Plus

$210

INCL

$300

$470

$210

N.A.

$300

$470

N.A.

Marketing

*Price is for the first 10,000 words FRP and CS and the first 15,000 words OSP.

OSP requests a non-refundable deposit for the editing quote. It is applied to editing if you accept the quote, lost if you do not accept it. See caution in "Marketing and Support Details" for more information.

LEGEND

FRP

FEATURE

OSP

Personal ISBN

$95

$125

$99

Marketing Copy Essentials

LCCN

1 Book Review

4 Add. Book Reviews

eBook Distribution iTunes

eBook Distribution Amazon

eBook Distribution Nook

eBook Distribution Kobo

More eBook Distribution

INCL

$249

$499

$109

$436

N.A.

$25

$575

N.A

N.A.

INCL.

$699

N.A.

Royalty Examples

FEATURE

FRP

OSP

Manuscript words

80,000

Book finished size

6" x 9"

Estimated page count

360

Author personal book cost

$9.47

$5.17

$11.28

Book retail price

$18.95

Author royalty in distribution

$2.53

$2.17

$2.93

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS!

The good news is that it's all on one webpage rather than 20.

BOOK DESIGN DETAILS
FRP Interior

Custom individualized standard book formatting of each book. (templates are not used)
Ensures your book's content is designed for a professional level reading experience.
Enhances your page with unique, reader-friendly fonts. indistinguishable from traditionally published books.
Incorporates placement of one author photo and a one-page author biography.
Includes placement of up to 10 author-supplied (high resolution) interior images.
Incorporates unique design elements to chapters and sections.
Allows formatting of specialized design elements such as footnotes, endnotes, lists, quotations, and excerpted text.
CS Simple Interior

No custom formatting.
Manuscript fitted into 1 of 10 existing templates.
Ensures your book's content is designed for a professional level reading experience.
Enhances your page with unique, reader-friendly fonts identical to those used in traditionally published books.
Incorporates placement of one author photo and a one-page author biography.
OSP Interior

Standard book formatting.
On its website, OSP doesn't provide much detail about how it will design your book. I've seen the more expensive books (the $1,000 Diamond package and the $1,200 Pearl package books). The OSP books I examined looked comparable to a CS or an FRP book design, although the books lacked any unique design elements and were fiction novels.
OSP offers a great number of book sizes. However, these are available with any book design resource.
CS Custom Interior

Custom standard book formatting.
Allows formatting of specialized design elements, such as footnotes, endnotes, lists, quotations, and excerpted text.
Incorporates unique design elements to chapters and sections.
Includes the placement of up to 10 author-supplied interior images.
Enhances your text with unique and reader-friendly fonts.
CS Custom Cover

1 single image.
No image manipulation.
1 round of revisions.
No revisions to image allowed.
1 complete book cover design.
Custom book cover layout.
Custom background color.
Custom placement of your synopsis, author photo, and barcode on the back cover, plus cover formatting and sizing made to your book's specific trim size.
OSP Cover

Cover style customization.
As with the book's interior, on its website OSP doesn't provide much detail about how it will design your book's cover. As mentioned, the more expensive book covers (The $1,000 Diamond package and the $1,200 Pearl package books.) looked comparable to a CS or an FRP books.
ISBN and barcode.
CS Custom Cover

1 single image.
No image manipulation.
2 custom book cover options designed. You pick one.
2 rounds of revisions on your single selected book cover option.
1 complete book cover layout.
Feedback and recommendations directly from the designer.
Custom book cover layout.
Custom background color.
Unique, stylized font and theme.
Custom placement of your synopsis, author photo, and barcode on the back cover, plus cover formatting and sizing made to your book's specific trim size.
ISBN and barcode.
FRP Custom Premier Cover

Uses up to 3 stock images you select.
2 hours Photoshop to manipulate images into a montage for the final front cover.
3 rounds of cover revisions to ensure you have the cover of your dreams.
1 complete cover designed to your specifications with 1-on-1 graphic designer guidance and feedback.
Custom book cover layout.
Custom background color.
Stylized typography that features a unique look for your book, title, author name, and back cover text.
Custom placement of your synopsis, author photo, and barcode on the back cover, plus cover formatting and sizing made to your book's specific trim size.
ISBN and barcode.
EDITING DETAILS
Copyediting Details
- Grammar
- Punctuation
- Spelling
A professional copy editor will use The Chicago Manual of Style (latest edition), which is the preferred style guide in the book publishing industry, and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary editing your manuscript.

The editor will review your manuscript using Microsoft Word's "Track Changes" feature and provide a copy edit that corrects grammar, punctuation, and spelling to ensure consistency in your manuscript.

Base price includes up to 10,000 words. Additional words are $0.016/word (FRP/CS/OSP)
(use the MS Word "Word Count" feature to estimate).
Editing Package Details
- Copy editing as described above
- Content and Line Editing as described above
- 2 Cycles of Editing Recommendations
Base price includes up to 10,000 words. Additional words are $0.030/word (FRP/CS)
(use the MS Word "Word Count" feature to estimate).

Editing package not available at OSP
Content and Line Editing Details
- Structure : Content editing
- Plot flow : Content editing
- Characterization : Line editing
- Tone : Line editing
Our professional team of editors will use The Chicago Manual of Style (latest edition), which is the preferred style guide in the book publishing industry, and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary editing your manuscript.

The editors will review your manuscript using Microsoft Word's "Track Changes" feature and provide editing that corrects story structure, plot flow, characterization, and tone to ensure consistency in your manuscript.

Base price includes up to 10,000 words. Additional words are $0.020/word (FRP/CS)
(use the MS Word "Word Count" feature to estimate).

CS errors in its description of editing, so it cannot be known what the result of its editing staff may yield.

This depth of editing is not available at OSP.
Premium Editing Package Details
- Copy editing as described above
- Content and Line Editing as described above
- 3 Cycles of Recommendations
Base price includes up to 10,000 words. Additional words are $0.040/word
(use the MS Word "Word Count" feature to estimate).

Editing package not available at OSP
MARKETING and SUPPORT DETAILS
FRP Marketing Support
- Marketing Essentials Package included.
- Library of Congress Control Number included.
- 5 book free reviews submitted.
- Press release included.
- Worldwide distribution through the world's largest book distributor, Ingram.
- e-book uploaded to Amazon Kindle.
- e-book uploaded to Barnes & Noble.
- e-book uploaded to iTunes.
- e-book uploaded to Kobo.
- Complete list of e-book retailers.
- Complete list of print retailers.
CS Marketing Support
- Marketing Essentials Package included.
- Library of Congress Control Number can be purchased.
- 1 book review can be purchased.
- Standard distribution is exclusively on Amazon's website.
- Worldwide distribution through the world's largest book distributor, Ingram, can be purchased.
- e-book uploaded to Amazon Kindle.
OSP Marketing Support
- Marketing Essentials Package can be purchased.
- Library of Congress Control Number can be purchased.
- Book reviews can be purchased.
- Press release can be purchased.
- Worldwide distribution through the world's largest book distributor, Ingram.
- e-book uploaded to Amazon.com
- e-book uploaded to Barnes & Noble.
- e-book uploaded to iTunes.
- As with everything else, there isn't a lot of meat on the website to guide you toward making a decision without talking to a sales person.
FACTS ABOUT MARKETING & SUPPORT
- CreateSpace is owned by Amazon.com and seeks to limit your e-book distribution to the Kindle through its KDP program requirements.
- You can spend $5,000 on Outskirts Press marketing options alone, but should you? Its telephone marketing representative, your primary interface, is there to sell you that you do. FRP suggests that 90% of these have a low-yield return for a new author. Free alternatives exist, and we direct you to them without ongoing charges and fees.
- Is an author web page useful? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Think about what you will do with it after you have it. A webpage is a brochure on the Internet. How do you get people to see it? There are plenty of free web resources to help you promote your book without a web page, but a website doesn't hurt. It just costs money. Usually wasted money. That's why FRP doesn't do them, and it's why there are books that show you how to avoid the hassles of an author website. (Caveat: AFTER you've established yourself, you have a platform and a following, and you are doing national book signings and media events, a website is a must-have. Don't fall victim to thinking such success happens overnight; it doesn't.)
- CAUTION: Beware of the Outskirts Press editing terms and conditions. They're a little tricky. You pay $240 to get a quote. If you accept the quote, no harm done. If you reject the quote, you lose your $240. Read the editing Ts&Cs carefully.
- CAUTION: Beware of the Outskirts Press promotion of exclusivity on iTunes. Inquire about this in great detail to make sure that this is something iTunes isn't offering free to publishers who obey Apple's stringent e-book requirements. Make sure this promotion has $700 of meat on it and that you didn't pay for something you could have had for free at FRP.
- CAUTION: Beware CreateSpace's distribution system. It's targeted to lock you into Amazon.com for both print and e-books. If you want to use Ingram's much broader distribution network (which Amazon leases), Amazon will charge you a hefty fee. (See their Understanding Royalties page for details.)
FACTS ABOUT COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP
(For educational use only. For legal advice, consult an intellectual property attorney.)
- Unless you sign your rights away by contract, you own 100% of your intellectual property (copyright).
- When a publisher publishes your book using its ISBN, it owns that product, "the book." It does not own the copyright (intellectual property); it owns the physical product (the book), which you have licensed it to produce and sell.
  - Unless you have your own distribution network and want to sell your book yourself without the support of FRP, CS, or OSP, it is best that you use the publisher's ISBN and its established distribution and marketing networks.
  - An ISBN is primarily a selling and inventory tool, like a part number or a model number of a product. It links the buyer to the source of the product. If the source of the product is your garage or basement, then get a personal ISBN. If you desire an established global distribution network, use the one that comes with the printing package for free.
- Owning a personal ISBN does nothing to protect your copyright. Your copyright is protected by law unless you sign it away in a publishing contract. When you've licensed the rights to create a book product and/or an e-book product to a company, you have not sold your copyright. You still own 100% of it. Rights to products such as movies, audio books, and other mediums remain untouched.
- If you are truly concerned about copyright ownership, contact the Library of Congress and register your work for $35.
- A Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is not a copyright or an ISBN. It is "like an ISBN," but it is used by libraries and schools to order books. Unless you're putting out a textbook or a hardback book, an LCCN is usually redundant. However, it does no harm to have one. FRP will give you one for free. CS charges $25. OSP doesn't appear to offer them, but ask its sales person to be sure.
ROYALTY DETAILS
I find the idea of royalties to be the most difficult to compare.

Each of us says, "Set your own price," and you'll earn more profit. Which is true. In all likelihood, you'll kill sales in the process as well and have a huge percentage of nothing. So we present this topic as best we can, with the suggestion that you visit both CS and OSP (you'll have to talk to a sales representative in all candor to get a true sense of it as OSP is everything except clear on a bottom-line price on its website. However, do not mistake that with a shortage of prices, it has a price for everything except the kitchen sink.
FRP seeks not to pander to confusion and wants you to gain as much consumer knowledge as you can from our website. CreateSpace operates in the same vein. Outskirts Press has a different marketing model.
Here are the facts of publishing with us:
- Every book has a fixed cost to print. CS has some advantage here as it is its own printer. FRP and OSP use a printer that, in all probability, is the same contract printer, a subsidiary of Ingram.
- You have control over the discount you offer in distribution from 0 percent upward. Industry standard is 40-55 percent. Contrary to what some may say, 40 percent is a common standard too. If you're an FRP customer and Ingram places your book on Amazon.com (which it does), Amazon will accept a 40 percent discount. If you're a CS customer and you want Ingram's distribution network, Amazon will charge you a 60 percent discount against your book's price. Visit their Understanding Royalties page to confirm.
- You have control over the price of your book so long as it exceeds the cost to print and discount in distribution. That is, you control your profit per book.
- If you get greedy with a high price, you lose sales.
- If you offer too steep a discount, you receive no royalty.
- CS and OSP do not undertake in royalty sharing with you. They charge what they charge, and you keep the rest.
  - FRP believes this shows a lack of interest in an author's success and, therefore, does not use this royalty model.
- CreateSpace has a royalty calculator here.
- Outskirts Press has a royalty calculator here.
- Freedom Road Publishing doesn't use this device because we feel it misleads the author. We establish the price together, with you directly involved, using multiple methods of market research, rather than have you throw a dart at the board to get a price.
MAINTENANCE DETAILS
Ingram charges annual maintenance fees for keeping your book in global distribution. FRP has a flat rate of $100/title for annual maintenance, which includes both print and digital book file fees for Ingram. This fee is billed on January 1 of each year by FRP to the author and is payable to FRP on receipt. Failure to pay within 30 days may result in the suspension of your title by Ingram and require additional fees to reinstate it. Whatever maintenance due in the year of publication is incorporated into FRP's publishing prices. The maintenance requirement begins on January 1 of the following year and covers the entire calendar year. This requirement and timing is an Ingram requirement that neither FRP nor anyone who uses Ingram's worldwide distribution services can affect.

As is obvious, this rule isn't exactly equitable for someone publishing a book in December and who pays maintenance the following month, as it is for someone who publishes in the first nine months of the year and who gets some benefit of the same year's maintenance. The fees go into effect upon upload of files and creation of the book's title in the publishing company's account. The author must make a decision here. Some authors want their books available in December for personal use as gifts and are willing to accept this circumstance, whereas others are not. FRP respects your wishes. If we start a project in October and it's ready for proofing and printing in December, we offer you the option of waiting until January if you so choose. You're the boss. We go to press when you approve it and not before.

FEATURE
FRP
CS
OSP
Annual Maintenance
$100
Unknown
Unknown