Buy my book (if you want to)

When I was a kid, I'd help my father on small appliance repair jobs he did on the side. I distinctly remember that awkward moment after he'd figured out what was wrong and either fixed it or had a list of parts that were needed when the subject of payment came up.

My father never had a set per hour rate and he hated to charge people more than what they could afford.

I kind of feel that way when it comes to asking for payment for my books.

There is a large plastic bin in my bedroom full of 3-5 copies each of my novels and anthologies in which my short stories occur. I purchase a couple of each for some library events. Sales are rare, so I don't order many copies. When people do request a signed copies, I'm always anxious about how much to charge people.

My first goal is not to lose money (printing and shipping cost). It feels odd to charge any more to friends and family, who have often acted as cheerleaders and beta readers. I try to put the price point of personal sales at retail but shipping costs me more than Amazon. I don't want to charge more for a signed copy than an unsigned copy anyone could get on Amazon.

Some publishers have easy set-ups for authors to get at-print-cost books, which balances out the added shipping cost of using the postal service. Other times I just buy my books off of Amazon and charge retail, eating some of the shipping costs.

I want people to buy my books. But more importantly I want them to read the books.

That box of books in my bedroom reminds me I need to sell my books. They aren't doing anything but gathering dust in my hands.