Pricing Paperback Novels

As you know, I am still rather new at this publishing thing. I only first published my debut e-book, Twisted, with Amazon and Smashwords for their premium distribution channels, in February. On August 1, 2013 I published my second book, Twist & Turn, and I found the formatting process to be so much easier than the first time around, which brings me to now. I’m ready to put my stories in print. I have successfully formatted my print edition and commissioned a cover. Here’s my new cover, by the way. 😉 It’s in review with CreateSpace as we speak. So, I ask you this, both as an author and/or reader. How much is too much? 

I specifically went the affordable route when publishing my first e-book. $0.99 was the price point and the release went magically well, with no pre-release parties, cover reveals or giveaways. What can I say? I was new. But the sheer volume of sales still blows my mind to this day. I have yet to see a day where I don’t sell an e-copy of that book. I continue to watch my book fall on and off the best-sellers lists from day to day. Most months my US sales are by the far the leader, but my UK readers give them a run for their money at other times.

After some careful consideration and hair pulling I decided to value my next piece at $2.99. I am still satisfied with that decision. My book is still ranked in the top 100 in two sub-genres which makes me very happy. 😀 Though the sales are not near the numbers I was pulling in with book one at the lower price point, I will certainly see more income following this route and I find that the readers are actually reading the story, rather than just buying it on a whim and letting it sit in their Kindle for ages.

Getting to the point of this post, now that I’ve efficiently rambled on beyond the point of retaining your attention, I wonder how you as an author or reader decide to purchase a paperback novel online.  Personally I have never purchased a physical book online, as I visit the local Indigo or Chapters when I feel the need to hold a book in my hands.  I love walking into a bookstore by the way and I wouldn’t exchange that for the world.  Anyways, for those of you who do buy or sell books online, I wonder how important price is.

First, I see how much I am being charged for a single print copy of my book with CreateSpace. Add in shipping charges from the U.S. to Canada for a bulk order and it’s just barely worth printing my books at all.

My first book is 238 pages long. I have arranged for it to be distributed in 6×9 format. How much would you be willing to pay for a comparable book these days?
How much does it cost to mail a single book from the U.S. to Canada? Will my Canadian readers be raped at Customs? I’m an indie author after all, so I want to consider what the actual cost will be for my readers when all is said and done, so I can price my book accordingly. I think I might just have to break down and order a book myself to see how this works. 😉

Any info you can provide is greatly appreciated. If you are an author who has joined CreateSpace’s expanded distribution, I’d love to hear your experiences from being involved in that. Thanks so much!!