Because it costs more to print one copy of a book at a time, cover prices for POD books are naturally higher than for mass market paperbacks. If you are publishing via POD, you will have a high cover price, but be wary of too high a price. Most readers simply are not willing to shell out more than $15 for a softcover novel. Yet some POD publishers charge as much as $19 or more for a 250 page book!
Some PODs will allow you to set your own cover price within a certain range. This is always an advantage. Realize, however, that when PODs offer this flexibility, a lower cover price usually means a lower whole dollar, per book royalty. However, if a lower cover price enables you to sell more books, your total earnings may be higher.
3. Royalty Payments
Most POD publisher pay you a percentage of net receipts, that is, a percentage of the amount that remains after printing costs and distributor’s discounts. A few, like Lulu and CaféPress, allow you to set your own royalty, which in turn affects cover price. Royalties are the most difficult aspect of print-on-demand publishing to compare, because a promise like “20 percent of net receipts” does not really give you a solid idea of the actual dollar amount you will receive. Your royalty will be affected by your cover price, the distributor’s discount the publisher offers to retailers, and the amount your publisher claims it costs to print your work. (I say “claims” because different publishers assign different costs for printing the same size book.) Before signing a contract, make sure your publisher has told you how much it costs to print your book, or see that she gives you a general estimate of how much, in whole dollars, you will make per book.