In an age of digital everything, readers are falling in love with beautiful, premium, hardcover physical books again. Younger readers especially see luxury books as an expression of personal taste. Bookshelves have become popular backdrops for TikToks, YouTube videos, Bookstagram posts, and even the dreaded Zoom call. With foil-stamped covers, painted edges, and elegant dust jackets, collector-worthy editions are designed to make a statement.
In an age of AI-written books, a beautiful book says, “A human cared enough about this book to invest real money in its creation.” But not every book deserves a premium edition. For some, it’s a waste of resources. You may see a better return by investing that money in advertising.
Is a premium edition right for your book? And if so, how do you begin? I asked Paul Millerd, author of The Pathless Path and Good Work (affiliate links). He’s been exploring life and work on an unconventional path for more than eight years.
Why did you get into making premium books?
Paul: It began when I turned down a traditional publishing offer. I wanted to think through my advantages as a self-published author, and one major advantage is flexibility. I can reprint my book, release new versions, and relaunch it in entirely different styles. I can create something truly beautiful. A traditional publisher might do that for a top bestseller, but they won’t do it for 98% of books.
People used to tell me, “Self-published authors can’t get high-quality hardcovers.” I disagree. You can get close with IngramSpark, but it depends on your goals. I wondered what would happen if I competed directly with traditional publishers and went far beyond their standards.
I was also inspired by what fantasy and fiction authors were doing. They’re always pushing the edge in self-publishing. On the nonfiction side, I saw examples like Stripe Press and Craig Mod. I fell in love with the Still Brothers edition of Walden, so I started the process, found a printing partner, and here we are 18 months later.
Do premium editions work for nonfiction?
Thomas: I love that perspective on fantasy and science fiction. Many authors think, “My readers aren’t like those nerds. They wouldn’t buy special editions.” But your premium book is a business book about work, which is very mainstream.
Paul: Craig Mod has released hundred-dollar art editions for years and built a loyal fan base doing so. Stripe Press publishes beautifully designed nonfiction at around $40 per copy. Those examples showed me it could work. The fact that few people were doing this excited me. My book is called The Pathless Path, so choosing an unconventional route felt fitting.
Why did you turn down a traditional publishing deal?
Paul: They offered me a two-book deal of $70,000 for The Pathless Path and $130,000 for a second book I hadn’t started.
At that point, my book had already sold about 10,000 copies. I’d made $10,000 in the previous month, and sales were climbing, so $70,000 didn’t make sense. After the 20% agent cut, it was around $55,000, split into four payments, and I was already earning that much per month. Plus, as an indie author, I knew I could maintain my ownership of my work.
Thomas: I interviewed another author in the same situation who made the opposite choice. He signed the traditional deal, and his sales collapsed. He had been running extremely profitable ads and spending $3,000 to make $10,000. The publisher didn’t spend that kind of money on ads, especially for older books, so his sales tanked. He eventually bought back the rights, and his sales immediately recovered.
The idea that you’ll make more money with a traditional publisher is very 1990s thinking.
Learn more about the difference between traditional and indie publishing in the following episodes:
How do traditional publishers and indie publishers differ?
Paul: Too many people treat this as an either-or decision, but traditional and indie publishing are different games for different types of people.
For example, traditional publishers still price ebooks incredibly high, which I think is due to fallout from the price-fixing drama in the mid-2010s. They sacrifice total sales to maximize hardcover sales, which shows they still care more about bookstores (their primary customer) than authors.
My book thrived in audio and digital formats. I had no idea whether it would sell in mass-market bookstores. I would have considered a print-only deal, but that wasn’t on the table. They wanted to take my book out of print and relaunch it, which would have interrupted the sales of a book that sells copies daily.
It made no sense. When I got off the call, I was fired up. These were the “best,” and yet I felt I could compete. So I doubled down on self-publishing and had as much fun as possible.
The year after I rejected the deal, I tripled my sales. I sold 30,000 books and made around $150,000 to $175,000 in royalties. I landed several foreign rights deals and another $20,000.
I live in Taiwan. My book recently launched in Taiwan and China, and Taiwan even stocked my English edition in stores. I make about $0.50 per copy on the local edition. I make $5.00 on the English one.
How do foreign rights fit into the future of publishing?
Thomas: Foreign book deals feel like found money for indie authors. If you don’t know the country or language, letting a publisher handle translation makes sense. But if English copies sell well there, you might not need to give up those rights.
Paul: Exactly. And foreign rights are fascinating because most revert to the author within five to seven years. With AI-driven translation coming, owning your foreign rights will become incredibly valuable. Imagine on-device translation becoming normal; your audience will become global overnight.
As long as I had enough money to live, I wanted to retain as much future upside as possible. Self-publishing is only about 20 years old. We have no idea what it will become.
Thomas: Mark Twain was self-publishing 200 years ago, but the modern version exists because traditional publishers priced ebooks at $16 or $20. That signaled they didn’t care about selling ebooks competitively. Almost all ebook money now goes to indie authors.
Why would someone buy an expensive premium book over a cheap ebook?
Thomas: People want the same product at different price points. For example, I need a vehicle to get to work, but which one do I choose? I could buy the absolute cheapest car that gets me there reliably. I could buy a more comfortable car that signals good taste. I could buy a luxury vehicle that signals wealth or status. I might want a Prius to signal that I care about the environment.
There is an entire spectrum of price points for vehicles, but at every price point, the vehicle will get you to work.
The same is true with books. You can offer an ebook at $2.99 or $4.99, a paperback between $12 and $22, a hardcover anywhere from $20 to $200, and an audiobook priced however Audible or Spotify chooses. There are buyers at every level.
Brandon Sanderson figured this out early. He looked at video games like Fallout 4. In 2015, you could buy the digital game for about $60 on Steam, or pay around $150 for the Pip-Boy collector’s edition with a fancy box, a plastic Pip-Boy, and a figurine. It was the exact same game.
But Bethesda still had plenty of buyers at the premium tier because some fans want a premium product. If you do not offer one, you leave money on the table and give every reader the same basic ebook or paperback experience.
Paul: Traditional publishing is still anchored to the hardcover. Historically, that was the only “serious” book. They looked down on paperbacks for decades and only embraced them when paperback sales outpaced hardcovers.
Thomas: The Beatles’ song “Paperback Writer” was basically an insult.
Paul: Exactly. And Stephen King got rich off Carrie because he kept his paperback rights. He sold the hardcover rights for $2,500. The publisher didn’t even want the paperback rights. When the book took off, he sold the paperback rights for about $400,000, which was a fortune at the time.
Looking at that history, I realized that retaining rights is often how authors build real wealth. Movie rights and early ebook rights were undervalued by publishers.
Traditional publishers are playing the single-player game of getting hardcovers into bookstores. But far more readers are willing to take a chance on a cheaper ebook. Most will read a little and quit, and that’s fine. The payoff is the one reader who becomes a lifelong recommender.
In my first year, I started receiving long emails from readers saying, “Your book changed my life. I bought ten copies, and I’m telling everyone about it.” Those readers are why I write. I want the book in their hands, even if I have to give it to them for free.
How do ebooks function in a funnel for true fans?
Paul: Ebooks can function as the entry to your sales funnel. I want as many people as possible to access the ebook for cheap or free. The paperback is for readers who want a physical copy. I used to have a $30 hardcover, but it didn’t really sell. Now that slot is for the premium hardcover, which is really for true fans, including my “crazy readers” and book lovers who adore beautiful physical books.
I didn’t even know that second audience existed. But after launch, I got emails saying, “I don’t know about your work, but I love beautiful books, and I’m buying this.”
It’s been fun to discover that world. I think more self-publishers will do this because readers who love a book have a voracious appetite for more well-written, beautiful books.
What is luxury pricing, and why does it matter for books?
Thomas: You said your book is selling better now as a premium product than it did at a slightly-above-average price point, which points to a pricing principle.
People operate in two pricing modes. The first is normal pricing, where higher prices reduce demand. Ebooks, paperbacks, and most audiobooks follow this pattern.
The second is luxury pricing, where demand increases with price. It is hard to sell a twenty-dollar opera ticket, easier to sell a two-hundred-dollar ticket, and even easier to sell a two-thousand-dollar one. If you are selling the opera experience, no one wants the bargain version.
Americans often struggle with luxury thinking. We dislike the idea that “You are not allowed in our store because you are not fancy enough,” which is why many luxury brands are French. French luxury culture openly embraces exclusivity. You may have to buy two fancy handbags before you are allowed to see the best ones.
American brands usually lower prices to sell more units, which often boosts profit.
Books are unique in that you can offer a luxury experience at a premium price without excluding anyone. Readers who want a low-cost option can still buy the inexpensive ebook or paperback, while fans who want something special can choose the premium edition.
How did you structure pricing tiers for your premium edition?
Paul: I previewed the idea with a few readers and friends who like my work. I launched at $100 to separate this edition completely from the paperback and ebook. It is a different product, and I invested heavily to make it beautiful.
Some people said, “This is too much for a book.” They were thinking in normal pricing terms. Others said, “That is all? I thought you would charge more.”
That feedback led me to add tiers. For $95, you can get the book with a notebook and note cards. The next tier is “buy one, gift one.” Then there is the Medici tier at $500, which includes two books, a gifted copy sent anywhere in the world, and a call with me.
I was surprised that five or six people bought the Medici tier almost immediately. They all told me, “I love this. I want to support an author doing something bold. Keep going.”
They were not just buying a luxury product. They were buying what I call belief capital. They were saying, “Do more of this.” I love supporting friends’ creative risks the same way, because I know how meaningful that support has been for me.
Thomas: That connects to good nonprofit fundraising. Bad fundraising is, “Please donate to our nonprofit.” Good fundraising is, “Join us in our mission to do this good thing.” You are doing something good, and they want to join you.
When I donate to help flood victims somewhere, I feel like I am personally helping those victims. I do not feel like I am simply giving money to a charity. I feel like I am with the rescuers, helping people out of the water. The more you frame it that way, the more people want to be part of the adventure.
You have to shock people out of their normal pricing mode. This would not work at $50 or even $75. The lowest price at which you can sell a “luxury” book is around $100.
Brandon Sanderson’s premium books were $250, and now, the most common place to sell premium editions is on Kickstarter. It lets you gauge demand ahead of time and gives you the cash to place the order.
Why did you avoid Kickstarter for this launch?
Paul: I do not have what I call “launch energy,” so I’m not good at the pre-sale hype. What energizes me is sharing the book after it is in the world, when people can react to it, and I can engage with them. That is much more exciting to me than saying, “Help me make this number go up before I have even held the book.”
This is one of the only copies in existence right now, but many more are going out soon. It is far more exciting to talk about now that I have one. I can speak about it confidently. Friends will start receiving theirs in the next couple of weeks.
I want to talk about this book for the next year, not just during an all-or-nothing launch.
We are doing a pre-sale. I set aside money from royalties so I was able to fully fund it.
I panicked a bit after receiving some negative feedback before launch. But now that I’m about a week in, I have sold around 150 copies, and I am feeling good. That suggests I can get reasonably close to breaking even within a year.
How much does a premium edition cost to produce?
Thomas: At $100 each, you’ve made $15,000, and you’re still not breaking even. Legitimate premium books are no joke. The manufacturing costs are substantial.
What did you do to make it feel like a $100 book?
Paul: First, we designed a custom slipcase with a “door “opening and a slot for the book. Slipcovers are $6-7 per unit. We printed close to 2,500. Initially, we thought we might only do them for the pre-sale, but as quantities increased, the price dropped significantly. I decided to go all in. Ordering more gives me more motivation to sell, because once you break even, you can start making real money.
Next is a feature inspired by the Steel Brothers edition of Walden. I had one of my most popular quotes stamped onto the cloth of the back cover, so it gives the book a strong tactile feel.
Paul: Inside, the book opens with images. There are full quote pages featuring some of the most popular lines that Kindle readers highlighted, as well as some of my favorites, and quotes from others. I’ve included hand-drawn illustrations, a ribbon bookmark, and many small touches.
Creating this was a delight. I discovered you can spend infinite amounts of money on a book. If I become a millionaire later in life, I will probably make an even more outrageous version because it is so fun. You can keep adding more colors, thicker paper, more embossing, and art on the page edges. But once you get to that level, profitability becomes nearly impossible.
Thomas: People take for granted how fancy a Bible is until they learn about book manufacturing. You see a beautifully bound leather Bible with embossing, ribbons, and ultra-thin paper selling for $15 as a gift edition, and you wonder how the price is so low. It is because they print five million copies.
Some of the features you used could have been done through a company like Bookvault, which produces premium editions on demand, especially through their UK facility. They subcontract with US printers for some premium features.
Paul: I partnered with a company called Otterpine, run by Saeah Wood. She works with indie authors to create beautiful books. She works with some big names, like Derek Sivers, who does a lot of direct selling.
She helped manage the entire project. She found the printer and guided the design decisions. Her team includes editors and illustrators. Her services cost around $35,000, and printing was another $25,000.
We got the unit cost down to around $12, but once you factor in shipping, distribution, damaged books, and refunds for quality issues, the true cost for a 2,500-book run lands somewhere between $35 and $50 per copy.
Total project costs are $75,000 to $85,000 paid over time. I have multiple income streams, but I am essentially breaking even this year between business revenue and living expenses.
It is a scary bet, but to me it reflects my message of taking bold, creative leaps. I spent ten years in the corporate world. If I wanted to make more money, I would go back to consulting full-time.
I want to push the boundaries of what is possible, use the money I earned to make this big bet, and if I lose money, it will be the most delightful loss I have ever had.
I suspect it will at least break even over the next couple of years because I love this book, people love this book, I will keep talking about it, and we will continue finding creative ways to support it.
How do you fund a premium edition?
Thomas: You did not go into debt to do this.
Paul: No. It was funded from cash.
Thomas: That is critical. Paul could print and fund a premium edition because he had already written a popular book.
I know someone who tried this with a book that had not even launched. A printer dazzled him with impressive unit costs, and because he had money, they kept encouraging him to print more. He ended up spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a massive print run. Twenty years later, most of those books are still sitting in a warehouse. It was a disaster because the book was never market-tested.
Everyone he paid told him he had written a masterpiece, because they knew he had money. The market is the only one that tells the truth. If your book is already selling and generating consistent profit, it is reasonable to say, “Instead of spending this money on a vacation or a nicer house, I am going to reinvest it in a big opportunity.”
That is the advantage of having cash. You can take risks, and if you lose the money, you only lose money you already earned. You are not mortgaging your house or putting your family at risk. You are simply reinvesting past profits.
Why invest in yourself instead of the stock market?
Paul: I made good money in 2023 from my book and other projects, and because I did not increase my living expenses, it was all excess cash. I could have put it in the stock market, but I asked myself, “Why not invest in myself?”
I already had proven market success. The book was still selling, my second book was selling, and I plan to write many more. I love the work and can market it effectively.
And in the worst case, this investment is better marketing spend than Amazon ads.
I created this because I think it is really cool. To me, that is the core idea of my book. The production of the book is an expression of the book.
On the call with the traditional publisher, they told me they loved my book. Later, I learned that many people in the industry hire professional readers to summarize books for them, which made sense because they clearly had not read mine. My book challenges institutional authority and the default path.
So I asked, “What is your most creative idea for my book?” Their answer was, “We will take it out of print, redo it, put on a new cover, and send it to podcasters.” I was already appearing on podcasts and had strong support behind the book.
I wanted to live out the ideas I write about, to do something unusual and bold. That approach energizes me. It keeps me talking about the book and promoting it, because I am convinced it will remain a steady seller. Maybe it will not be Chicken Soup for the Soul, but I believe it will continue selling for years.
That is why I made this bet. I would not do this for my second book, which has had less traction. I am doing it for a book with clear market signals and strong personal momentum.
How do you know if a premium edition is right for your book?
Thomas: The first factor is commercial viability. It makes sense that you did not give your second book the same treatment. Second books rarely explode like a breakout debut, and many authors chase that early high. Sometimes success is simply timing and luck, and you can waste a lot of money trying to recreate it.
I have experienced this myself with YouTube. About nine months ago, I had six weeks where every video was a top performer. I thought I was unstoppable, but I have never been able to recreate that run. Those videos happened to hit at the right moment. It was not a matter of effort. The algorithm just has not favored later videos the same way. It is easy to chase that high and overspend in the wrong places.
The second factor is evergreen potential. Nonfiction has an advantage here. Books like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or How to Win Friends and Influence People continue selling because mentors recommend them year after year. That kind of ongoing relevance makes a premium edition more viable.
A third factor is whether a premium format fits the book. Pulpy, bingeable fiction can be very profitable, but readers usually do not buy premium hardcovers for those series. Premium editions work better when you have a strong brand and a deep connection with readers.
If dozens of people send you long emails describing how your book changed their lives, that’s when a premium edition becomes worth considering.
How long does a premium hardcover project take?
Thomas: Another important factor to consider is how long the process takes.
Paul: I think we kicked things off in the spring of 2024, so about 18 months. It was nine to twelve months of design and decisions, then another five to six months working with the printer.
I think the books will arrive in a couple of weeks. They are literally on a ship right now. During COVID, some shipments were delayed five or six months. These books seem to be on time, but anything can go wrong at sea.
Thomas: A literary agent once told me a story about his client who wrote a Christmas book, and the publisher ordered a large print run from China. On the way to the US, the shipping container carrying all the books fell off the ship.
There is someone on board with a rifle whose job is to shoot fallen containers so they sink and do not become hazards for other ships. His books sank. Christmas came and went, and the publisher missed the entire selling season.
Fortunately, your shipment is likely insured, and you are not tied to a narrow seasonal window. But there is still tariff risk. You might pay one price when the books leave the printer, only to face a much higher tariff when they arrive.
Paul: Yes. There are many risks with a project like this. For me, part of the appeal was learning. My background is in industrial engineering. I used to work in supply chain and manufacturing, which makes this really interesting to me. I want to learn how to do it. I would love to work directly with Chinese printers in the future, now that I understand the process.
This printer is actually in Italy. You pay a bit more, but on a per-book basis for a high-end edition, but it is not that much more to print in Italy.
I want to learn this with a long-term mindset. I am thinking twenty or thirty years ahead. My story is that I left the corporate world, wandered for a while, and eventually found myself at a desk in Taipei seven years ago, writing every morning with no plan. I was not earning anything. I realized I had been writing for years without taking it seriously, and thought, “What if I build my life around this?” I loved it, so I kept going.
For me, this is all part of learning. The real game for anyone who loves writing is to publish many books. My second book was simply book two of what I hope will be ten or twenty. Maybe I will write fiction, maybe I will try other experiments. It is a long-term path.
It is still hard to make money from books. After subtracting this investment and adding up my royalties and foreign rights over the past five years, I have probably averaged about $50,000 per year.
Thomas: Which is still more than most authors make.
Paul: It is incredible. I feel so lucky to write ideas on a page and share them with the world. It is one of the most delightful activities I know.
Thomas: Being able to make a living from writing is the dream for many authors. Getting close to that level with your first book is remarkable.
How are you selling your premium hardcover books?
Thomas: You are selling the premium version, but not on Amazon. Are you selling it directly on your website?
Paul: We considered launching it on Amazon since you can create a collectible edition, or we thought about replacing the existing hardcover, which is not selling much anyway. Ultimately, we decided to start with direct sales so we could refine the experience.
Saya has an excellent warehouse through her production company. They provide a high-end experience. They gift wrap each copy, include a custom note for me, and package them with the companion notebooks and note cards I designed. I really wanted to perfect the customer experience, even if it was not as profitable at first. We will probably use Amazon later, but that requires learning fulfillment by Amazon, and these books are not print on demand.
What additional costs come with warehousing and fulfillment?
Thomas: These books have to “pay rent.”
Warehousing and fulfillment come with ongoing costs, and those expenses must be part of your business model. Warehouses are especially expensive now because so much retail inventory has shifted to storage facilities.
You also have to pay for shipping, handling, and fulfillment. Since this is not print on demand, you cannot automate the process through IngramSpark, Bookvault, or Amazon. A warehouse worker has to pull the correct book, bring it to the packing area, and assemble the right bundle. If you include gift wrapping or bonus items, the logistics multiply.
There is a box for the cards, another for the notebooks, and staff must make sure they are packing the right items for your book, not another author’s products that look similar. All of this adds cost and complexity.
I do not recommend that most authors handle fulfillment themselves. I knew a homeschool dad who sold a lot of books and recruited his kids to run fulfillment. He devoted an entire room in his house to boxes and inventory. Even with free labor and plenty of space, he met with a professional fulfillment company, heard their pricing, and said, “Really?” He was ready to sign on the spot. Fulfillment is such a hassle. You either pay money, or you pay time and money. That is another cost of premium books.
Paul: Right. It is going to cost about $10 for distribution, fulfillment, packaging, and shipping. They also confirm deliveries. The cost will probably drop later when we simplify.
I will explore other fulfillment options later, but for now, I want to perfect the customer experience, which means working with people I trust who care about the details. Acutrack is a popular option, but you are one of many titles there. With Otterpine, my book gets personal attention, and that works for now.
Even so, selling direct adds complexity. I have already sold about 150 books in a week to customers in twenty countries. Canada’s postal service is on strike, so shipping estimates jump to around $70. I have to email customers and explain that the price will drop once the strike ends.
Someone from Mauritius asked about shipping because we had not enabled that country. We told them, “Yes, we can ship, but there is a chance the package could get lost. Are you okay with that risk?”
Thomas: Customer support is another cost of selling direct. I recently did an episode on this because many authors are flocking to Shopify, but my rule of thumb is simple: if you do not have a business plan, you are not ready for Shopify.
Most authors never need to know that Canadian postal workers are on strike, but when you sell direct, you start getting emails about seventy-dollar shipping quotes and have to figure out why. Suddenly, you are researching postal strikes and timelines because these issues are now your responsibility.
Selling direct is not a magical money machine. It only makes sense if it fits your business plan.
And if you are thinking, “He could save money here,” that is not the mindset for a luxury product. A luxury handbag company does not cut corners on leather. They buy the expensive French leather because customers expect a premium experience.
The same applies here. You spend extra on Italian printing, premium packaging, and a polished customer experience. Yes, efficiency matters eventually, but the luxury feel must come first. If you do not deliver that, customers will wonder why they spent $150 when they could have bought a ten-dollar book on Amazon.
Why prioritize the luxury book experience?
Paul: I have ten years of business experience and went to a top MBA program. I like business and find it interesting. This is fun for me. I enjoy being hands-on with backend processes, learning new things, and coming up with different ideas. That keeps me excited about the business side.
Second, Otterpine is helping me, but I want to learn as much as I can so that I know what is possible in the future. I plan to experiment more with direct sales. You can link your paperback to Lulu and make about $13.00 per copy.
Thomas: Look at Bookvault if you have not.
Paul: Yes, I use Bookvault. It is a little tricky with US versus UK fulfillment, but I have been watching them closely. They continue to improve their offerings. It is an impressive business.
Thomas: They realize the United States is where the money is. Being in the US and having a strong American product is a priority for them. From the outside, it looks like a major focus.
I have an entire episode with Bookvault. They will probably be at our Novel Marketing Conference, and attendees can meet them and get answers to detailed questions.
For the fanciest features, they use their UK print shop, but they can ship to the United States. In some cases, that may be the best option. It is complicated, and many factors influence the decision.
I want listeners to hear this episode as presenting an option, not a requirement. You do not have to create a luxury edition.
If this conversation energizes you, a premium edition might make sense. If it fills you with dread, skip it. Many authors earn excellent income with nothing more than paperbacks, ebooks, and audiobooks. And if you do not have an audiobook yet, your first investment should be hiring a human narrator. Premium editions come much later.
But if you are thinking, “This could work. It could be fun, and it might even make Shopify worthwhile,” then it is worth considering. When you can sell a book for $100 or $150, Shopify’s monthly fee becomes almost irrelevant.
How can authors de-risk a premium edition experiment?
Paul: You can easily de-risk what I am doing. Bookvault is a great place to start. You can get foil stamping, art on page edges, a ribbon bookmark, and cloth covers. You could print one hundred copies, probably for $15 each with shipping, ship them to your house, and use a Stripe link. Restrict sales to the United States or wherever you live. Or you can print just 25 copies and say, “This is a limited run.”
See how much interest you get. If 25 sell instantly, print 100. If those sell, consider something higher-end. If I were de-risking my project, I would have done that.
For me, this whole experiment was about pushing my personal boundaries. I wanted to challenge my relationship with money because I have always been frugal and focused on maximizing profit. I have always been scared to invest my own money in my own projects. Part of this was testing what it feels like to go in the opposite direction.
Thomas: You are practicing what you preach, taking the pathless path with your own money and continuing to challenge yourself, which is good. Art lives at the edge of your comfort and capability.
To reduce the risk even further, authors can use Kickstarter. Make the premium hardcover available only through the campaign and position it as a true collector’s edition. Tell buyers you will never sell that exact version again. If only three people order, only three people get it, and it costs $150.
You can also add value by signing and numbering copies, though that adds complexity. Some printers let you sign and number loose sheets that they then bind into the books, which avoids shipping heavy boxes back and forth. Bookvault can do this through its UK facility.
Kickstarter gives you the money up front and tells you exactly how many copies to print, which dramatically reduces risk.
Print on demand cannot match all the features of offset printing. Bookvault is getting close on many premium touches, but POD will never match the low per-unit cost of a large offset run, such as 2,500 copies.
Paul: Then there is the cost of shipping. On Amazon, you get free or cheap fast shipping. With Bookvault, you pay extra.
One of my goals has been to use storytelling. I want to explain why I made this edition, why I am selling direct, and why it matters for authors. I want other authors to feel permission to try things like this.
When customers reach the checkout page and see the shipping cost, they still complete the order because they are choosing to support an indie author who is taking a bold, independent path instead of relying on Amazon’s cheaper system.
I now use language like, “If you want the digital edition plus the paperback and audio, it is $35. If you want a cheaper option, click here for the $4.99 Kindle edition on Amazon.”
Thomas: Storytelling matters because it breaks the price anchor, one of the strongest psychological triggers in marketing. Whether something feels expensive depends largely on what customers compare it to.
In nonfiction, you can reset that anchor. A good example is The One-Hour MBA, which promises the essentials of a $100,000 MBA program. Framed that way, a $100 book feels cheap. But compared to a $20 book, it feels expensive. The comparison point changes the perception.
Customer price mode matters too. If someone is in cost-saving mode, you can say, “You can get this cheaper here, but if you want to support what I am doing, buy it here.” Some readers will choose to support you.
This applies to fiction as well. Readers will pay more when they believe in the message, themes, or genre. They think, “I wish there were more books like this.” The only way to get more is to support the author creating the work they love. That message motivates some readers to pay premium prices.
Paul: Someone in India commented, “Do you not think this is offensive to people in India who could never afford something like this?” I sent him a link to my paperback, which a foreign publisher reprints there for about $3.00 (about 250 rupees). His response was, “Oh, I did not know this was available. This is incredible. I cannot believe it is this cheap.”
One powerful aspect of books is price discrimination, which is both underappreciated and underused.
Do you have any final tips for authors considering premium editions?
Paul: I realized while writing my book that I did not expect it to succeed. Its success in the first year was a huge surprise. The key for me was not spending all my time thinking about marketing. I asked, “What is a book I will still be excited to talk about ten years from now?” Then I refused to make compromises.
That is also how I approached this high-end edition. This mindset is underappreciated because it is so easy to compromise in the writing process by thinking, “What makes sense? What are others doing? What is the right way?” You have to surrender to your creative instincts, to what feels true and inspiring to you alone. Then find the readers who feel that too.
Thomas: Good marketing cannot fix a bad book. Many people try to use marketing to solve what is ultimately a quality issue. There is a famous quote that says, “Good marketing helps a bad product fail faster.” The product quality has to be there first. If it is not, nothing in the marketing conversation matters.
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