A gorgeous book randomly picked from my bookshelf. You can see that US price (denoted by the “5”) is embedded in this barcode. Two other currencies are included above the barcode. These are all simply suggested retail prices.
Most self-publishing authors do not include the book price on the back of their printed book, or make sure it’s embedded in their barcode.
Why?
As a highly diligent book cover designer obsessed with helping my clients better and better, I decided to dig a little deeper into this question.
Before I jump in, please note that the question of whether or not to include the book’s price on the back of the book/in the book’s barcode assumes the following:
You understand what an ISBN is and why it’s a good idea to acquire your own (and that your book designer knows how to transform your ISBN into a scannable, working barcode for your book)
You’re self-publishing a printed, physical book
Your physical book (obviously) has a back cover (on which will go a barcode)
You are planning to sell this book via a public platform – e.g., your website, Amazon KDP, in a bookstore, etc. If you’re only ever planning to sell your book through your very own digital sales funnel (e.g., via ClickFunnels etc.), you can ignore all of this
You’ve gone to such lengths to write and produce this beautiful book, and you want to give your baby the best possible chance to make it in this world!
At this point in your marketing plan, you may not have plans for distributing your book physically in bookstores–but you don’t necessarily want to exclude the possibility, either.
5 Reasons Self-Publishers Don’t Usually Include Book Prices on the Back Cover of their Book
Here are the main reasons I’ve come across for why self-publishing authors (and many of the publishing professionals they hire) are not putting the book price on the back of the book, or embedded in the barcode.
You plan to sell the book online: if a self-publisher is focused on online sales, with zero plans for physical book inventory, the question of scanning a barcode (a barcode that meets book industry standards, in a brick & mortar environment) seems low enough on the list of priorities not to bother about. After all, gosh there are so many darn things to think about!
It’s just easier to leave it off. I believe that this is the main reason that the price is left off the back book cover: authors are often understandably fuzzy/confused about ISBNs and barcodes. Even if you’ve gone to the effort to acquire their own ISBN (recommended), you may still be unclear on how the barcode relates to the ISBN.
Not sure yet what the book’s price will be. This is a biggie. Particularly if a self-publishing author hasn’t yet figured out how they want to price their printed book, then (again), it is just easier to leave it off (if only for now). This decision requires significant forethought and planning. After all, most books include more than one currency! So there really are a number of decisions to make here, at a time when you’re (especially in the case of a new author) muddling through it all at once!
It’s restrictive: some self-publishers are under a misconception that including a price on the book restricts bookstores or other retailers to a price the book can be sold for. However, this is a just wrong: a price printed on a book/embedded in the barcode is a Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) only. It’s simply a suggested price that in no way restricts the seller from changing the book price (including you). Think about how often you see a book for sale, with a price change–it’s normal. Even Amazon’s KDP reserves the right to change your price and sell your book for lower than listed! However, it seems prudent to me to price the book high enough that you wouldn’t have to list it higher! Lower is ok though.
Some bookstores don’t even care: anecdotally, I have learned from self-published authors (who are selling books in brick and mortar bookstores) that some bookstores really don’t care whether the price is on the back or not.
2 Reasons Self-Publishers Choose to Include Book Prices on the Back Cover of their Book
Professionalism: adding this detail makes your book look more professional, as in “traditionally published.” Your book will not stand out as looking “self-published.” By including the price in your barcode and on the back of your book, you are elevating your book to a higher standard.
Keep the bookstore doors open: Most bookstores do expect a price in the barcode. It makes their life easier. If you don’t include the book price in the barcode, some bookstores may not accept it (although, some may, as indicated above). Even if you don’t now plan to pursue bookstore sales, you may want to leave this door open by including the price in your barcode.
Here’s what self-publishing professional Eric V. Van Der Hope has to say on the subject (thank you Eric!):
“By including the List Price on the barcode, it'll be accepted by any store. However, if you do not put a List Price on the barcode, there may be a chance that a store will not take your book because of their policy that they require a List Price be encoded into the barcode. So my suggestion is to simply include the List Price on the barcode. And there would be nothing else to worry about.”
–Eric V. Van Der Hope
Conclusion
if you decide to include your book’s price in your barcode/on the back cover of your book, then (assuming you’ve already acquired your ISBN) the primary thing you need to figure out is your book price (in your primary marketplace), as well as equivalent prices in any other currencies you want to optionally include (think about what other countries your book may sell well in).
Tips:
Don't price your book too low! Bookstores expect up to 55% wholesale discount which needs to be considered
If you do need to change your book price down the road, you can simply update your book cover file and re-upload it with the new price
Once you have figured out these details, simply ask your super handy and competent book designer to include the book price (of your primary market) in your barcode, and the book price of other currencies you choose above the barcode.