Comparing Book-O-Mart profit to 'traditional' book sales:

Let's say you have a very typical book in the self-publishing market...

- 150 pages, 6X9 trim size, paperback, retail price of $14.95

If you sell your book through traditional means - meaning Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble, Borders or any other retail or wholesale outlet - your profit probably looks like this:

TRADITIONAL BOOK SELLING MODEL
Retail Price: $14.95
Minus the wholesale discount (average is 50%): -$7.47
Minus printing costs: -$4.28

Equals Author Profit: $3.20 per unit

Not too bad, considering ... But who directed those sales to Barnes&Noble? Who created the opportunity in the market for your book? What has Amazon, B&N, or anyone else for that matter really done for your book?

So why give away over $7? Consider the Book-O-Mart model...

THE BOOK-O-MART BOOK SELLING MODEL
Retail Price: $14.95
Minus order processing fees ($2 plus 5%): -$2.75
Minus printing costs: -$4.28

Equals Author Profit: $7.92 per unit ($4.72 per unit better ...)

Which one seems to make more sense? Well, if you think you just might sell a book or two, then it seems pretty clear.