A few months ago I was talking about how encouraging author Vince Flynn’s story was–working at Kraft as a marketing specialist, being disqualified from the Marine Corps, overcoming dyslexia, and then self-publishing his first novel “Term Limits” while working as a bartender in St. Paul, Minnesota.

He recently recounted his background on the Fox Business Channel, and I was once again impressed with how far he’s come as an author, with twelve NYT bestsellers under his belt. It’s his latest release, “American Assassin,” however, that is ruffling some Amazon ebook feathers.

Here’s the scoop. The hardcover version of American Assassin sells for $15.11. That’s certainly a fair price. The rub is all related to the $14.99 price for the Kindle edition, and I must agree that such a high price for a digital download is hard to justify. But does that make it wrong?

Some people think so. According to Galleycat, Amazon readers have posted over 60 comments complaining about this high price, with one poster stating:

“Okay everyone, get the word out on Facebook, Twitter and all the other social networks to boycott Vince Flynn’s book “American Assassin: A Thriller” in all formats until the eBook price is reduced at least $2.00 below the Hardcover sale price. If you own any other eReader beside the Kindle get the word out to those platforms as well. If we don’t put a stop to this type of price fixing, the publishers will run rogue with their prices and we will never get it to where it should be!”

Will this reader revolt amount to anything? I don’t know, but I’m also not sure if I’d necessarily refer to this issue as price fixing. The publisher is setting a price that they think the market will bear, and obviously people are now paying it. If demand falters, I’m sure the price will come down.

That’s simple economics, not price fixing, and the same rule applies to self-publishing. Price your book at what your readers will pay for your book, not what they should pay. And sure, many of us aren’t as fortunate as Vince Flynn, but neither should we blame him, his publisher, or Amazon for changing what they can get for American Assassin. Or, maybe it’s not so cut and dry. What do you think?

Thanks again, and till next time–keep publishing!

Henry

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