Price Hike

 by Charlotte Hinger

Egads! I give my daughters, sons-in-laws, (or their significant others) and grandchildren books for Christmas. Always! In addition to anything else that I think they might need or enjoy. 

This year, I'm simply stunned by the price of books. John Irving has a new novel and Michele loves this author. But the book is $36.00 and I have fifteen people to buy for. Ironically, this year there is an abundance of books that will appeal to my family. 

Readers have balked at paying these prices. Realistically, publishers can't produce cheaper books. Sales have been profoundly affected. 

Houses that have been around for a long time have simply closed their doors. Sadly, Five Star (Gale/Cengage) is going out of business. This is not a bankruptcy move. They have simply made a strategic decision to meld into Thorndike Publishing Group, which is a dominant supplier  of large print books to libraries. Thorndike only buys books that have already been published. 

In a recent video presentation to its authors, the Five Star representative said the company can longer longer sustain the expense of acquiring, editing, and promoting its line of books. Cover design and the artistic aspects also involved a chunk of money. This imprint was a huge publisher of novels about the American West. Particularly appreciated has been the Frontier Fiction line, edited by Tiffany Schofield. The house was outstanding in its support for authors and impeccable production standards. 

Nevertheless I can't figure why the price of ebooks has risen so much. Equally bewildering are new novels with a price tag for the paperback edition more than the hardcover version. 

If I had used my head, I would have hit our library's used book sale. But I didn't. We have a great used books store, 2nd and Charles so I'll look there. 

Since I'm an Amazon Prime member, I'll have books shipped directly to my North Carolina daughters and hand deliver books to all of my Colorado people. 

Uh-oh. I forgot. There's the price of gas now too.