Looking at an invoice or bill and realizing that it is higher than the originally quoted price is something that we are all familiar with.
Companies will invariably show the lowest price possible in order to lure you in. They don’t show you all the added costs. If you’ve ever purchased a car or a house you know that there are always little extras. Retailers generally don’t show you the price with the tax included. That’s why the font of the tax is always much, much smaller than the price.
Facebook ads, and other online ads, aren’t like traditional ads. This is part of the fine print they don’t tell you. With a traditional ad in a newspaper or on radio you know how often the ad will run, where exactly it will run, and the bottom line cost of the ad. Many online ads are subject to ‘click’ rates. Every time someone ‘clicks’ on an ad it costs the company that placed the ad some money. I wonder how many small businesses gasped in horror at their online ad bills. Incentives to use online ads are all well and good, but they are a drop in the bucket of how much your online ads will potentially cost in the long run.
“You can have your novel formatted for as little as $XX.xx!” Beware of the words ‘for as little as’. Some will even tempt you with ‘extras’ that they generously add in at no additional cost. Many of these ‘bonuses’ are things that have to be included in order for your book to be accepted by Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, and other online e-book distributors.
“We’ll handle all the work for you absolutely free! If you sign our contract and become our property exclusively.” Genies and the Devil are said to work the same way. Wishes never turn out the way the wisher anticipates because the wisher hasn’t been shown the fine print.
Can’t I just do it myself? That would be free, wouldn’t it? You could do your own formatting. You could also fly your own plane or perform your own appendectomy, but do you honestly want to take that responsibility? (That is unless you happen to be a pilot or a surgeon.)
Most people are either left-brain thinkers or right-brain thinkers. One controls creativity and the other handles logical thought. Writing is a creative endeavour. Formatting is a job for logic. Yes, you could do it all yourself if you want to spend the time to learn and implement all of the procedures. Time is money. Time spent on figuring out formatting is time you won’t have to write. Does that sound free to you?
People have asked why we charge $25 an hour for our manuscript and e-book formatting services. Other companies offer flat rates or are willing to do the formatting for free. (As you have seen “free” always comes at a price.)
We’ve been told on more than one occasion that we don’t charge enough. When you compare what we offer with that of our competitors you will realize we offer the best deal.
When you work with us there are no surprises. There are no hidden costs. We do not try to trick you with fine print.
Darla Mittler is the President & CEO of Darla Mittler Document Magic. With a personal library of well over 1,000 physical books, over half a decade as a Mass Media Buyer for a major bookstore chain, and insights into e-publishing, Darla is ready to help authors bring their works to market.
