For the Love of Pennies

I’ve just received a mock-up copy of my new book The Virtual Campfire, a collection of my best outdoor writing. One of the few things left to do before I launch this baby into the world is to figure out what the price should be. I’m wondering if I should break the mold, so to speak, and round off the price to the nearest dollar. My reluctance to do so is based on what has become an industry standard in which book prices always end at 99 cents. A decision to round up that price to the dollar would feel kinda anti-establishment. Worse, it would probably brand me as a novice.

This 99-cent tradition hardly makes sense anymore now that the country has done away with minting pennies, which cost more to make than what they’re worth. But traditions die hard. I believe this one was a result of the advertising industry trying to con consumers into believing the price might be as much as a dollar less than what is posted. I don’t think anyone is fooled by that anymore, but we can’t seem to stop doing this.

So, I guess I’ll probably do it, even though it seems so damned silly.