Amateur Efforts Dept: One of my readers recently told me that he didn't like my pricing column. He told me that I'm not an expert on pricing (duh), and that amateur efforts in that area would only decrease writers' income.

Setting aside for the moment that I just love being called an amateur (the word literally means "one who loves", and is intended to convey someone who does something only for the love of it rather than just for money; it has absolutely zero bearing on competence), I've worked the math over and over in my head, and I just don't get it. The system I worked out would garner a flat $2/copy to the author, regardless of the format of the book. Given that most authors are published only in paperback, and currently make between six and ten cents per copy, I just don't see how this is a bad thing. I really don't.

Anyone care to explain how getting two bucks is worse than getting one dime? I realize the assumptions on production and distribution costs are ballpark guesstimates, but I don't think I'm that far off...