Despite my best efforts and intentions, I had to increase the prices of the print editions of A Bitter Pill to Swallow this year. When I released it in 2016, charging $10 or less for my book was a point of pride. I wanted teenagers to be able to afford it. Unfortunately, thanks to inflation and a change in a major book distributor's policy around wholesale discounts, I can't charge $9.99 anymore, at least not for online bookstores. Rather than sell books with a completely unattainable suggested retail price, I decided to make a new cover without a price on it. (Which is actually a controversial choice that goes against typical publishing conventions.)
Though I am sad that I had to make these changes, at least the new cover can highlight my 2016 Book of the Year Award from the Chicago Writers Association. The new bookstore edition is a 6"x9" 254 page paperback. The original paperback was 5"x8" and 330 pages. Changing the paper size allows me to charge a little less. For now, the suggested retail price is $16.95. I am hoping that I won't have to increase my price anytime soon. My new goal is to keep it under $20.
If you want a signed copy of the book, I am still selling them on Etsy, though I had to raise that price by $5. Variant hardcovers are still available in the Blurb bookstore. At least I didn't have to raise the price on the ebook edition. It's still $3.99 and can be found in all the major ebookstores you've heard of, and some you may not have heard of before.
If you want to special order it from your local independent bookstore or encourage your local library to stock it, tell them the ISBN is 9798211582866.
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