There have been all kinds of changes to how I price my products this year.

First thing I realized is that I have not been paying myself ethically. I’ve been undercharging for my work and selling myself short, which really hurts the value of what I do and create overall.

So this year, I made it a goal to price my products by how much they can potentially change the lives of those who come into contact with them. Some of my work only brings about simple changes. But then I have other products that can deeply affect how one approaches their creative process or life in general.

Pricing my products with this point of view has led me to making sure that my prices truly reflect the value of my insights and expertise, which is great. That’s exactly how things should be. However, pricing my products this way has created a new challenge: accessibility.

These changes in pricing have helped move my work towards being more sustainable for me, but it has become a little less financially accessible. Financial accessibility is a big deal to me because I know what it’s like not being able to afford stuff.

So here I’m sharing some thoughts and observations in hopes of creating a balance between building financial sustainability for me and accessibility for you.

Pay What You Want

All of the products in my shop are set to Pay-What-You-Want. However, over time some of my non-book products will be set to a minimum price, and will also have a higher, recommended price point.

The recommended price is what I need to run a sustainable business, but if you currently can’t pay that, it’s totally okay. That’s why I’m setting it to Pay-What-You-Want in the first place.

I will also be taking this approach on Itch.io. When it comes to my books, I also often share free community copies for those who are facing financial hardship on Itch.io–for as long as supplies last.

Currently on Etsy, the option to Pay-What-You-Want is kind of a work in progress. If it’s a viable option, I will set my products to that there too. If not, I’ll keep them at the regular price.

Libraries

Libraries are amazing! And when you borrow my books from the library, I get paid.

If you live in the United States, you can read many of my books through the public library system using Hoopla.

For international readers, I’ve read that Everlane (formally known as Scribd) and Overdrive are library options. I don’t use those services, so I don’t know how they work. However I do know that my books are available via Scribd and Overdrive. You can also access my books through CloudLibrary, which I also don’t use, but I’m aware of.

I also know that my books can be requested through Baker and Taylor, which is the service librarians use to order books. So if you want my books to be available at your library, go to your local librarian and request them. ♥️

Sometimes, Accessibility is More Important Than Money

Despite all that I shared above, these are not hard and fast rules at all. Sometimes I create products where accessibility is the most important thing to me, even if it has the potential to create a strong impact.

In the past people have told me that reading my webcomic was “life changing” (an idea that still shocks me, btw) but yet, it’s available for free through the Internet Archives or at a very low price/free as a PDF. Same goes for my INFP Archetypes Test.

There are certain things that I really want to get out there and share, without charging much or anything.

So that’s my current take on pricing right now! I’ll probably update this post with any changes if necessary.