[munificent]

> Sometimes however, authors consider their book(s) as their 'life's work'. It's hard to imagine giving it away for free.

I don't think of my book as necessarily my life's work, but it's certainly one of the most significant things I've done. People can read it online without paying cash, but I don't think of that as being "free".

I do get compensated, even then. Every time someone tells me they liked my book, or enjoy my writing style, or finally understand something they've struggled with, it feels absolutely fantastic. Given how much money we spent purchasing good feelings, in many ways I feel like I just cut out the middle man. :)

> A related point that I have always wondered about is deciding the price of your creation. For stable businesses it is perhaps a straightforward thing to name the price of a creation, but I imagine it would be hard for an author to come up with the price of her book.

I just did the obvious thing: looked at a bunch of similar products and priced it in the same ballpark.