“Sudo Mastery” print + ebook bundle via Amazon

I’ve mentioned this before in various forums and in passing, but it bears a small emphasis.

Some people want books in both ebook and print. I’m not set up to do that, but Amazon is making that happen through their Matchbook program. The general idea is that if you bought a book in paper, you can get the ebook version at a steep discount.

I’ve put both existing Mastery paperbacks in the program. If you’ve bought the print book from Amazon, you can get the electronic version for $2.99. When Sudo Mastery hits paperback, it’ll be included.

Why $2.99?

I feel the fair price for the combo is about $20. The list price on the print books is $20, but Amazon knocks a few bucks off based on their own inscrutable algorithms. I’ve seen SSH Mastery as low as $14 and as high as $18.

There’s also the Amazon royalty on Kindle books. Ebooks priced less than $2.99 pay me a 35% royalty. Ebooks priced at $2.99 and up pay 70% royalties. If I price the Matchbook versions at $2.99, I make about $2.00 per sale. If I price them at $1.99 (the next lower option), I make about $0.66/sale. Ouch. Either way, that’s a lot of sales to pay the mortgage.

All this is a long-winded way of saying:

If you want both the print and ebook versions of Sudo Mastery, wait until the print version comes out. You’ll be able to get both for about $20, more or less.

I never buy my print books through Amazon’s retail channel — I buy them in bulk, from their CreateSpace arm. I would really like confirmation that folks who bought a print Mastery book from Amazon can get the ebook at a discount. If you bought a print Mastery, please take a look at Amazon. See if you can get the Matchbook deal and let me know in the comments here.