I don't want to get into a slug-fest over the work. After all, you don't even know what it is. You just know what you saw. So really all we could talk about is first impressions.
I would like, however to take issue with your thesis. If you want to be heard, the answer is simple: make something that's interesting to people.
It is necessary to make something that's interesting to people, but it is not sufficient to do so. That was my entire point. The interesting and valuable part is table stakes.
Price? I'd give it away for free. I'm not trying to sell the most books. I'm trying to help the most people. Price is an indicator of commitment. If I get a lot of people paying the money and blowing it off? I might raise the price. If people pirate it? I want it to make a difference.
There are a lot of people who want to sell two-dollar self-help books and such. Wonderful market. That's just not my game.
Finally, you have to consider that a landing page, if you're honest, isn't just to sell books. One of the most important things you can do is turn away people that might be wasting their money. I know that goes against all that is good and holy on HN, but really. I don't want people reading it that are wasting their time. That's awful.
So it's all good. Thank you for the first impressions. I haven't really already decided about much of anything aside from there's a lot of work left to do -- and that considering as much work as I've been through so far, that pisses me off somewhat. So what? I've been angry before. It sounds like a lot of work has to do with the landing page. Cool. Time to get started.
ADD: You know, there is a huge hunk of money spent every year on books that have great first impressions -- and don't make a positive difference in people's lives. Billions. So coming at this from "But your first impression sucks!" is kinda backwards, at least the way I see it. You want value, then creativity and interest, then honesty .... somewhere down the line you work on turning people on with a web page.