Demystifying Self-Publishing Costs: A Quick Overview

More and more authors are choosing to break free from the constraints of traditional publishing and are taking the self-publishing route.

If you are one of these authors, you should be aware of the costs involved in the process. Here are some of the services you might need to pay for:

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1. Editing Costs – will vary depending on the type of editing you require

2. Cover design costs – hiring a graphic designer to create a cover

3. Book formatting costs – for platforms like Amazon KDP

4. Marketing costs – includes services like reviews and digital ads

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To give you a better idea of these costs, I did a little digging into the costs of these services and compared price tags amongst the various businesses, freelancers, and publishers offering these services. I decided to use Reedsy, a reputable hybrid publisher, as an example for this article.

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According to Reedsy, it costs authors between $500 - $4 800 to publish a book in 2023. This will depend on the services you require (see list above).

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A hybrid publisher is a combination of traditional and self-publishing. The author pays a fee to the publisher, who provides editorial, design, printing, and distribution services. As the author, you will retain the rights to the book and receive royalties from book sales.

Some reputable hybrid publishers I've encountered are IdeaPress Publishing, Greenleaf Book Group, Forbes Books, She Writes Press, Amplify, Book Baby, CreativeSpace, and Success Books. You can learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of each publishing route here.

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If you decide to work with a hybrid publisher, here is a general idea of the costs.

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Reedsy editors charge an average range of $2 400 - $3 400 for a 60k word book. This is for one round of developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading. (Learn more about the four types of editing here.)

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A good cover design can cost you up to $800. This will depend on the style you want and how complex it is. The book's interior design can cost you anything from $250 - $750.

Book formatting can, on average, set you back around $500. This will depend on how much specialist formatting your book needs. A book with more pictures, such as a cookbook, will cost more to format.

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An alternative to hybrid publishing is self-publishing the book on platforms such as Amazon KDP. If you're publishing on KDP and not using the services of a hybrid publisher, you can save yourself $500 by learning how to do the formatting yourself.

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) provides a detailed step-by-step guide to help you format and publish your book on their platform. You can publish your book in eBook format, as a print copy, or both.

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Other free self-publishing sites include Barnes & Noble, PublishDrive, Google Play Books, IngramSpark, and Apple Books.

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Marketing and promoting your book should start before you even publish it. You can use a marketing company, paid ads on platforms such as Instagram or Facebook, or promote the book through your posts on platforms such as LinkedIn.

Writing your book is only one part of the book-writing journey. It would be best to keep in mind that once the book is written and edited, you need to think about publishing routes and sales. Budgeting for all costs will ensure your book doesn't end up on a shelf collecting dust.

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Shamila Iyer – Write. Edit. Coach.

Empowering aspiring authors to share their perspectives. Human to human.