How Much Does It Cost to Self-Publish a Book on Amazon?
Updated: Feb 5
Whether you've finished your first draught or are just getting started, the end objective is to get your work published. But how much does it cost to publish a book?
Do you require a proofreader or an editor? How much does the editing and a book cover design cost? How do you even start? This article will try to address those questions and give you an idea of how much to publish a book.
Cost of a Self-Publishing a Book
In general, the cost of publishing a book is determined by the size of the book, the degree of quality desired, and the intricacy of the text and book cover. The majority of writers pay between $700 and $1,700 to self-publish their works, which includes editing, proofreading, formatting, and book cover design.
To simplify here's how much to publish a book that has 300-pages on average:
· $400 for editing
· $700 for proofreading
· $440 for the book cover (ebook and print)
The cost of printing (per book) is around $5.00.
The total cost of holding your completed book in your hands will be around $1500.
Although proofreading and copyediting are necessary, you can frequently do it yourself. The same is valid for formatting. Your insurance, on the other hand, is an expense you cannot avoid.
If you wish to copyright your book, you wouldn't have to pay anything in some countries. However, if you are publishing overseas or in the United States, you might have to file your work in order to protect it.
Let's take a look at how much to publish a book and what actually influences the costs and the potential pricing ranges for expert assistance.
After you've gone through a few revisions and are ready for someone else to go at your work, you'll most likely begin with proofreading.
There are three types of professional editing services: development editing, copy editing, and proofreading.
Costs for development and copy editing
Development Editors, or DE, go through the whole work. Plotlines, narrative arcs, characterization, and themes.
They examine the "whole picture" to determine whether it makes complete sense and to identify any contradictions. DEs may also assist in ensuring that nonfiction books meet market standards.
Copy Editors, or CE, performs a similar function but focuses on your final manuscripts.
They focus on sentence construction and grammatical errors. They'll point out plot flaws and assist you in getting ready to duplicate (and they may even shorten your word count if needed).
The average cost per page is between $7.56 and $12.00.
That may amount to about $900 to $1400 for a 70,000-word draft and an average book dimension (e.g., 5x8). However, before dismissing an editor, try providing a sample of your work.
To reduce these expenses to a minimum, provide the very first 20,000 words with a section breakdown. The aim is to get candid criticism so that you may write the best draught possible.
How Much To Publish A Book When You Need Proofreading?
The duty of a proofreader is to verify that your text is error-free.
This covers punctuation, formatting, and so forth. You want a finished product, and you definitely don't want to find any mistakes after the book has been released and in people's hands.
Costs are typically linked to your number of words and charged on an hourly, daily, or every 1,000-word basis. Prices vary from $18 and $48 per 1,000 words, with a daily fee of $350 to $550
Fees vary according to how well your document reads; the poorer the job, the more time and money it takes to correct. So, before hiring a professional proofreader, do as much as possible yourself.
You might want to commission the help from a friend or relative to proofread for you to help you save money. But keep in mind that you have to first repair problems on your own.
How Much To Publish A Book When You Have To Consider Formatting fees?
What tools did you use to develop your book? What about Microsoft Word? Or a simple DOS system?
You've most likely configured the page to A4 with large margins. However, before you publish, those pages must be translated into a book format.
If you wish to handle your own publishing using Amazon KDP, you can get free Microsoft Word templates to utilize for your book.
Simply copy and paste your content, then check every page for formatting problems. It's a smart option to postpone proofreading and other finishing touches until after this phase. Or, even better, start with the template.
We talked with a few customers to see how much they spent on their formatting. While many people were able to do it alone, the majority of publishers paid less than $550. However, some people have spent upwards of $800 for their book since it contained maps, images beside each chapter name and generally had heavier manuscripts.
So, if you wanted to, you could do it yourself, and the templates would handle the majority of the work for you. More complicated manuscripts, on the other hand, would require an expert touch. If you're composing a short tale, this might not be a huge deal.
How Much To Publish A Book Cover?
After your work has been revised, proofread, and formatted, we will proceed to the next critical stage. According to a Smashwords study, the gap in revenue between a lousy book cover and a good one may be up to 1000 percent.
The cover makes your work stick out and boosts your author brand. One picture says a lot about your style and tone, as well as if the book is worth pursuing.
Costs for cover designing vary based on the designer's expertise and the project's complexity. Nonetheless, as a general guideline, you should anticipate to pay from $100 to $1000
You may also create a free cover with Amazon's Cover Creator. There are hundreds of templates and royalty-free pictures to select from in the program. You may change the title and author, as well as add a blurb on the back.
DIY designs, although excellent for saving money, are simple to detect. Authors often utilize the same pictures, resulting in a uniform appearance. Poor font selections and gaudy colors are often dead giveaways!
That is why Cover To Cover offers a quality book cover designing service that is worthy of your efforts.
We don't make use of templates. Everything is custom-made and tailored to your book. You also get complete ownership of the final version. Our designers collaborate with you to get the best possible outcome. This includes limitless changes at a reasonable cost – beginning at $99 for a book cover.
Consider your heroine or hero being hugged on the front of your romantic tale. Custom cover drawings are now available to help bring your tales to life. Alternatively, they may be challenging the readers to join them on their journey.
Our custom artwork packages for ebook and print start at $139. All we need is a general concept of what you would like to accomplish, and we'll take care of the rest.
Check out this video that lets you know how much to publish a book.
Costs of publication
Authors from all around the globe utilize Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) service to publish their books online, and it is completely free to join.
KDP provides two types of publishing options: paperback and Kindle ebook.
You may use one or both, and it will not cost you anything to set up. Amazon, on the other hand, has its unique method of pricing each one.
How Much To Publish A Book On Amazon KDP POD (Kindle Direct Publishing)
Amazon charges a printing fee for print-on-demand books based on the number of pages, the country in which the book is sold, or whether the inside is in full color or black and white.
Click here for a much more detailed breakdown of how much to publish a book on Kindle.
Of course, you may use the Kindle ebook alternative to avoid paying for printing.
Your sales price determines the fee and whether or not your ebook is publically available. Amazon provides the following services:
Your ebook should be priced within the range of $2.99 and $9.99. This price must also be at a minimum of 20% less than the lowest advertised price for a print edition.
Keep in mind that the 70 percent plan is only available to consumers in specific countries. Additional versions sold outside of those areas will be taxed at a rate of 35%. Don't worry, the 70 percent eligible areas include all of the major Anglophone markets — the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — as well as many others, mainly in the European Union. If you register for KDP Select, your options increase to include Brazil, India, Japan, and Mexico. You need to also think about the cost of getting an ISBN.
Contact us now and tell us all about your book. We'll talk about the storyline, the people, and the themes. Then, together, we'll design the ideal cover for your story.