How much does it cost to publish a book?

How much does it cost to publish a book?

This is probably one of the most common questions I get. The answer is a bit complicated in some regard, but can definitely be surprising to many aspiring writers.

First of all, here’s the truth: It can be FREE or Very Expensive!

As I said, it can be complicated. So let’s delve into it more. I’m not lying when I said you can publish your very own book for FREE. But there are limitations. One of the things a lot of people ask me for is a breakdown of costs, so they know what to expect.

Note: All of the information below is based on Publishing eBooks and Paperbacks through Amazon, and Hardcovers through Ingram Spark – both of which I recommend for many reasons. There are alternative options and the costs may vary for those.

In order to discuss cost, we first need to determine what is needed. What do I need in order to publish my book?

Good question! The list below is the bare essentials of what you NEED:

• A completed manuscript – Your book, of course!
• A Cover – It can be custom illustration, photo manipulation, or even a plain color
• A publisher – Such as Amazon or Ingram Spark, who you would publish your book through
• An ISBN – We’ll get into this in more detail later

Those are the minimum you’ll need. And the good news is that, depending on what you’re looking for, you can complete every one of those without spending a dime!

But what does that really mean? Let’s break each down to costs.

Cost Breakdown:

1. Your Completed Manuscript – ($0 – $10,000): Obviously, writing shouldn’t necessarily cost you much money, only time. However, editing costs are a massive factor. If you’re editing your novel yourself, or requesting the aid of beta readers, congratulations – you’ve just saved yourself thousands! Hiring an editor can range anywhere from $500 – $10,000, depending on their rates and the length of your book!
2. A Book Cover – ($0 – $3,000): As with pretty much every other aspect of publishing, you can get away with spending no money here. Or, you can shell out as much as you want for an illustration of your choosing. All that is needed is an image. You can open up Microsoft Paint or Photoshop or GIMP and create your own to save cash. It could honestly be a simple background with text on it and you’ve got your cover. If you’re looking to catch readers’ eyes as they scroll by, this approach will have some disappointments. For an eye-drawing cover, you’ll most likely want to spend some money on commissioning an artist. There are thousands all over. I commission artwork constantly and find artists explicitly through DeviantArt and ArtStation. If you’re looking for something in between – spending a bit of money, but not having to take out a second mortgage on your home – the most common practice is to pay for pre-made covers. There are usually libraries of hundreds of Photo Manipulation covers that are generic, yet slightly appealing. These typically cost around $50 – $200, so you’ll save a lot of money at the cost of appeal.
3. Publisher Fees ($0 – $50): Amazon allows you to publish your eBook and/or Paperback for FREE. However, at the moment they don’t offer Hardcover printing. For that, I go through Ingram Spark, which costs $50 to publish, which is reasonable considering what they give you in return.
4. An ISBN – ($0 – $300): Every format of your book (eBook, Paperback, and Hardcover – or Audiobook) needs to have a unique ISBN. These can be obtained from Bowker in the United States. Currently, it is $125 for one ISBN, $300 for ten, or more for higher packages. Additionally, if you choose to purchase a Barcode, they are $25 individually, or you can buy them in a package with the ISBN. While every book needs an ISBN, if you’re only releasing an eBook through Amazon, they actually offer to provide one for you – free of charge. However, there is one important note you need to be aware of. If you choose to take their provided ISBN, the book is considered to be Published by Amazon, not you. So, while you are technically Self-Publishing, legally it was done by Amazon.

So, with all those costs, how is it actually free?

Well, if you’re dead set on publishing your book without spending a dime, here’s the winning formula:

Publish an eBook through Amazon ($0) + Use their provided ISBN ($0) + Self Edit your Book or use Beta Readers ($0) + Create your own Cover ($0) = FREE

There you have it. Your book can hit the digital market completely free of charge to you. So, if you’re just trying to get your work out there and maybe trickle in some revenue, it’s a good option. You’ll technically be more profitable than probably 90% of the authors in the world after your first sale!

If you don’t mind spending some money, here’s a better summary of the costs:

Cover Art: $50 – $1,000
Editor: $500 – $5,000
ISBN: $300 (It’s best to just buy the 10-pack, as that’s 3-5 books worth)
– Overall, you’ll probably be spending an average of $1,000 per book without an editor and $3,000 per book with an editor.

Lastly, let’s talk about some ‘hidden costs‘. These aren’t necessarily hidden, but more that they sneak up on you and begin to add up pretty quickly.

1. Ordering Books – This one gets pricey pretty quickly. If you’re doing a Paperback or Hardcover, you’ll want to order samples in order to review the print. Otherwise you run the risk of launching your book only to find out later that the cover is offset by an inch, or the last sentence of every paragraph is cut-off. You only ever pay Print Cost as the author, but if you need to order 3 copies of each format over the course of your review, you’ve now spent probably around $50 you didn’t expect, plus shipping.
2. Shipping – This goes hand-in-hand with ordering. Every time you order a set of samples, you need to pay Shipping costs. In the above example, we ordered 3 samples of Paperback and 3 samples of Hardcover. If you ordered those individually, which will be common during review, the $50 you spent in print costs will need to be increased by another $50 – $100 for shipping. So now you’re out even more. Additionally, if you’re working with beta readers, or even Blogs that offer to review ARCs (Author Review Copies), you’ll need to ship them your book. You can’t change the address for sample copies, they must always ship directly to you to avoid this exact scenario. So, every book gets sent to you, then you have to ship it to every reader (Which can be as little as $4 or as much as $50 per book!)

Overall, it’s a safe bet to assume you’ll be spending between $100 – $300 on sample copies if you’re using Paperback and Hardcover formats. For those of you who are eBook only, you’re in luck!

Long story short, there are certainly ways you can publish your book for free, but if you aren’t going that route, be prepared to shell out a few hundred bucks to get your work out there with a quality you can be proud of.