Well, I was out and about this morning checking out the blogs of others. Here’s what I learned:
“If you want to self-publish, you’d better plan to spend around $2,000 to $3,000 for an editor, book and cover designer, typesetting and so forth.” WHAT? I’d say, depending on the quality of your writing and the scope of your book, it would be more like $3,500 to $10,000.
Editing: $500 to $3,000
Professional cover design: $1,500 to $3,000
ISBN, bar code, PCIP: around $400
Printing/typesetting: $800 to $3,000 (or more for a large supply of coffee table books, for example.)
Of course, some of these figures depend on your writing ability, whether you purchase one or 10 ISBN’s, the size of your book, how much color you have, the quality paper/cover stock you require and how many you want printed.
And then there’s the expense involved with book promotion. I wrote the book on low and no cost book promotion ideas. But, believe me, aggressive (even assertive) book promotion is going to cost you something. Just the expense of sending out review copies of your book and the percentage you have to pay Amazon and other booksellers and distributors/wholesalers takes a knick out of your profit.
One blogger of some merit said that the book review is the best way to promote any book. Interesting. You hear/read me encourage you to go out and get book reviews often. And most authors aren’t aware of the variety and scope of book review opportunities. (How many of you have been seeking out book review opportunities based on my suggestions? How’s it going?)
But the real cost of publishing is evident when the author produces the wrong book for the wrong audience for all of the wrong reasons. So the number one concern for a hopeful author has to be whether this book is a good business decision. And this has to be factored in before there are any expenditures. The author also must look to the future and, for a successful publishing experience, the future must involve book promotion.
For lessons in the basic book promotion options, how to pursue those that resonate with you and resources to help with each of them, you might want to sign up for my online book promotion course. Or invite me to give the course to your writers’ group. (Yes, I travel.) Check out the course here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_bookpromotion.htm.
Sales for my new ebook, The Successful Author’s Handbook, are still brisk. Order your copy today.
http://www.matilijapress.com/successful_author_handbook.html
Hello Bill,
Thanks for chiming in. It’s nice to know that there are more reasonable options for authors. I think you will agree with me, however, that any potential author needs to do some thorough research before signing with any company. I always recommend that authors lead with their heads, when it comes to publishing decisions, and not their hearts. They must make an informed decision, not an emotional one. I trust that you also advise any author to study the contract of any company and, if there’s anything they do not understand, that they call in a publishing attorney.
A SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) member is currently having trouble exiting from her POD company. While they say that she owns her book, they are charging her close to $1,000 if she wants her cover and text files returned–and the author hired the cover designer outside of the company.
There are many horror stories connected to the world of publishing. And it is always refreshing to stumble across some of the good guys. I trust this describes you and your company.
Learn more about SPAWN at http://www.spawn.org.
Again, thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Patricia