Does self publishing cost a lot of money?

[Guest]

Do you have information/advice for me?

[SJ Stewart]

There are several things that will cost you money. The first thing is an editor. The cost of this will depend on what kind of edits you need and the length of your book. The second thing is a cover. Some authors have done well with creating their own covers, but you have to at least understand the trends and have some kind of idea of design to make a cover that will have people reaching for your book. Depending on where you live, another cost will be ISBNs and Copyrights. It really depends on so many aspect to determine the costs, it also depends on what you consider a lot of money. Of the things listed, the thing that will likely have the biggest price tag is editing.

Can you skip all these steps and just hit submit? Of course. But it’s recommended to spend some money to put out a quality book. Hope that helps.

[Jenna]

Learn to do everything yourself. It’s not too difficult. When I started, I was so tech-illiterate that I was afraid to close MSW because I was sure my document would disappear.

Now the only thing I pay for is editing. If I can do it, anyone can.

[Pushan]

No. In Amazon I did it for free. Book cover, edit etc all by myself. Every month I sell at least 20 through Amazon. And from Nov-April I sell 60-100/month. I spend nth for advertisement /promo. If your book is usefull ppl will buy.

[David]

I self published. I also did the editing, illustrations, formatting, etc myself. No need to hire someone when we have all the technology needed to do it ourselves now days. Through KDP it's cost me $3.65 a copy to print. All though I haven't sold many on Amazon I have sold 20 local and 3 on Amazon in one month at 10 a copy. In the end I broke even on printing and shipping cost and also made a profit. It cost me $100 to get 20 copies shipped.

Sold that for $200. Made $10 of Amazon sales due to they take a lot from your sales after their fees. That's the only down fall.

You make more selling local or getting friends from out of state to help you advertise on their social media. In the end I find it worth it. I can say I did everything without hiring one person. Use the US copyright office to copyright it's the cheapest.

If you do it right you can profit. But it takes a bit of time to get started. I'm not in it to get rich, just to have my work out there is payment enough. Also KDP offers covers you can select from at no additional charge or you can create one and upload it like I did.

That's just my experience, and a insight on self publishing. Good luck.

[Stephen]

Yes and no. You can technically self-publish for free on KDP (Amazon) by just uploading your self-edited, self-formatted, and self-designed manuscript and cover files…BUT…if you want to sell a book that doesn’t scream “I was self-published by an amateur,” it’s recommended that you invest money to have your book professionally edited and designed.

Cover designers should have a portfolio of work for you to review before you commit to hiring them, while editors will often edit a small sample of your writing for free so that you can gauge their style and expertise first.

[Carrie]

Technically, publishing online through Amazon KDP is free. But you won’t sell many copies (probably) unless you invest in decent marketing. It can cost nothing or thousands of dollars. It depends how much you want to invest.

[Kisa]

The publishing itself is free, preparing for the publishing is what can get expensive, editing, covers, copyright, ISBN’s. I paid for all of it myself, it was speedy but worth every penny.

[Bernard]

The cost might be the cost of not being a professional marketer and seller of your books. A trade publisher typically BUYS your ms and so their ROI (return on investment ) depends on their ability to sell copies of your work. They have departments whose task is a) to market (create a demand) and b) sell (buy copies based on the demand created).

If you have the time and skills needed to get your books sold then the cost you incur may be worth the $$$ if your selling price takes all the costs into account. If your time and skills in marketing and selling are not up to it then the cost may be enormous because your sales may be small.

Of course, some smaller independent publishers may expect you to help market your own work...But then you have to decide if you are now in marketing or you are a writer.

[Scott]

It definitely costs money. You’ll need to pay someone to edit your book, you’ll need a cover design, and you’ll need to fund some marketing and advertising to get your book in front of people. Most people lose money self-publishing books.

[Joseph]

I’ve done my own covers. I have SOME skill in graphic design, but I’m not the best. As a result, my covers aren’t laughable… but they’re not amazing. My marketing budget is about 0, which hurts.

[Tj Adams]

I'm currently close to 90 days in and have made 100 dollars. Ive spent 15 in ads and found most of my success self promoting. The ads produced 4 sales equaling 20 dollars and some change. I got lucky and found a place where one of my books is appreciated. Otherwise i fear i might still be at 20 dollar. Its an exciting process none the less, every sale is rewarding. Other than my tome spent its free money