Self-Publishing: Every Penny Counts
You just finished writing your book’s first manuscript draft. The next step is to begin assessing your budget plan. Funds may be limited, but with proper planning and research, you can get the most out of your budget by utilizing the best platforms for your publishing needs. Expect to spend a minimum of $2,500, up to $5,000 for a successful publication. This does not include marketing and promotion. Your book’s marketing plan may require planning a separate budget. Never cut yourself short, this is an important investment into the sales of your book, so to expect a high return you should consider the best quality services you’re able to afford.
Word Count
Figuring up the length of your manuscript is your starting point. Each word counts, when copy editing and proofreading, as you’re charged per word. Ironically, books with the fewest words, such as picture books, will carry a higher editing cost per word, luckily most platforms will quote your sample so you’re able to compare prices for the best deal. Whether you’ve decided to write fiction or non-fiction also affects your costs. Non-fiction requires an intensive editing process, which tasks editors with fact-checking and research. Expect to pay at least $0.05 per word for editing and proofreading services. 30,000 words are the sweet spot, yet this is an average minimum which totals to at least $1,500 to obtain the services needed to develop edit, and proofread your text.
Alpha & Beta Reading
The bigger your book, the more alpha and beta readers you should consider recruiting to review your manuscript. When working with a limited budget, writing communities such as Goodreads can supply free beta readers willing to take on your manuscript and provide helpful feedback. Helping to avoid plot holes and ensuring the reader receives your book positively are the main concerns of these readers.
Editing
Shop for your own personalized developmental editors on ServiceScape, which is a version of freelance editors selling their services, such as on Fiverr. ServiceScape gives you the ability to browse through editor’s profiles and locate the best fit based on credentials and experience. Reviews from previous customers are available to help new buyers make the best decision. A large number of editor’s prices range between $10.00 USD to $15.00 USD on this site. To save more money with alpha-beta readers, developmental editors, and proofreaders be sure to self-edit your book tediously before passing your manuscript on to anyone for critique. A few of the best book self-editing software for authors are AutoCrit, After the Deadline, Hemingway Editor, ProWritingAid, and Grammarly. They are freely accessible with options to upgrade should you require more in-depth services.
Proofreading
Once your manuscript has been scoured and revised to your best ability, proofreading will be one of the last stops it makes before hitting the press. Magnum Proofreading is an affordable site that offers proofreading services starting at only $0.13 and offers packages with more in-depth proofreading as well for $0.21, and $0.45 per word.
PaperBlazer is also another reasonably priced service for editing and proofreading ranging between $3.00 USD – $5.00 USD per 100 words and prides itself on the ability to provide a surprisingly quick turnaround of 1-3 days. Another great solution for multi-tasking your budget for editing, proofreading, designing, formatting, publishing, marketing, printing, and distributing is the one-stop shop, BookBaby.
All of these resources are available on the BookBaby webpage, where you will find access to a plethora of tools to prepare and launch your book. The cheapest publishing package is $1,090 for print-ready authors that grants eBook conversion and print-on-demand distribution. The essentials needed for a professional book release are \$2,190, which also supplies the author with book cover design and eBook formatting services. The most expensive package offered is only $2,890 which includes printing, publishing, and promotion services including advertisement campaign developments for social media platforms, Bookshop promotion bundles, and metadata optimization.
Book Formatting & Cover Designing
When it comes to designing your book cover, SketchProfs offers package deals that allow you to save money on future covers as well. With this website’s budget-friendly design packages, for almost half the price receive two book covers for $534 USD, four book covers for $784 USD, or six covers for $1,054 USD.
Each package offers comprehensive benefits the more you invest in them. For indie authors looking to release more books in the future, these packages are a conveniently smart deal. A great way to play with formatting your book and getting a feel for how you want it to look is found on Scrivener.
If you don’t feel tech-savvy enough to navigate those types of programs yourself and simply want to entrust the task to a pro, killing two birds with one store is an option to consider. Find the best freelancers for book cover designing and formatting on Fiverr by filtering for top sellers and sifting through portfolios to find a price that works with your budget. Find an artist based on previous buyer reviews and browse portfolios to find an artist that fits both your budget and your taste. Less is best when designing a book cover because you want something that speaks to the reader just enough to draw them in, without overwhelming them.
To make sure you get exactly what you want, experiment with different ideas before shopping to create the general direction for your cover to share with your artist. Using a mockup generator, Placeit allows the creative control to upload your own images, insert text and play around with placement. It also serves many purposes for the indie author marketing their books for self-promotion. Use Placeit’s templates and video resources to bring your book to life and inspire anticipation for social media fans. Create videos, mockups, logos, or designs for only $14.95 USD monthly, or save 50% with the annual fee of only $89.69 USD.
Printing & Digital Publishing
Take some of the weight off your shoulders with POD, or print on demand, using publishing platforms such as BookBaby, Kindle Direct Publishing and Acutrack. KDP will handle all the printing and distribution of your books for you simply by setting up a free account and offers tools to help with formatting and book designing. To obtain pricing for Acutrack’s services, you must complete a free consultation to get a quote that will estimate the cost of your expectations. The perks of using Acutrack are having a prepress team at your disposal to help finalize the design and layout of your book. The prepress team can help with graphic and package design, along with assembly and kitting services as well. Choose from the digital or offset method of printing to process your order with. The digital method utilizes InkJet Technology and is recommended for less than 1,000 copies.
The traditional offset method is recommended when printing more than 1,000 copies. The differences between Kindle Direct Publishing and Acutrack may affect your sales depending on the platform you choose. While KDP is limited to selling only on Amazon, Acutrack grants you access to several various platforms to market, promote, and sale your books not only there but on your personal landing page as well. Acutrack links a handy catalog and shopping cart from your site to theirs to help fulfill and distribute your book orders without any hassle to you.
Indie authors are entrepreneurs, and as one, you will assume risks when deciding where to invest your money. A budget plan is equally important as the book’s outline and the marketing plan, so take the time to plan accordingly. Every penny counts.
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