How Much Does It Cost to Publish a Book? A 2021 Estimate

Finance by  Mashum Mollah 25 November 2020

How Much Does It Cost to Publish a Book

There are around 2 million published books each year.

While that’s a lot of books getting published, the thing you should be wondering is how much does it cost to publish a book?

If you are considering publishing a book, you should know that it comes with some costs. You don’t just write a book and expect it to fly off the shelf.

You have to either pay a publisher to sell it for you or you can self-publish and market the book yourself. You also might have to hire an editor to look over your book and see if there are minor or major changes needed.

If you are wondering how much it costs to publish a book, then this guide is perfect for you.

The Cost of Self-Publishing 

If you want to self-publish a book, you may find it’s easier to do than hiring an agent to market your book and find a publisher.

With Amazon self-publishing, you have the freedom to publish basically anything you want. But that doesn’t necessarily mean your book will sell. It doesn’t mean your target market will find out about it and immediately buy it.

In some ways, self-publishing is more work. It may be more cost-effective, but it’s also more labor-intensive.

Here are some of the costs to consider if you go the self-publishing route.

Marketing

Marketing your book can cost a lot because you want your target market to know you just published a book.

One of the ways you can reach out to your target market and show them that you published a book is to promote with a blog post. You can use organic advertising, which is free, to show the book you just self-published.

You can post about your book on social media. There is no cost associated with it, but it does take time to craft a well-designed post. You want to show the quality of your book, which means posting quality content on your blog post or on your social media accounts.

Another way to promote your book is through paid advertising. This means you are using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others to show your book. You are paying to show what you published to a wider audience.

You can pay hundreds to thousands of dollars on advertising on social media. It just depends on how many people you want to reach and what kind of result you want to achieve.

You can also use PPC ads and email marketing. PPC ads are perfect if you want people on Google to find your book. Email is great to alert your subscribers that you just published a book.

Editing

You will also need to edit your self-published book. It’s a good idea to have an editor who specializes in book publishing. They can look over your book and look at the story, the grammar, the logic in the story, and other parts of editing.

They can tell you if the story flows or what needs to be worked on. You can pay editors anywhere from $10 to $50 per hour. They also charge per project or how much editing they do.

There’s no doubt that editors are important because they can make your book more consistent and logical.

Design a Book Cover

Designing your book is another cost that can range from $1000 to $3000. It all depends on how extensive the design you want.

It depends on how many revisions you want in the design to make it your own.

Book Printing

If you’re not printing an eBook but rather a hardcover, you will have to consider the printing fees.

It could range between $5 to $10 a book. It just depends on how many pages the book is and what kind of design you are printing.

When you do print your book, you may realize that it may work in your favor. You may realize that it gives your target market something physical rather than having only an eBook.

Order Fulfillment Costs

If you decide to self-publish on Amazon, you will have to pay for order fulfillment cost.

This is the cost of storing your book.

The Cost of Traditional Publishing

If you decide to avoid the self-publishing route, you can always do the traditional publishing way.

This involves hiring an agent to represent you. Some agents may take a 15% cut from your book. In addition, after your book is published, the book publishing company will also take a percentage of sales.

They may also charge you more because they are hiring a team of editors and designers for your book. They want to make sure that your book is perfect before they publish it.

Overall, a traditional publishing route can help you avoid the headache of doing it yourself, but you may have to pay more if you have less control of your book.

How Much Does It Cost to Publish a Book? Now You Know

How much does it cost to publish a book? The answer will often vary because you can either do it yourself or hire an agent to find you a publishing company.

One thing that can help you reduce your costs is making sure you are organized. You should also know your target market. The more organized and the more you know about your target market and what they are looking for, the more you can figure out how to advertise to them.

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Mashum Mollah

Mashum Mollah is an entrepreneur, founder and CEO at Viacon, a digital marketing agency that drive visibility, engagement, and proven results. He blogs at thedailynotes.com.

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