C is for….Costs. There is a wide spectrum of costs and providers when it comes to self-publishing. And let me tell you something, the costs part is really something I didn’t have down to perfection. As mentioned yesterday, I had a very good day job and in the back of my mind, I dreamed about the positive reception, the way it was simply going to work out.
- Important Note: Dear Chemical Engineer Husband of Mine, if you’re reading this, do not act surprised, I did tell you and it’s in our tax return
- Second Very Important Note: I am also sharing at the bottom the costs of other self-published authors who have shared their breakdown on their site and who are awesome, just saying 🙂
The most money I spent on was on editing.Why? Because some of the feedback I received made me rewrite a big part of the story. Hence, I needed more editing than maybe others. And definitely more than what I will need for my next books.
- Cover Design by Derek Murphy: $850
- Editing by Sara Biren, Maya Rock and Double Vision Editorial (content editing x 2, line editing x2, copy editing): $2500
- Blog tour (cover reveal), Blog Review Tour & Book Blitz: $350
- Patchwork Press/Netgalley (one month): $45
- Prizes for giveaways (Gift cards, Donations to DonorsChoose.org): $100
- Other Promotion and advertising (Facebook, copies of books, ): $500
- Formatting by Cait Greer: $150
What I’m going to do differently:
- Cover: I’m learning Photoshop and I will be doing my own covers. Sound crazy…but I think this is really going to work. I always loved taking pictures, I always loved playing around with pictures. I might show you some ideas during this month 🙂
- Promotion/advertising: I will use Facebook differently, will invest some money on other outlets (like Bookbub, ENT and so on…). The experiment with Facebook for advertising was a definite fail for me.
- Formatting: I am learning how to do my own formatting too.
- Editing: I am using only one provider for one book – and my books are I think more ready to go to editing than before. This will bring down the costs. A lot.
In another post, I’ll talk about my actual sales, how I didn’t meet my investment and how this all adds up to my “lessons learned”, and how I still believe in me, in my writing, in my books, in my success.
Interesting articles on self-publishing costs
- Juliana Haygert shares her costs of self-publishing
- Another post by Juliana Haygert about her costs of self-publishing
- Jennifer Ellision: Turning a profit
- The Write Life: How Much Does It Cost to Self-Publish a Book? 4 Authors Share Their Numbers.
- You can try to be the next Hemingway for $6000 (The Guardian)
- The Real Costs of Self-publishing a book (on PBS)
Join me tomorrow for D is for…Cover DESIGN
Elodie Nowodazkij 
Another thought-provoking post. I am so blessed to have friends around me who possess the needed skills (for things like covers). I think you will enjoy that part, too.
Thanks 🙂 I am really enjoying learning how to use Photoshop so yay 🙂 As mentioned I will do a lot of things differently when it comes to future books.
On Fri, Apr 3, 2015 at 5:09 AM, Elodie Nowodazkij wrote:
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If I haven’t said so yet, love the A-Z topic you chose. Very interesting/insightful posts into the world of self-publishing and I can’t wait to read more 🙂
Thanks a lot 🙂 Glad it’s helpful!
On Fri, Apr 3, 2015 at 7:48 AM, Elodie Nowodazkij wrote:
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Girl, we need to have a serious talk before you self publish again! These kind of numbers are WAY too high. And there is no need to hire 3 different editors (in fact I would say most freelance editors have no freaking clue what they are doing – but that’s a rant for another time. But IMO if they haven’t worked in traditional publishing, don’t hire them.). Next time you do this I can help you find ways to keep the costs down so you make back your investment.
Thanks 🙂 As just mentioned on Twitter, I went backwards on some of those items…and the full-time job used to give me a very nice cushion and not enough time to actually be realistic 😛 The reasons for several editors at that time was the way I had not realized the overhaul and agenda getting full and me not understanding what I needed. I was happy with the people I was working with (expenses were way different based on the editor). But I’ll definitely take you up on your offer 😛 ❤
On Fri, Apr 3, 2015 at 12:53 PM, Elodie Nowodazkij wrote:
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Cost is definitely something to think about before self publishing. There are good services out there though that make it a bit more affordable. I got my last cover for less than $100 on Selfpubbookcovers.com.
Editing is something every author SHOULD spend money on. Seriously, it makes the book. Luckily I used the same editor that worked with me on the book I have through a small publisher. Her rates were phenomenal. If you do a package deal with the different types of edits she give a better deal. I only had to spend $500 on it.
I guess my point is, it’s important to shop around. Make sure you’re getting top notch service, but you don’t have to pay out the nose. Ask around. Other authors are often willing to tell you who they’ve worked with and good the service was.
I want to do most of the technical work on my novel as well. I went through a cover designer and didn’t have a good experience. I know it’s just one and that cover designer doesn’t represent all of them but I learned that I would rather do the cover design of my novel myself. I’ve been learning a lot about photoshop and InDesign for the past few months.
I want to do it all for my novel just like you. Cover design, formatting, and of course, the writing, haha.