Publishing a Book - Creating a Budget for Self Publishing

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Publishing a Book - Understanding the Costs to Self Publish a Book

Publishing a book ...

... is an interesting journey, so you need to know what is ahead of you. This is why it's helpful to have some information about publishing costs. Finding an agent and a publisher can be a frustrating search. In fact these key factors have been prime motivators for many writers to opt to self publish a book, rather than go with traditional publishers. With self-publishing, you can get your work out there for the public to see, but if you go this route, it’s important to account for all the costs – hidden and otherwise- after all, you've worked hard to write your book and don't want your dreams to go up in a puff of costly smoke.

Publishing a Book: ISBN, PCN, and Copyright Fees

If you want your book to appear on bookstore shelves, it must have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number), which is the standard 10-digit identifier for books. This is a unique and distinctive number system. Each ISBN identifies who the publisher of a particular written work is. Single ISBNs can be purchased for $125 or there are bundles of 10 for $240 available. Obviously, the best deal is to go with the package.

If you are publishing a book through a vanity press or a similar operation, be aware that you will be charged for any fees incurred in the production process. You can obtain a PCN (Pre-assigned Control Number) at no charge from the Library of Congress, but you will need to send them a postage paid copy of your finished book. This is a number that registers each publication in a comprehensive American directory. For you to be able to officially register your copyright the charge will be an additional $45.

Self Publish a Book: Book Production Costs

Authors who self-publish their works are becoming more common and they expect to pay for the cost of printing their book. This may be the route that you have chosen also, but remember that editing and layout are necessary parts of the production process. Some people have the time and variety of skills to do their own editing and presentation layouts, but if you don’t, the printer is going to be charging you for these tasks. Professional editing of your book is so necessary and integral to your final dream coming to life that you should not entrust this duty to just anyone. And it is usually not recommended for you to do it yourself, since you are too close to the work. This is also not the time to go with the cheapest person who volunteers for the job; doing so could doom your efforts to have a successful book published.

You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but that all important first appearance cover often is what can boost the sales of your book. It really is important to factor in the cost of cover design that is done properly. Using a graphic artist for a professionally designed cover will cost you somewhere between $200 and $1,000. If your book is an ebook, you can purchase ebook cover design software that features professionally designed templates that you can easily modify to create a striking cover for your book. To create an ebook that others can download to their computers, you will also need ebook creation software.

These are all factors that have costs built in to them, and you must count these in to the cost equation of the actual printing of your book. (To get a quote on printing your book based on the trim size and number of pages click on printing quote).

Publishing a Book: Marketing and Promotion Costs

Grassroots advertising methods and word-of-mouth sales pitches do have their limits. To sell your book, you need to include the cost of a marketing and advertising budget. Marketing can include any, or all, of the following means of promotion: book brochures and newspaper ads, posters and glossy flyers, business cards - 75% Off Premium "Custom" Business Cards at VistaPrint.com!, and multiple press releases - Send Your News Now announcing the book’s publication. Websites are an extremely effective means of marketing any self-published book, and the exposure to a national audience is the largest in all media categories.

You will find a number of writers who want to prepare their own press packets, but this too can be a costly process, because it needs to contain a copy of your book, plus photos, news clippings, and other information. If you are going to pay a distributor to handle your book, their services will be adding more budget busting fees and charges, including insurance and the costs of book storage.

Publishing a book is, after all, a business venture, and as in any business, there are a number of costs to consider. Knowing what these costs are upfront, why they are necessary and factoring them in is essential for drawing up an appropriate budget to self publish a book and market your book professionally and successfully, so it can compete effectively with other books, even those published by mainstream publishers.

Of course if you do intend on publishing a book with traditional publishers, understand that while you will not be responsible for book production costs, you will be responsible with most of the costs of book marketing and in the final analysis, you will not enjoy the benefits of owning the rights to your book.

If you want to self publish a book, yet keep your rights, but not have to hassle purchasing and learning all the software that you will need to do the job right, then I recommend using Mill City Press to do the job. For one low fee, they will take care of all book design, editing and production costs to product a beautifully finished product to which you own the rights. This is a great way to go for those who want to focus on their writing.

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