So you want to publish a Book!? Congratulations. That is a huge step. There is a lot to learn and many choices to make along the way. HOW you will publish is a vital choice you will inevitably face. 

Here is my story, before I worked in publishing as the Founder of Red Thread Publishing, I was just a start-up author, doing it for the first time. 

I never knew how much it would cost until I tried it a few times. 

I was sure I could do it cheaper by self-publishing DIY than working with a company. Oh, the innocence of arrogance. 

It was still the right choice for me at the time because I really wanted to learn all the ins and outs of publishing. It was a learning experiment for me as much as anything else. 

Whether the cost is worth it for you largely depends on what your goals are. To help you evaluate the decision in front of you, I will share two of my first DIY publishing experiences 

There are two kinds of expenses: Money & Time. 

Keep that in mind as you navigate this choice. Are you rich in one or the other, or both? Do your goals require one path over another? 

• Time: finding who to hire & communicating with them or learning to DIY... 
• Money: Hiring professionals to do it for you

Let's assume you want to create a high-quality product, that affirms you as the go-to expert, the authority on the subject, and not just publish a half-ass document on Amazon. (if all you want is the former, you can publish today, and maybe get a few people to buy it over the course of your lifetime, but it won't have a significant impact on your reader or you.) You can find it cheaper, but inevitably you will spend a lot of time on this and the quality will be poor. I just have to be honest. 

These are the fundamental elements:

Manuscript Editing (per word) 32,000 words ex.

• Developmental editing $0.05-$0.07/ word  (ex.$1,920 USD)
• Proof/copy editing  $0.04/word    (ex.$1,280 USD)
• NOTE: You should not be the only one to edit your work, EVER! 

My costs for Book 1: ex 20,000 words.

• Developmental editing $0.05-$0.07/ word  (ex.$1,200 USD) 
• Proof/copy editing  $0.04/word    (ex.$800 USD)

My costs for book 2: ex. 32,000 words. I had it professionally edited all the way through twice. First ime $1,500 Second time:  

• Developmental editing $0.05-$0.07/ word  (ex.$1,920 USD) 
• Proof/copy editing  $0.04/word    (ex.$1,280 USD)

Cover Design

• Ebook $199-$499    
• paperback $299-$499
• Audible $199-$399
• DIY: Photoshop/Canva/Kindle Creates + 15-50hours

My costs for book 1: ex. $699, + licensing rights for the image $199, + approx 15hours to communicate via email with the designer to get it right.

My costs for book 2: ex. $800 for all 3 designs + 38 email exchanges with a  random designer, trying to get it right. didn't track the time. Just knew it was frustrating.) +$188 dollars for the artist rights to use the image. 

Formatting (interior layout)

• $599- $700 hire a professional 
• DIY: $299 Vellum software + 10-50hours

Total costs for Book 1: $3,197 (3 months full-time work on writing & publishing the book)

• I caught 8+ errors that I had to go back in change, update & republish the newest draft. ie. The original paperback didn't have a table of contents. 

Total costs for Book 2: $4,888 (countless hours over 18 months approx 15-20/week for the duration.) 

Note: by the time I got all this done I had no money or interest in marketing my book or learning yet again a new industry, and my book suffered at the beginning as a result. We teach our authors how to be marketing the book from day one and building a platform of success all along; if I had only known!

Like I said at the beginning, these costs, both time and money were the price I paid to learn all the processes. It was inefficient and frustrating, but I was successful in my object to learn. 

If publishing is your goal and you don't want to know how to do all these various elements, then strongly hire a team, ours, or another, that can help you navigate and get the highest quality for the best price and the lowest investment of time. 

This article is designed to give you a sense of the costs when you are attempting to fully DIY your publishing. You absolutely can self-publish a high-quality book...  just make choices that support your budget and larger goals. 

If you would rather have a team supporting you, doing much of the energy labor for you, we would love to support you. Set up a call with our team today to see how we can help make your book writing & publishing dreams a reality. 

Learn more in our new collaboration book: The Anatomy of a Book: 20 Industry Experts Share, What aspiring authors need to know about writing, publishing & book marketing