The price to indie publish a book varies greatly. The answer depends on your skills, budget, and book-length.
I’ve heard people explain how you can publish a book for under one hundred dollars. While their advice is accurate, the results won’t produce a professional-looking book that will get people’s attention and earn good reviews. I suggest not trying to publish a book on the cheap.
There are also people who outsource much of the work and pay several thousand or even tens of thousands of dollars to publish a book. If you have a lot of money, that may be the option to choose.
For myself, I budget $1000-$1500 per book. Here are my typical expenses:
Developmental Edit: $100 to $800 (though you can spend much more)
Copy edit/Proofread: $300 to $600, depending on the book-length
Cover Design: $300 to $500
Interior Layout: under $100 and up
I do everything else myself, so the only cost there is my time.
For the developmental edit and copy edit/proofread many editors charge by the word. Others charge by the page or by the hour. I prefer the per-word fee because I know what my cost will be. Though you can find people offshore who will do this service for much less, be careful. They may not speak English as their primary language or even if they do, their editing work may fail to meet the expectations of native English readers. Also, with any type of editing work, the longer the book, the more it will cost.
For the cover design and interior layout, you can save money by going offshore and still get a professional result. I’ve worked with cover designers in several countries and have gotten good quality artwork. I’ve only worked with one interior layout designer, and she did a great job.
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Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is a full-time, career author. He’s published scores of books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts, with experience as a publisher, editor, and commercial freelance writer. A passionate wordsmith, his goal is to change the world one word at a time. Learn more at PeterLyleDeHaan.com.
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