Self Publishing Today Can Be Affordable
Part of my ghostwriting service is coordinating the publishing of your book once the manuscript is finished. Today is an exciting time for authors, since the self-publishing industry has matured considerably in the last few years. Today, it is possible to find a self-publishing company that meets your needs and your budget.
Here's a summary of the major self-pubishers and their fees. These fees are for the publishing only. The ghostwriting fees are separate. Some of the companies have a "do-it-yourself" option where if you do all the formatting, the costs are just a few dollars.
BookLocker: $675 (deduct $200 if submitting your own cover)
Infinity Publishing: $1,047 (includes 5 "free" copies)
Lulu: $1,089
CreateSpace: $1,151 (Deduct $299 if submitting your own cover. Add $500 if you want more than one image or color on your cover.)
Llumina Publishing: $1,338 (includes 10 "free" copies)
Bookbaby: $1,406 (includes 25 "free" copies)
Trafford: $1,424
iUniverse: $1,449 (includes 3 "free" copies)
Outskirts Press: $1,595 (includes 5 "free" copies)
Xlibris: $1,673
AuthorHouse: $1,799 (includes 3 "free" copies)
Dog Ear Publishing: $1,998 (includes 3 "free" copies)
Xulon Press: $2,396 (includes 5 "free" copies)
As you can see, there are some very economical choices. There are some things to watch out for, though. Some of the companies try to sell their authors on marketing packages where they claim they will send releases out to bookstores across the nation. There is very little evidence that these services will do anything for your book. They will, however, empty your pockets.
With self-publishing comes total control and ownership of your work, but the marketing responsibility belongs to you. In these days of social networking, though, it is possible to get your book seen far and wide.
I help you with marketing your book in a number of ways. First, I create a custom companion website for each of my clients' books that gets them started. Second, I have lots of advice for marketing your book that will help as well.
Here's the same list above, but in order of how many books you need to sell in order to break even on your publishing costs (data from Writers Weekly):
+ BookLocker - 121 COPIES (setup fees: $675)
+ CreateSpace - 200 COPIES (setup fees: $1,151)
+ Lulu - 233 COPIES (setup fees: $1,089)
+ Infinity Publishing - 250 COPIES (setup fees: $1047)
+ Xulon Press - 250 COPIES (setup fees $2,396)
+ Dog Ear Publishing - 252 COPIES (setup fees $1,998)
+ Llumina Publishing - 280 COPIES (setup fees: $1,338)
+ Xlibris - 304 COPIES (setup fees: $1,673)
+ iUniverse - 316 COPIES (setup fees: $1,449)
+ Trafford - 342 COPIES (setup fees: $1,424)
+ AuthorHouse - 361 COPIES (setup fees: $1,799)
+ Outskirts Press - 790 COPIES (setup fees: $1,595)
BookLocker is a great choice. They are run by a husband/wife team who are experts in the book business and strive to provide a no-nonsense service.
When we work together on your book, I will help you every step of the way from the idea that started it all to getting copies of your book to hold in your hand and get to your family and the world.
