Self-publishing a paperback – 3 big questions: What is work is involved? How much will it cost? What could I earn?

Self-publishing your masterpiece has never been easier….there again, the print on demand (POD) process still remains one not for the faint of heart, as there is a lot of work involved behind the scenes. At least it might make you realise what publishing houses do in the first place!

1. Print on demand ‘POD’ – what work is involved?

Print on demand (POD) has grown massively to become a credible alternative to traditional publishing houses, facilitated by low barriers to entry which encourage the self-published author.

The main alternatives are:

• Createspace (self-publishing for amateurs): Amazon dominates the POD market, having purchased and consolidated a number of companies in this field since 2005 – Createspace is the name of the Amazon POD subsidiary.
• Lightning Source (self-publishing for professionals): Ingram is the largest book distributor in the United States, which distributes globally to retailers and libraries.
• Book printing UK (printing only): there are a number of companies who will print your manuscript in whatever format you require – it is best to go for a company based in your country to keep shipping costs down

Note that Lightning Source is geared towards the expert end of the market, in that you have to have your own company first, complete with ISBN numbers, and the costs associated are higher than with Createspace. However, Lightning Source does offer a variety of different formats (such as hardcopy), distributes directly to the major bookstores, and has dedicated customer support….which Createspace does not.

Nevertheless, first-time self-published authors will naturally gravitate to Createspace, so let’s start there……

2. POD – how much will it cost?

The economics for ‘POD’ work out far better than for online sales (see ‘Online Publishing’ blog)

Traditional costs

For traditional printed books (i.e. via a publisher), approximately 80% of the cost is taken up by the expenses of preparing, distributing and printing the book. Of this, the publishing companies usually make around 10% profit, with the author receiving between 8-15% of the retail price.

So, for a paperback retailing at £10 (for ease of calculation), that means around £1.00 for the publisher and up to £1.50 for the author.

The costs of self-publishing

For POD books, there is a lot of sweat equity involved for the author in order get the book ready for publication, aside from writing it in the first place

• Initial set-up: ISBN numbers, correct metadata matching; i.e. title, author name, book description, publication date…etc. Assuming you purchase a block of 10 ISBN numbers, this is going to cost your around £150.
• Editing, indexing, and proofreading: this is to make sure your book is readable – however, note that ‘badly-written’ books aren’t automatically rejected, so it’s up to you to weed out any errors upfront!
• Formatting: accounts for the majority of reasons why self-published drafts are rejected, for failure to meet house rules; e.g. incorrect pagination, trim, margins, image placement…etc.
• Graphic design: want a decent cover? There are online options available, but the chances are, unless you’re very proficient, you’ll need to commission a graphic designer = more costs. Plus, you’ll need to submit the artwork yourself for the front, spine, back, and inside covers (optional).
• Reviewing: it is optional (but advisable) to purchase a proof post-acceptance (around $5, usually takes 1 week), find the inevitable errors, then go through the editing and formatting process all over again = time rather than monetary cost at this stage
• Printing, shipping, distribution and promotion: once your order has been accepted, you have to pay for all this lot, and assume responsibility for selling your book.

How the margins stack up

Running the numbers, it costs roughly the same to print through Createspace as it does through a stand-alone printing company (to be precise, Createspace is about 20p/copy cheaper):

Printing quote (per Book Print UK)

• 170 pages, A5 portrait in black & white (no colour inserts)
• Inside: 80gsm, off-white
• Cover: 250gsm, matt
• Pdf proof
• 50 copies
• Delivery 7-10 working days after sign-off of proof
• £178 (£3.55 per copy)

Per Createspace

• 170 pages = $3.00 (priced in $ as Createspace is a US company, part of Amazon)
• $70 express delivery per 50 copies = $1.25
• Raw cost per book $4.25 = £3.32 per copy at the current exchange rate of £0.78: $1.00

3. How much will I earn?

So, assuming that you (as an author) are prepared to do all the work yourself and not outsource anything to anybody (editor, proofreader, indexer, graphic designer…etc), your costs are roughly 1/3^rd, assuming a £10 retail price; i.e. a margin of £6.50 per book.

Therefore, on a back of the hand calculation, you’d need to sell all 50 of your initial order at the full retail price of £10 to cover your costs (50 * £3.5 = £175 + £150 IBSN), and only after that, will you start making a profit of £6.5 per book (disregarding the hours and hours of sweat equity invested along the way!)

Conclusion: designing and printing your own paperback book has never been easier or more accessible….but there is a LOT of work involved and without either a distribution system or an existing loyal following, you’re unlikely to get rich quick!