Traditional publishing can be a slow process between signing a contract and your book's release - sometimes eighteen months or more.
Many authors choose to bypass that option and self publish their books.
How much does self-publishing really cost?
Professional Editing: $500 - $5000
Developmental, copy editing, proofreading and length of the book will all be factors.
Cover Design: $300 - $1500
Formatting and interior design
ebook, $50 - $300; paperback and hardcover, $100 - $500
ISBN: Minimum $125
Must be purchased through Bowker, you can get a 10-pack for $295.
Distribution and Publishing
Amazon KDP Free to upload, but they take 20–40% of royalties depending on pricing and distribution choices.
IngramSpark: $49 per title setup (discounts available), with additional fees for revisions ($25 each). They offer wider distribution to bookstores.
Draft2Digital: Free to publish, but they take 10% of royalties.
Conclusion
Low end (DIY, minimal services): $0 - $1,000
Mid-range (some professional services): $1,500-$5,000
High-end (Premium services): $5,000-$15,000
Your cost to publish with Elk Lake Publishing: ZERO ($0)
Featured Blogs
April New Releases
Check out our April New Releases! New in Fiction Forbidden Truth Written by Debra Torres What happens when living the dream means losing yourself? Johanna Yoder can breathe again. Willow Brook’s once tyrannical Bishop Zook has been replaced by Gott’s true elect, Gideon Hochstetler. And the new bishop can’t help but show some special leniency…
Read More
2022 First Quarter New Releases
Elk Lake Publishing has been busy! Check out what books released during the first quarter of 2022. New in Picture Books Heaven’s Heroes, An Empty Tomb Written by Kristin Lehr, Illustrated by Alicia Berry An Empty Tomb is a Christian picture book depicting the events of Holy week. This beautiful retell is told…
Read More
All I Want for Christmas …
is a book. Don’t forget the adults on your Christmas list. And who says you can’t re-supply your own TBR stack for the new year? Check out these titles. And at some of these prices, these books make good stocking stuffers. Easton at Christmastide by Rebecca Price Janney, The Men of Amish Fiction Present A…
Read More
Christmas Books for the Littles
If your Christmas list includes littles, and you observe the four gift rule– something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read– one of these books might be just want you need for that last item. A Holy Night in Bethlehem by Kristin Lehr, The Christmas Gift by John Alexander, Ed’s…
Read More
Late Summer Releases
Need to replenish your TBR list as summer gives way to fall? Look no further than our July-August releases. Seconds by Abigail Wilkes, Mercy Again by Andrew Roth, Pseudonym by Diana Savage and Dennis Hensley, Jonah’s War by Claudette Renalds, For the Good of All, MB Dahl, Evangeline by Lane Jordan, What Love Looks Like…
Read More